indicators of fertility

A man is always potentially fertile, whereas a woman's fertility recurs on a cyclical basis. For this reason we have to look in more detail at the woman's physiology to understand the phases of fertility and infertility.

The female cycle is usually referred to as the menstrual cycle, menstruation being the most prominent event, placing the emphasis on the cyclic changes of fertility.

Cycles vary in length from 23 days or less in a short cycle, to over 35 days in a long cycle. Few women have an absolutely regular menstrual cycle, and a variation of up to 7 days is perfectly normal. For convenience, we will use an average length cycle of 28 days.

Hormonal changes in the fertility cycle

The fertility cycle is under the control of sex hormones. It may be conveniently divided into two phases - the phase before ovulation (pre-ovulatory) and the phase after ovulation (post-ovulatory)

A woman learns to monitor her fertility cycle subjectively by observing physiological changes in her body, using a combination of indicators of fertility. These indicators are scientifically proven to reflect changes in the ovarian hormone levels and to reflect fertility status accurately.

Indicators of fertility

• The waking temperature
• Cervical mucus changes
• Changes in the cervix
• Calculation of cycle length
• Minor indicators of fertility for example abdominal pains and breast symptoms

The most effective method is a multiple indicator approach called the Sympto-thermal method combining temperature recordings with cervical mucus symptom.