Recording the Cervical Position on Fertility Charts
The third fertility sign, the cervical position can tell you your highest fertility days. Because the cervix is so evasive it’s not highly recommended to check it. However if you really want to get a good look at where you are in your cycle, checking the cervix in conjunction with checking the cervical fluid and the basal body temperature can really help to nail it down.
The cervix can tell you when you are about to ovulate, when ovulation is taking place and can give clues as to whether you are pregnant or not.
To properly pinpoint your highest fertility days you need to practice checking the cervical position. These are some guidelines to follow in order to achieve the best results:
- Keep your nails trimmed. The cervix and vagina are made of
fragile tissue that can be nicked easily. - Thoroughly wash your hands – a good time to check it would be
right after a bath or shower.
To properly check it you can either be sitting on the toilet or standing with one leg up on the side of the bathtub. Gently insert one or two fingers into the vagina. Feel for the cervix which is located in the upper front or top. It can take about a month of practicing to get the technique down.
This is a rundown of how the cervix feels throughout the cycle:
- During menstruation the cervix is low and hard and slightly open to allow the blood to flow out. It feels like the tip of your nose. It’s really not necessary to check it during the bleeding.
- Right after the bleeding stops the cervix remains low and hard and the os – the opening to the uterus – remains closed.
- As ovulation approaches the cervix will begin to rise up and soften. You will notice a medium feel and a slight openness. (Note – if you’ve have given birth vaginally before the os will always be a little open)
- At the height of ovulation the cervix will feel more like your lips. The os will be open to allow sperm entrance into the uterus. Sometimes during ovulation it will seem as if the cervix disappears, but this isn’t the case, it’s simply extremely soft and almost so high up the finger will have a hard time finding it. his is known as SHOW – soft, high, open and wet. This will beyour highest fertility days.
Please realize the time frame for all these changes will vary from woman to woman. Each person is unique and must give herself several cycles to see the pattern her chart makes. There are times when ovulation will start to happen and for some reason will be delayed – because of stress or illness. I call this the see-saw effect – where the body attempts to ovulate then stops. Noticing all the fertility signs you can better pinpoint where you are in your cycle and will be able to recognize when things are changing.
After ovulation you will notice the decline in your highest fertility days by the cervix which will drop to low and firm. Once again it will feel like the tip of your nose. The os will become tightly closed (unless you’ve given birth before, it will always remain slightly open). This can happen anywhere from several hours to several days after ovulation.
If pregnancy occurs, the cervix will rise up high and become soft yet remained closed. This will occur within the first several weeks of pregnancy – and the time frame again varies from woman to woman. Often this is evident by the time the physician does the initial prenatal exam.
To summarize the best way to calculate for your highest fertility days is by checking your cervical position. Always have clean hands and trimmed nails. If checking this particular fertility sign makes you too uncomfortable, don’t do it. But if you do remember to give yourself a month or two to acquaint yourself with the different changes the cervix goes through during each cycle