Wishing to Conceive
Use the Fertile Days
The Ovulation Method is not the old "rhythm method" or the temperature method. It is a new scientifically proven method, researched by Dr. John Billings with the scientific research confirmed by the famous endocrinologist James B. Brown. This method is based on the simple recognition of natural signs of fertility that appear for a few days during the woman's menstrual cycle. Family of the Americas (FAF) was instrumental in simplifying the teaching and charting system of the Ovulation Method that made it applicable for universal use.
By keeping accurate records, a woman can now confidently identify the fertile and infertile phases of her cycle. Women with long or irregular cycles, breast-feeding mothers, and even those going through pre-menopause or discontinuing artificial methods of family planning may use the Ovulation Method safely and effectively.
If you have had trouble conceiving a child, or for couples who have already used Clomid or any other fertility treatment, you still have hope for conception.
Often when women are struggling with apparent infertility it is because they are only fertile for a short period in their cycle--possibly only a few hours.
- The Ovulation Method can be used to help couples achieve pregnancy by assisting them to identify
their days of maximum fertility in each cycle. - Cervical Mucus is vital if conception is to take place. This remarkable substance nourishes and protects the sperm and also becomes a pathway for them into the uterus where they find their way into the Fallopian tubes to fertilize the egg.
- Most couples are unaware of the significance of the cervical mucus secretion in achieving pregnancy. Once a woman has learned to identify her fertile days, a couple of normal fertility can usually achieve pregnancy within three cycles.
- A few women experience the fertile characteristics of the mucus for only a few hours.
- Proper weight for size and body
- Good nutrition for both the husband and wife
- Adequate exercise provides a sense of well being and promotes health. Excessive exercise, however, may affect fertility by inhibiting ovulation.
- Stress is a significant inhibitor of ovulation and mucus production in women and it may decrease both the quality and quantity of sperm in men.
(Q). Can the Ovulation Method help us achieve pregnancy?
(A). Since the Ovulation Method teaches couples to recognize when the woman is fertile in each cycle, it can help them to maximize their chances of conceiving. In fact, couples of normal fertility are usually able to conceive within three cycles when using the Ovulation Method. A study by Dr. Allen Wilcox and his colleagues at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences made news late in 1995 by concluding that a woman's "window of fertility" is six days per cycle, the actual day of ovulation and the five days preceding it. As early as 1972, Ovulation Method researchers published reports that women participating in their studies could recognize approaching ovulation 6.2 days before it occurred by using the Ovulation Method. Additional research found that women who had been taught the Ovulation Method were aware that they were potentially fertile 5.2 and 5.9 days before ovulation. The World Health Organization reported that 93 percent of participants in a WHO study of the Ovulation Method were able to interpret their pattern of fertility in the first teaching cycle. The naturally-occurring secretion upon which the Ovulation Method is based not only nourishes the sperm, keeping them viable for three to five days, it also provides channels to aid swimming sperm in their efforts to reach the egg on the day of ovulation.
(Q). Is there any way we can increase our chances of having a boy (or girl)?
(A). There are several theories regarding the sex pre-selection, none of which have been scientifically proven. The one we will summarize here deals with timing intercourse to favor conception of one sex over the other. We would like to emphasize that this is a theory and that Family of the Americas does not advocate sex pre-selection. In addition, a familiarity with the phases of the woman's cycle is necessary to attempt to use this system. Theoretically, if a couple has sexual relations during the early part of the fertile phase, and then abstains for the remainder of the fertile phase, they will increase their chances of conceiving a girl. Conversely, if they abstain during the early fertile phase and postpone relations until the most fertile days of the cycle, immediately preceding or on the actual day of ovulation, they will increase their chances of conceiving a boy. The basis for this theory is that girl-producing sperm are stronger but are slower swimmers, allowing them to navigate through denser cervical secretions produced early in the fertile phase, yet requiring extra time to complete their journey. The boy-producing sperm are weaker yet faster swimmers, requiring the clearer channels found in secretions produced close to ovulation. Fewer of them would be able to make their way in the early fertile phase, while fewer of the girl-producing sperm would be fast enough to reach the egg before it disintegrates if they were released close to ovulation.
The time between the Peak and the beginning of menstruation is normally about two weeks. For a cycle to be considered long or short, it is the number of days between the end of menstruation and the Peak that will vary. There may be no dry days before the mucus begins, or the dry days may go on for longer than usual...even for weeks. The number of days of menstruation and of mucus may also vary.
Research in 1962 by leading Australian and New Zealand scientists, Dr. John Billings and Dr. James Brown, first verified the Ovulation Method for the scientific community.
Dr. Brown (the originator of hormonal measurements in women), conducted hormonal studies to correlate the accuracy of women's observations of the cervical mucus patterns with the ovarian hormonal patterns associated with ovulation.
After thousands of women's cycles in all reproductive categories were tested, research showed that the development of the mucus symptom coordinated with the estrogen levels in the follicular phase of the cycle much better than any other symptom accompanying ovulation.
The relationship between estrogen and progesterone, the cervical mucus changes and ovulation was also established.
To better understand your cycles of fertility and infertility, please download our book and/or our charting coach, and call us in order to give you the name of a teacher near your area to assist you in following up your cycles.