Are We Timing it Right?
Question
I’ve been off bcp for seven months now and we’ve been trying to chart my cycles at mycycle.com and my avg cycle days are 31. It says I’m supposed to ovulate on the 11th of this month. Last month it was on the 12th so the week prior to my ovulation date all the way to three days after my ovulation date we were trying our hardest. Unfortunatly on the 24th, two days before my af was due I started some brown spotting. I was hoping that was a good sign. Then on the 25th it started and at that point with the flow I feel that maybe it was another month of trying… is there any thing I can do to maybe hit it right on… should we be doing it at a certain time or should we be doing something different..?? Krystal
Answer
Last Updated: December 11, 2014
Dear Krystal,
Happy to read you’ve been off the BCP for 7 months. Depending on how long you were on the BCP, and the type it was, an ovulatory cycle with good hormone levels (which are both needed for a healthy pregnancy) may take a year after you stopped the BCP.
Second, using an average of the length of your cycles does not give you information about your fertility in a particular month. Each cycle has markers that can vary in duration and affect your cycle length. You may be just missing your optimum days of fertility each month.
The brown spotting you see prior to your menstruation is not a normal bleed. It usually indicates a lack of hormone production in the previous cycle necessary for a pregnancy to be sustained.
It’s good you’re asking these questions and “Yes” you can do a couple if things differently.
Learn about your daily natural fertility signs that also tell you about your fertility health. Do this together as a couple if at all possible. Contact a Natural Family Planning teacher in your area from this website, and begin right away to chart your cycle and attend the follow-up sessions with your teacher.
See a Natural Family Planning Medical Consultant, also listed, about the brown spotting.
All the above is so that you can maintain good fertility health throughout your reproductive years for you and your husband. Take good care of yourself.
Yours, Judy Wilmurt
Happy to read you’ve been off the BCP for 7 months. Depending on how long you were on the BCP, and the type it was, an ovulatory cycle with good hormone levels (which are both needed for a healthy pregnancy) may take a year after you stopped the BCP.
Second, using an average of the length of your cycles does not give you information about your fertility in a particular month. Each cycle has markers that can vary in duration and affect your cycle length. You may be just missing your optimum days of fertility each month.
The brown spotting you see prior to your menstruation is not a normal bleed. It usually indicates a lack of hormone production in the previous cycle necessary for a pregnancy to be sustained.
It’s good you’re asking these questions and “Yes” you can do a couple if things differently.
Learn about your daily natural fertility signs that also tell you about your fertility health. Do this together as a couple if at all possible. Contact a Natural Family Planning teacher in your area from this website, and begin right away to chart your cycle and attend the follow-up sessions with your teacher.
See a Natural Family Planning Medical Consultant, also listed, about the brown spotting.
All the above is so that you can maintain good fertility health throughout your reproductive years for you and your husband. Take good care of yourself.
Yours, Judy Wilmurt
Answered By:
Judy Wilmurt
Judy Wilmurt, Professional Member of CANFP, and past member of the Executive Board, taught the Creighton Model FertilityCare System of NFP in the Oakland region, wherre she resides with her husband Eric.
