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Fertility Chart Patterns

Just as we are all unique, fertility charts also show our great diversity. There is no single "one-size-fits-all" kind of chart model into which we can all fit. Most people do not really have perfect "text-book" charts that follow any kind of rule to the letter. There are, however, certain kinds of patterns of charts that appear frequently that we can recognize and understand. Though your own pattern may vary slightly from those described here and it may even vary from cycle to cycle, you will probably recognize some characteristics that do apply to your own chart and your own situation.

We talk about patterns because we have come to notice that trends in all your fertility signs, as well as the shape of your graph over time, from day to day and from cycle to cycle, are more important that individual temperatures or individual fertility signs observed on any given single day. Alone, without context and without noticing trends and patterns, your fertility signs do not offer much information. But when you are looking at "the big picture" you can often learn a great deal about your own fertility pattern. We will talk about Ovulation Patterns, Anovulation Patterns and Pregnancy Patterns

Ovulation Patterns

Regular (Ideal) Pattern

In an ideal charting world, ovulation patterns would universally be clearly indicated by all possible fertility signs and they would come in the order expected and indicate ovulation for the same day. While this chart pattern does not always prevail, this may happen, and we call this "The Regular Ovulation Pattern". If this is not the case for you, this is usually not a reason for too much concern as the ideal is not necessarily the rule in Charting Land. There are many other "normal" charting patterns and Fertility Friend is designed to detect them even when they do not meet the ideal.

The regular ovulation pattern includes:

cervical fluid becomes increasingly wet as ovulation draws nearer
cervical fluid dries up quickly just after temperature rise
a single patch of eggwhite cervical fluid is observed in the days just before ovulation
a biphasic temperature shift, showing a marked increase in temperatures after ovulation
temperature rises in a single abrupt shift that is sustained throughout the luteal phase
cervix is high and soft and open just before temperature rise
OPK is positive 12-36 hours before the rise
OPK is only positive in the one or two days before ovulation
Microscope shows full ferning in pattern similar to cervical fluid
Fertility Monitor shows a High reading in the days leading up to ovulation and a Peak reading the day before the rise

When all signs indicate increased fertility on the same days prior to ovulation and ovulation for a certain given day, the detection of ovulation and the chart analysis can be quite certain. When several signs can be correlated and cross-checked, the analysis and interpretation is more reliable. It is, however, quite possible to detect ovulation and increased fertility under less than ideal charting circumstances. The more signs that "match" the more reliable the interpretation will be.

Chart Legend

Variations on the Ovulatory Chart Pattern

In many, if not most cases, one or more elements of the regular ovulation pattern will not be present, will be present in a different variation, or the signs will not perfectly correlate. This is usually not a cause for concern and your fertile time and your day of ovulation can still be determined by careful analysis. Fertility Friend is also designed to help you find your fertile time and identify your most likely ovulation date even under less than ideal circumstances. In some cases, the pattern may be skewed because of less than ideal data collection, problems with manufactured devices or being unable to follow the manufacturer's instructions precisely. Temperatures taken at different times or without enough sleep can alter the pattern, as can the subjective nature of cervical fluid and cervical position observations. Stress, fatigue, travel and illness can also impact your chart. Or, your own unique fertility pattern may not exactly match the ideal. This is the human element of fertility charting and this is just part of charting while living your life. Unless you are not following the basic guidelines of charting, this is in large part unavoidable, though as you gain experience charting your fertility your chart will also become more reliable. Fortunately, you can usually see your fertility pattern even when you do not match the ideal. You can still identify your fertile phase and detect ovulation with a variant of the ideal ovulation pattern. Fertility Friend is designed to give you the best prediction of your fertility status and ovulation based on all the data available.

Here are some ways your chart and your pattern may differ from the ideal and still show ovulation:

Sloping rise: Temperatures may rise in a sloping rise rather than an abrupt shift. The rise may be gentle and curved and may take three to four days to reach the elevated level that clearly shows that ovulation has occurred.

Slow rise: Similar to a sloping rise, but in even smaller increments, temperatures may rise in a slow rise pattern rather than an abrupt shift. The slow rise may show a steady shift in small increments of one tenth of a degree Fahrenheit over four or five days.

