How long should I chart my cycle before trying to conceive?

Question

I want to get pregnant in the beginning of May of next year. I run out of my birth control pills in mid-January so I will be charting my cycle starting then.

I plan to take my temperature and chart my cervical mucus for 3.5 months before trying to conceive.

Will this be enough time to get an idea of when I ovulate? What should I do?

Answer 1

It will be *plenty* of time to know when you will ovulate. But a week is enough time. You can know when you are about to ovulate the first month you chart, and know you *have* ovulated within a few days after that. There are 2 possible problems with your plan...

First of all, you may *not* ovulate for several months (up to a year) after using hormonal birth control. Some women are even permanently infertile as a result of taking the Pill, but this is rare.

Secondly, even if you know *exactly* when you ovulate, it can take 2-3 months of having sex at the right time to get pregnant if you are both very fertile. Longer if either of you is less fertile.

And, third, there is no way to know in advance if it will be the case that you are both very fertile.

For a detailed explanation, please read _Taking Charge of Your Fertility_ by Toni Weschler *now* so you know what you are doing whenever you do plan to start. (And there is *no* point in charting while you are on the Pill--it won't tell you anything useful...)

It *may* work out exactly as you planned. But it may not.

Good luck!!

Answer 2

That amount of charting should be helpful, unless you have an irregular cycle, in which case no amount of charting could help. My doctor advised having sex on days 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, and so on from the first day of your last period until your next period starts. If your period starts, you're probably not pregnant. If you get up to day 40, take a home pregnancy test. My husband enjoyed the experience and we conceived the second month we were trying. Unfortunately, no matter how much sex you have and how sure you are of when you ovulate, there is no way to guarantee that you will get pregnant in a particular month.

Best of luck!

Answer 3

Congratulations on deciding to have a baby soon! Pregnancy is the most amazing thing, and I love my baby with all of my heart, even though I have never met him or her.

I think 3.5 months should be an adequate time to chart before trying to conceive. One thing to be cautious of though, is that charting is only an estimate - women ovulate on different days each month.

Another thing to consider is that after one comes off the contraceptive pill, her body needs to regulate itself. Perhaps for the first few months, your cycle will be a bit wacky, especially if you have been on the pill of a long period of time.

I'm going to include the link to a trying to conceive forum, and waiting to conceive forum that I think you might find useful. It's full of supportive women with boundless knowledge about these issues. I learnt so much there that I doubt I would have learnt otherwise.

Answer 4

Check out www.woomb.org for information on how to really accurately track your cycle. It has charts you can download too. I think they generally recommend a month. This is a really good method, because your cycle can muck about a bit after you come off the pill, and it is also really good for after pregnancy because you can tell when you are ovulating if you follow the method correctly. After each of my pregnancies, I ovulated before my periods returned and was able to accurately tell this *and* stock up on tampons and pads in time for the period to return. It did take a few months each time for my cycle to return to a regular cycle (I had everything from 3 weeks to 36 days) but by following this method I was able to avoid pregnancy until I wanted to fall pregnant again, and then I used the method to fall pregnant:)

Answer 5

Giving birth to a new life is indeed a blessing which almost every woman would wish to have. How to get pregnant naturally https://tr.im/pregnancyhelp
Enjoying the feeling of motherhood and raising a family would surely be a couple’s dream. Some get it naturally, while for some others things don’t seem to work as they desire. These reasons which stop a women from conceiving can be due to either physical reasons or truly physiological.

Answer 6

I think there is something like a 20% chance a woman will get pregnant from month to month, even when you do everything right. But tracking your fertility signs for a few months should certainly give you a fighting chance to conceive when you have planned or shortly there-after. Best wishes!

Answer 7

Be careful the first month you are off the pill, that's how my sister got pregnant with twins! Did you read Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler? That book is a great for answering all of your charting questions.

Answer 8

I would think that 3.5 months before if enough time

check out this site

http://www.ovulation-calculator.com/

it should help you track your cycle and ovulation - good luck!

Answer 9

The sooner you chart the better! You'' have better, more accurate results that way! Good luck!

Answer 10

I would think that would be an appropriate amount of time, but everyone is different, so I guess you will have to do what you think is best and hope it works.