Tips on Getting Pregnant Naturally - A Crash Course on Using the Fertility Awareness Method

Many couples seem to be facing infertility problems. It seems that everywhere you turn, this friend is taking hormone supplements and that couple is paying for another IVF treatment. If you are just starting the process of trying to get pregnant, these discouraging situations can be daunting. Before you assume that you are going to have to spend thousands of dollars and tons of time at the fertility clinic, take heart. There are ways to try conception naturally before you need to resort to the clinic. One of these ways is call the fertility awareness method.

Also known as natural family planning, the fertility awareness method is typically used to prevent pregnancy without the use of contraceptives. However, it is an extremely effective method of pregnancy planning as well. The key to the fertility awareness method is to understand and track your menstrual cycles.

The first thing you need to do in order to effectively use this method is to get a calendar for predicting ovulation. Mark day 1 of menstruation as day 1 of you cycle. If you have very regular cycles, you can assume that you will be ovulating on the tenth to the fourteenth day of your cycle. It is on those days that you should make sure you have intercourse. You can verify ovulation on these days by testing your urine with an ovulation predictor kit. While not always accurate, doing the test could give you an extra level of confidence in your ovulation prediction. Note that these tests are notorious for providing false negatives.

Some women are able to physically feel when they are ovulating. Some women sense a slight discomfort in the pelvic area. Other women can sense and feel physical changes in their cervix during ovulation.

If you cycles are irregular or you've never charted your cycle, it is a good idea to track your basal body temperature. As soon as you wake up in the morning, take your temperature with a basal thermometer. Write down the temperature on the calendar every day. As you see your basal temperature rising, you'll know that you are getting closer to ovulation. You can then schedule intercourse so that your egg has the potential for fertilization.

Another less desirable but extremely effective method of predicting ovulation is to track cervical mucus. Just as you track your temperature, evaluate your cervical mucus every morning. After doing this for a while, you'll be able to sense a change in the cervical mucus. When the mucus becomes clear and stretchy, you know that you can get pregnant because you are ovulating.

All this tracking can be stressful for some people. If you are likely to get overly concerned about having to watch out for temperature and mucus every morning, then the fertility awareness method probably isn't for you. However, if you want to get pregnant as quickly as possible and you don't mind thinking about your fertility each and every morning, then this is a great way to get pregnant naturally. If you are a woman with irregular periods, the fertility awareness method is an accurate, easy, and inexpensive way to figure out when you are ovulating. If the fertility awareness method doesn't result in conception after several months of using it, you may want to consider whether or not you have other factors present that could contribute to infertility. Studies have shown that weight, stress, and diet can all adversely affect the fertility of a couple.