Fallback rise: Temperatures may show a "fallback rise" pattern. In a fallback rise pattern the temperature rises significantly and abruptly as you would expect, but then it drops again immediately before it rises again and is sustained throughout the luteal phase.

Staircase rise: Temperatures may rise in a staircase rise pattern. In a staircase pattern, the temperature will rise, stay steady or even slightly decrease and then rise and stay steady again until reaching the elevated level. This may occur over a period of a few days.

Triphasic: It has been suggested that triphasic charts often turn out to show pregnancy, but just as often (if not more so) they do not. A triphasic chart shows three levels of temperatures: pre-ovulation, post-ovulation, and then a second rise after ovulation.

Delayed thermal shift: Multiple patches indicating increased fertility within your cycle but the thermal shift and ovulation may occur later than expected in a cycle that is longer than usual. A cycle like this may show signs of increased fertility, (eggwhite cervical fluid, positive OPK, high, soft cervix, peak reading on fertility monitor, ferning on microscope devices) both just before the rise and earlier in the cycle when ovulation did not immediately follow.

Short cycles: (Less than 25 days). Your chart may show increased fertility and ovulation earlier in your cycle.

Long cycles: (More than 32 days).Your chart may show increased fertility and ovulation later in your cycle.

Erratic temperatures: Even if your temperatures are erratic, going up and down throughout your cycle, and not showing a single sustained shift between pre- and post-ovulation phases, they may still indicate ovulation and show a thermal shift that is recognizable to a trained eye or Fertility Friend's ovulation detector, especially if there are other signs that can be correlated.

Out of place temperatures: Both in your pre-ovulation phase and your luteal phase, you may have temperatures that just do not seem to "fit". This is usually nothing to worry about since you are looking at trends rather than individual temperatures. This can be a fluke or can be caused by any number of factors that can affect your temperatures. A few out of place temperatures can usually be ignored without impacting the interpretation of your chart, especially if they are not close to ovulation.

High temperatures during period: It is not unusual to have high temperatures during your period due to residual progesterone from your previous cycle. They will usually level off in time to recognize a thermal shift in your current cycle.

Erratic temperatures during period: Likewise, it is not unusual to have erratic, high and low, temperatures during your period. Usually they will level off in time to recognize a thermal shift in the current cycle.

Dip before rise: You may see a slight temperature dip before your temperature rise. If you are lucky enough to get advanced warning of ovulation like this over several cycles, it is a good way to time intercourse very close to ovulation. You may, however have a dip that is not followed by a sustained rise and mistakenly assume ovulation is imminent when you see a dip. An individual dip on its own does not tell you anything about ovulation or your fertility.

Multiple patches of fertile cervical fluid: Since you may have increased estrogen even quite a bit before you actually ovulate, you may get more than one patch of fertile cervical fluid in a given cycle. Though you will only ovulate once, usually just after the last patch of fertile cervical fluid, you need to treat any fertile-like cervical fluid as potentially fertile so you do not miss a chance for conception.

Multiple positive OPKs: Likewise, you may have increased LH (Luteinizing Hormone, which is detected by Ovulation Prediction Kits) even when you are not approaching ovulation. This can cause you to have multiple positive OPKs. Again, you will probably ovulate just after the last positive OPK, but again should treat any positive OPK reading as meaning that you may be about to ovulate.

No eggwhite cervical fluid or no eggwhite cervical fluid before thermal shift: You may not get a patch of fertile cervical fluid just before your thermal shift, even though the shift indicates that you ovulated. You should try to time intercourse as close to ovulation as possible and treat the cervical fluid that you get closest to ovulation as your most fertile cervical fluid.

Microscope or fertility monitor does not correlate: Sometimes the devices that you can purchase for monitoring your fertility do not agree with your charting data. Fertility Friend will assess the data and provide your most likely ovulation date and assessment of your fertility based on the data available. In most cases, your temperature data is better able to pinpoint ovulation than any manufactured device. Devices can be useful for indicating increased fertility before ovulation. Even if you get multiple readings that indicate increased fertility or the data does not correlate, if you are using such devices, consider their assessments of increased fertility so that you do not miss a potentially fertile time.

