FERTILITY TRUTHS -- FOR BBTers
According to Taking Charge of Your Fertility, by Toni Weschler, MPH.
1. A normal cycle is not necessarily 28 days; it ranges from about 24 to 36 days. It varies from woman to woman as well as within individuals.
2. You can ovulate as early as Day 8, and as late as Day 22 or beyond. The point is that women do not necessarily ovulate on Day 14.
3. Your most fertile day cannot be determined by your temperature. In fact, most women don't even experience the 'temperature dip' that they've often been told to look for.
4. You are not most fertile the day of the rise in temperate, either. In fact, by the time the temperature rises, it's usually too late -- the egg is already gone.
5. The key to identifying your most fertile phase is through cervical fluid, and not waking temperature.
6. You don't need to stand on your head for half an hour after making love in order to get pregnant. If you are timing intercourse at the most fertile time, the sperm will swim up through the cervical fluid rapidly, regardless of what position you are in.
7. How often you should have intercourse during your fertile phase (i.e., every day or every other day) is a function of the combination of your partner's sperm count and your cervical fluid. It's not a hard-and-fast rule that applies to all couples alike.
8. Both men and women are equally likely to have fertility problems.
1. A normal cycle is not necessarily 28 days; it ranges from about 24 to 36 days. It varies from woman to woman as well as within individuals.
2. You can ovulate as early as Day 8, and as late as Day 22 or beyond. The point is that women do not necessarily ovulate on Day 14.
3. Your most fertile day cannot be determined by your temperature. In fact, most women don't even experience the 'temperature dip' that they've often been told to look for.
4. You are not most fertile the day of the rise in temperate, either. In fact, by the time the temperature rises, it's usually too late -- the egg is already gone.
5. The key to identifying your most fertile phase is through cervical fluid, and not waking temperature.
6. You don't need to stand on your head for half an hour after making love in order to get pregnant. If you are timing intercourse at the most fertile time, the sperm will swim up through the cervical fluid rapidly, regardless of what position you are in.
7. How often you should have intercourse during your fertile phase (i.e., every day or every other day) is a function of the combination of your partner's sperm count and your cervical fluid. It's not a hard-and-fast rule that applies to all couples alike.
8. Both men and women are equally likely to have fertility problems.
