Sharing some tips on how to use FAM (Fertility Awareness Method) to predict period for yourself, or your preteen/teen daughter!
Hi friends! Hope you have a great day so far! We live the summer life: swimming all day, meeting with friends, hitting the trails, and packing for a fun ride. what have you been up to?
In today’s post, I wanted to talk a little bit about the fertility awareness method and how you can use this amazing period prediction tool. Once you get the hang of it, it makes life so much easier.
As you guys know, I am a huge fan of the fertility awareness method. It’s my primary method of birth control and I’ve been on it since I went off birth control in 2008. Over time, it’s evolved a lot! I used to trace my temporary and pie marks on a paper chart and now they have amazing apps and technology.
**** I only recommend FAM as a method of contraception if you are in a monogamous relationship and with the understanding that there is a learning curve. Also, remember that it does not protect you from any sexually transmitted diseases or infections. It may take a while until *you* get your period, so just heads-up that you might want to use a backup method if you want to use FAM as your birth control method. ***
while The fertility awareness method can be a great birth control tool, and it can also be used for something incredibly valuable: accurate period prediction. If you practice the fertility awareness method, you will be able to know the exact day of your period.
I was thinking about FAM and how much I love it… Then a little light bulb clicked in my head. It can also be used to find out when a preteen or teenage girl will have her first period ever. How freaking amazing is that?! I will be sharing all the details + how you can use this for accurate cycle prediction in this post. I wanted to share this info with my fellow mommy friends out there, or those curious about tracking their cycle.
Using the fertility awareness method to predict your period
When I first discovered fertility awareness method, I wished I’d learned all about this when I was growing up. It transformed my body from a complete mystery into something that was empowering and informative. What was happening inside my body wasn’t completely random every month; It was completely expected. I just had to track it down and understand my cycle.
Had I known this information, it would have saved me from a certain instance in middle school when I was wearing white shorts. Yes.
Each month, we have distinct phases of our cycle:
1) Menstruation: The first day of complete bleeding (may be preceded by spotting but this is not technically the first day of your period)
2) The follicular phase: Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) stimulates the ovaries to prepare and release an egg
3) The ovulation phase: This is the time when the egg is released and can be fertilised
4) Luteal phase: It begins after ovulation, and the ruptured follicle turns into a corpus luteum, producing progesterone to support a potential pregnancy. If pregnancy does not occur, hormone levels drop, causing a new menstrual cycle to begin.
During the phases of the cycle, we also see changes in the following factors to indicate fertility: cervical mucus, cervical position, and basal body temperature changes. The easiest and most accessible way for beginners, tweens, or teens to track is basal temperature. You simply take your temperature first thing in the morning and this data can be used to determine ovulation and then when Aunt Flow is supposed to visit.
(Over time, you can use other methods if they work for you, but I never tracked the position of my cervix.)
Here’s how you can use your basal temperature to determine when your period is due:
– Every morning, when you get up, take your temperature as usual Basal thermometer. It goes in your mouth and is an old school cheap digital thermometer.
– Track this information using your phone or an app. My favorite period tracking app is iPeriod, which is free and pretty accurate for me. Natural Cycles is also a highly recommended app.
When you ovulate, you will notice an increase in temperature by a full 1-2 degrees after ovulation. (When your temperature rises, ovulation has already occurred. This does not mean that it occurs on that day, it means that already happened within the past 24 hours.)
Your temperature will remain relatively constant for the rest of the luteal phase after ovulation, which is usually 12 to 16 days after that.
On the day of your period, your basal temperature will drop to baseline, about 1-2 full degrees. This is when you know to be prepared and have things on hand!
I think it’s very important for women and girls to know more about how their bodies work. This shouldn’t be a mystery, and small bits of knowledge like this one can change the game.
So tell me, friends: do you track your period?
xoxo
Jenna
more:
Podcast about fertility awareness method here
And from the archives, when I gave up birth control forever. Also when I can write about sheer bullshit and get 100+ comments on a blog post. That was dayyyyssss.
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