Fertile cervical fluid after ovulation: While cervical fluid typically dries up immediately after ovulation, in some cases it is present even after ovulation since the corpus luteum may produce sufficient estrogen to produce some cervical fluid. If you have already ovulated and temperatures have been elevated and the elevation is sustained, this need not be treated as fertile fluid.

Cervical position or cervical fluid does not correlate with temperature signs: Your cervical postition or cervical fluid may not correlate with your temperature or other data when they are cross-checked. Again, Fertility Friend will offer the most probable assessment of your fertility and ovulation date based on the data available.

Temperature shift may be ambiguous: In some cases it will be clear that ovulation occurred but it will not be possible to pinpoint definitively when with any degree of certainty. In such cases the temperature may rise very slowly, have some dips, or some data may be missing or conflicting in such a way that makes it impossible to tell exactly when ovulation happened. In such cases, it is important to remember why you are charting. It is great to have accurate charting data, especially if it is taking longer than you hoped for pregnancy to happen. But more important than having a perfect chart is timing intercourse to maximize your chances of pregnancy. As long as you have intercourse within your fertile window, the precise date of ovulation is not always critical.

Your own ovulation pattern may include one or more of the above special circumstances. Fertility Friend is designed to interpret and analyze your chart and is able to recognize most ovulation patterns and pinpoint your fertile time and ovulation accordingly. When you have special circumstances it is also a good idea to ask for the input of a Fertility Friend guide to make the most out of your chart.

Ovulation Patterns that may require attention from your Healthcare Provider:

In some cases, you may ovulate but your chart may still be cause for concern. This list is not at all intended to be exhaustive, nor to replace the advice of your doctor and you should always discuss any and all medical concerns with your healthcare provider.

Some possible charting concerns to discuss with your doctor include:

If your temperatures are consistently a great deal higher or much lower than you would expect, you will want to talk to your healthcare provider to determine if there is an issue with your thyroid.
If your luteal phase is consistently shorter than 10 days, this could indicate that your luteal phase is not sufficiently long enough to sustain a pregnancy.
If you have unexplained bleeding or spotting at any time during your cycle.
If you consistently have well-timed intercourse and a pregnancy is not achieved after several cycles.
Any unexplained pain or discomfort.
Bumps on your cervix that do not appear related to your fertility cycle.

Anovulatory Patterns

There are several potential reasons why your chart may not show ovulation. First, it is not abnormal to have an occasional anovulatory cycle, even if you usually ovulate. In this case, anovulation may not be cause for too much concern if it happens only rarely. When it happens consistently, it is reason to talk to your healthcare provider so that together you can identify the cause and decide on a treatment if necessary.

Your chart may also not show ovulation, even if you do ovulate if you are not following the guidelines for observing your fertility signs and charting your temperature data. For example, if you are not taking your temperature at the same time every day, after at least a few hours of sleep and using a BBT thermometer your chart may not show ovulation even if you do ovulate. If you have just started charting and your first chart does not show ovulation, this also may not be cause for concern. You may just need a cycle or two more to get the hang of charting. Before you can determine that you do not ovulate regularly you will need to chart for a few cycles.

If are observing all your fertility signs correctly and you are taking your temperature accurately and your charts consistently do not show ovulation, the possible reasons (not including adolescence or pregnancy) may be: breastfeeding, just stopping hormonal birth control such as birth control pills, perimenopause, illness, travel, too much exercise, stress, increased prolactin, polycycstic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), significant weight loss or weight gain or possibly other conditions that can be identified with your healthcare provider. In the case of known or suspected medical conditions, you should talk to your healthcare provider about your best course of action.

When you do not ovulate, you may or may not menstruate. Many women assume that if they are menstruating, then they are necessarily ovulating. This is not always true. You can still get what looks like a period even if you are not ovulating, though your cycles will probably be less regular and may be longer. You can still shed the lining of the endometrium which is built up through the increase of estrogen, even if you do not ovulate and this will look like a period.

Characteristics of Anovulatory Charts:

While your own chart may vary, there are certain characteristics that are common in anovulatory charts. They may not all be present at the same time or in each case. Most anovulatory charts:

show no biphasic pattern, no thermal shift
show erratic temperatures
have large temperature fluctuations, even when temperature is taken carefully
multiple patches of fertile cervical fluid
long cycles (not always)
irregular cycles (not always)
multiple positive OPKs separated by negative ones
signs of increased fertility but no thermal shift to confirm ovulation

Larger View||Chart Legend

If you chart for several cycles and ovulation cannot be detected on your chart, you should consider talking to your healthcare provider.

