Using the Fertility Awareness Method to Conceive
So you’ve been told your whole life that “it only takes one time” to end up pregnant (gasp, the worst thing that can happen to a woman!). Yet here you are, trying to get pregnant ON PURPOSE and it’s not happening how you thought it would. What exactly is going on here?
The truth is, even in a perfectly healthy cycle and perfectly timed intercourse, there is only about a 25% chance of pregnancy each cycle! And when you’re trying to avoid pregnancy, that statistic is WAY too high, hence the “it only takes one time” narrative. But this is a bit misleading right? Because when you’re trying to conceive, a 25% chance can seem painfully low.
So what can you do about this? While nothing will change the statistics, fertility awareness can significantly improve your experience! Here’s how:
By decreasing anxiety: If you’re reading this post, most likely you’ve been feeling some type of way about your fertility journey. And that is totally understandable! We have a lot less control over our fertility than we do in many other major life changes. But here’s the thing - the incredibly poor education we get about our cycles, and what needs to be happening within us for a pregnancy to occur, only increases this anxiety. So imagine this instead - you go through this process knowing your cycle, easily identifying your most fertile times, knowing when your pregnancy test is going to be the most accurate, and what it really means to have a late period (learn why your period is never late here). Now take a deep breath. And let it out. And notice how much different that would feel in your body to have all of the information you need to go through this process with ease!
Increase your confidence, and have an empowered TTC journey: Ease is not just about decreasing anxiety, what I want for all of my students is for them to feel empowered and confident when it comes to their journey. No matter what it might look like! That might look like having the language and support to advocate for yourself at the doctors office, knowing what holistic supports are available to you, better communication with your partner, and having a safe place to ask your questions - just to name a few!
Assessing cycle health: No matter how good you feel about your process, the time may come where you want to do a little bit of digging into your cycle health. This might come while you’re preparing to start your journey, or you might want more information if things don’t go as expected. Your fertility awareness chart can give you valuable information into your cycle health, and can inform further investigation. Sometimes charts give you a good idea of what might be going on - like if you have a short luteal phase or if you’re not ovulating. Other times it can give you clues and guide what types of tests you ask your doctor for. Either way, working with a fertility awareness educator (me!) can help you to accurately interpret your charts.
Plus a bonus benefit - this is something you can actually use BEYOND your TTC journey! So many of the resources out there are specifically for trying to conceive. They give you just enough information to know when you’re most fertile without giving you a complete understanding of your cycle. Learning a fertility awareness method is different - you’re going to get information that you can use for the rest of your reproductive years. Like one of my former students Kelly said “I wanted to learn what I needed to know to get pregnant, I didn’t expect to fall in love with my cycle!” So many students choose to return to fertility awareness during postpartum, but even if you decide it’s not for you long term, you’ll be left with a deeper understanding that you will have forever.
Learn more about what fertility awareness is here
Ready to start your fertility awareness practice?
