During the preconception phase where you began in earnest to try to achieve a pregnancy, you may have dabbled in many of the self-help tools. By using things like basal body temperature charting (BBT) and even ovulation prediction kits (OPK) you were looking for some basic guidelines to follow to help you get pregnant. You may feel now like it was a lot of work for nothing — after all, you didn't get pregnant.

But the good news is that all of that time, effort, and monetary expense was beneficial. The records that you kept will put you ahead of the game when it is time to see the reproductive specialist you've chosen. Be sure to bring any records you have kept over the years with you to your initial appointments.

Keeping your charts for years is an ideal situation for your doctors. However, many women simply have not been charting since they started having menstrual cycles. Even if you only have two or three months of charting, you are way ahead of the game. Be sure to bring the charts with you, even if you don't think the month or two you have is a good source of information. There may be something that your expert can read that you do not see!

The charting will save you time by allowing your doctor and fertility team to go forward with your testing right away. They can use the charting you have done to choose appropriate testing based on your physical exam and the previous charts, rather than having to wait a few months while you chart several cycles. This saves you valuable time in your infertility treatment and allows you to move more rapidly toward an effective diagnosis and treatment plan specifically designed for you.