Pregnancy Patterns

Pregnancy chart patterns are really a variation on the ovulation patterns since they all started out as ovulation charts and show the diversity of ovulation patterns as well as pregnancy patterns. For many of us, pregnancy charts are intriguing because we like to examine our charts after ovulation looking for clues that will tell us we are pregnant or least if we have a shot at it in any given cycle. Others want to look at the charts of those who were successful to look for hints that can help them.

The important thing to remember when you are scutinizing your own chart for signs of pregnancy is this: there are no sure signs that will indicate pregnancy or rule it out until you can take a pregnancy test or until you see your period. All kinds of ovulation patterns can turn into pregnacy charts as long as there is well-timed intercourse. You do not need to show any kind of particular ovulation pattern or post-ovulation pattern on your chart to become pregnant. Many women have no early signs that they are pregnant.

Likewise, well-timed intercourse and clear ovulation on a chart do not always result in pregnancy- even when the chart looks promising. You have about a 20% chance each cycle depending on your age, how long you have been trying and other circumstances.

Further, the effects of progesterone can complicate matters further when you are hoping for pregnancy. Progesterone dominates the luteal phase of your cycle when you are not pregnant and is also present in large amounts during pregnancy. Thus, symptoms that are typically present during the second part of your cycle may also be present in early pregnancy. This makes distinguishing between early pregnancy symptoms and signs that you are about to get your period nearly impossible. All this makes the waiting time between ovulation and your period or testing time particularly agonizing. Nonetheless, there are some characteristics that many pregnancy charts share.

Some characteristics of Pregnancy Charts:

the intercourse pattern shows intercourse within the most fertile window, usually within a day or two of ovulation
chart clearly shows ovulation
temperatures stay elevated beyond the normal luteal phase length
sometimes shows a temperature dip around 7-10 days past ovulation
sometimes shows spotting when implantation is expected to occur (7-10 days past ovulation)
temperatures may show a triphasic pattern (temperatures rise to a third higher level that is sustained around 7-10 days past ovulation)
Pregnancy test is positive (of course)

Chart Legend

Trying to conceive can be an incredibly stressful and exciting time. Charting your fertility signs is one thing you can do to put yourself in control, even if it is taking longer than you hoped or expected. As you chart your way to conception, here are a few tips that may help:

Have intercourse at least every other day before ovulation during your fertile phase. (Check with your doctor first if there are any known sperm issues) .
Have intercourse every day once you get a positive OPK result if you are using OPKs, or if you have other advance notice that you will ovulate within 24 hours.
Keep having intercourse every day until ovulation is confirmed by a few elevated temperatures that are sustained.
Avoid focusing on pinpointing ovulation. Once ovulation can be detected, it is generally too late to conceive. Rather, look at the Fertility Analyzer that tells you that you have increased fertility and take note of all your fertility signs.
Try to keep your babymaking attempts enjoyable.
Keep your sense of humor.
Support your partner and let your partner support you.
Talk to your friends who understand you.
Enjoy all the things in life that give you pleasure and make you strong and special.
Talk to your friends at Fertility Friend or make new ones here.
Ask for guidance from our guides.
Talk to your doctor after a few cycles if you think you might need medical help.

A last word or just a starting point...

Trying to conceive can be frustrating and difficult when it is not achieved as quickly or as easily as you hoped. Charting gives you control and offers you the best possible odds every cycle. The awareness that charting brings can help you better time intercourse to conceive and will help you understand your own unique fertility pattern.

We want to share the experience we have gained over the years we have been researching, studying and evaluating fertility charts and talking to women who are trying to conceive.

Fertility Friend members have access to our experience via our interactive software. It is regularly improved to reflect the results of our continued research and data collection. Fertility Friend is a comprehensive system that is designed to help you achieve pregnancy through charting and support. We hope that reading the Fertility Friend Handbook has given you a firm foundation for starting to chart if you are just beginning and has added another dimension for more experienced charters.

Please feel free to contact us at anytime.
We wish you the very best!

Fertility Friend Online
http://www.FertilityFriend.com

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