You have learned that charting your cycle can be very simple. When you use the information that your body gives as fertility signals, you can more accurately predict what is going on with your cycle. In fact, the clues that you use to chart your cycle can also be used as a diagnostic tool.

When you chart using the symptoms your body exhibits, like cervical mucous and position, it is referred to as “symptom charting.” When you add temperature charting to these, it is called a “symptothermal” method of charting. Remember, the more information you chart, the more information you have on which to base your prediction of your cycle. This makes it more accurate, and can point to potential problem areas where the symptoms alone might not accurately reflect what is going on in your body.

The symptothermal method of charting is beneficial in trying to predict some potential disorders that may exist with your cycle. By charting, you will be aware of potential fertility problems early on in the process, particularly those related to ovulation.

Many general obstetrician/gynecologists and reproductive endocrinologists use charting as a first line of fertility awareness and diagnosis. The information gained while charting is used to help diagnose and treat different problems related to your cycle. Those women who have been charting even before realizing they may have fertility issues may have few hoops to jump through prior to beginning treatment.

Some women may suffer from a luteal phase defect (LPD), a problem that occurs in the latter half of your cycle. If the luteal phase of your cycle is too short, you may be having trouble carrying a pregnancy without even knowing it. By charting your basal body temperatures, you can help measure the length of your luteal phase.

Typically, in a “normal” cycle, your basal body temperatures will remain high for at least twelve days following ovulation. A luteal phase that is shorter than these 12 days may indicate a problem. If you suffer from a luteal phase defect you may also notice that your period begins sooner than the twelve to fourteen days after ovulation that is usually predicted.

Anovulatory Cycles

An anovulatory cycle is a cycle in which you do not ovulate. There are many reasons why you may occasionally have a cycle that is anovulatory. If you are consistently not ovulating, however, there is a big problem. Without the egg being present there is no way for you to get pregnant.

Using basal body temperature charting, you can identify anovulatory cycles. You learned about the shift in your body's temperatures from the first phase of your cycle to the luteal phase. Normally you will see several days of lowered temperatures followed by a sharp rise in temperatures. Usually this elevation indicates that ovulation has occurred.

A chart that does not show this sharp rise (usually of at least .4 degrees over the first phase temperatures) may indicate a cycle in which ovulation did not occur. Your anovulatory chart may also simply be a chart full of high and low temperatures with no real pattern or obvious shift in phases. It is important to keep these records to allow professionals to help you read your charts when trying to establish potential problems.

Problems with Fertile Mucous

You have learned that the mucous surrounding your cervix changes with your hormones during your cycle. You know that it can aid your body in carrying sperm toward your egg. When you are charting your fertility signals, even without the basal body temperatures, you should also make note of cervical mucous changes.

If you find that you are consistently not producing the type of mucous needed for conception to occur, you should report this finding to your practitioner. This may be an indication of problems with inadequate or hostile mucous. Your practitioner can do testing to see if this indeed a problem.