Your body is speaking, are you listening?

April 19, 2023

Welcome to the world of fertility awareness! If you have a menstrual cycle, you may already know that your period is not just a sign of fertility but a window into your overall health. But did you know that there's a method that can help you tap into your body wisdom and take control over your menstrual health?

Fertility awareness, which combines ancestral wisdom with modern science, can help you track your menstrual cycle as the fifth vital sign. In this article, we'll dive into the benefits of fertility awareness and highlight the sympto-thermal method (= tracking your basal body temperature & cervical mucus), a popular and effective way to track your cycle. So buckle up and get ready to learn about the wonders of fertility awareness!

To fully appreciate the benefits of fertility awareness, it's important to understand the menstrual cycle and how its four phases both are affected by and affect your overall health: menstrual, pre-ovulatory, post-ovulatory, and premenstrual. Each phase is driven by different hormones and has different physical and emotional implications.

By tracking the changes in your menstrual cycle, you can better understand your body and your health. For example, irregular periods or changes in PMS symptoms could be a sign of underlying health issues. It's also important to note that external factors such as stress, diet, and exercise can impact the menstrual cycle. By learning about your cycle, you can gain valuable insight into your overall health and wellbeing.

One popular and effective way to track your menstrual cycle is the sympto-thermal method. This method involves tracking changes in basal body temperature, cervical mucus, and other physical signs to identify ovulation and fertile periods. By combining these signs with a calendar-based method, you can determine when you are most likely to conceive or avoid pregnancy. The sympto-thermal method is highly effective when used correctly and consistently, with a typical use failure rate of only 2-3%.

Additionally, this method can help you identify hormonal imbalances and other health issues by tracking changes in your cycle. It's important to note that the sympto-thermal method requires some education and commitment to learn and use effectively, but the benefits can be well worth the effort.

The benefits of fertility awareness extend far beyond facilitating or avoiding conception. By tracking changes in your menstrual cycle, you can gain valuable insight into your overall health and wellbeing. Here are some of the benefits of fertility awareness:

• Empowerment: By learning about your menstrual cycle and fertility, you can take control of your reproductive health and make informed decisions about contraception, conception, and overall health.

• Natural and hormone-free: Fertility awareness methods are natural and do not involve the use of hormones or other artificial substances.

• Cost-effective: Fertility awareness methods can be more cost-effective than other forms of birth control, as they do not require ongoing purchases or prescriptions.

• Health awareness: By tracking your cycle, you can identify changes in your menstrual health that may indicate underlying health issues, such as hormonal imbalances or thyroid disorders.

• Environmental awareness: Fertility awareness methods do not produce waste or harm the environment, making them a sustainable choice.

• Relationship enhancement: Fertility awareness methods can help enhance communication and intimacy between partners by encouraging shared responsibility and understanding of fertility and reproductive health.

• Increased body literacy: By tracking changes in your menstrual cycle, you can increase your understanding and appreciation of your body and its natural rhythms.

Fertility awareness can help you build a deeper connection with your body and make informed choices about your reproductive health. By tracking changes in your cycle, you can gain insight into your overall health and wellbeing, while also empowering yourself with self-knowledge and understanding.

Fertility awareness is not a new concept. In fact, many cultures throughout history have used various methods to track the menstrual cycle and understand fertility. These methods were often based on observations of physical signs, such as cervical mucus and basal body temperature, and were passed down through generations.

However, with the advent of modern science, we now have a deeper understanding of the physiological processes that underpin the menstrual cycle and fertility. This has allowed for the development of more accurate and effective methods of fertility awareness, such as the sympto-thermal method.

By combining ancestral wisdom with modern science, we can now access a wealth of knowledge about our bodies and our health. This integration of old and new offers a powerful tool for reclaiming our reproductive health and taking control of our bodies.

As much as fertility awareness methods offer benefits for menstrual health and reproductive empowerment, it's important to acknowledge that they may not be the best option for everyone. Access to education and resources on fertility awareness can be limited, particularly for marginalized communities, who may face barriers such as lack of information, language barriers, and financial constraints. Additionally, certain medical conditions or lifestyle factors, such as irregular periods or shift work, may make it more difficult to effectively use fertility awareness methods. It's important to recognize that not all bodies and experiences are the same, and to advocate for more inclusive and accessible approaches to reproductive health.

Suited (as a contraceptive method) for:

• anyone with regular menstrual cycles

• people who are willing to track and record their cycle data consistently

• everyone who wants to avoid hormonal birth control or other medical interventions

Not ideal (as a contraceptive method) for:

• anyone with extremely irregular periods or conditions such as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) or endometriosis - patients are often suggested to go on hormonal birth control to suppress the natural ovulatory cycle

• people who have difficulty consistently tracking their cycle data, or who have limited agency and access to information

• everyone who requires immediate or highly effective contraception

We invite you to reflect on the power of fertility awareness. By listening to our bodies and understanding the intricacies of our menstrual cycles, we can tap into a deep well of ancestral wisdom that has been passed down through generations. We can use this knowledge to make informed decisions about our reproductive health and well-being, and to take control of our bodies in a world that often seeks to diminish our agency.

If we recognize our bodies as the powerful, nuanced, and complex entities that they are, we can learn to celebrate our bodies, embrace our cycles, and use the tools of modern science and ancestral wisdom to thrive in our reproductive health.