Fertility Awareness & Period Tracking in a Journal

OH BLOODY HELL, IT'S SHARK WEEK... AGAIN

When I was younger, I used to be completely surprised by the arrival of my period. I was also a little fuzzy about when exactly I was most fertile each month, even after I became a mother. Twice. (I know... right?) Fast forward to last year when, in my late 40s, I decide to study up in order to answer a frequent Bullet Journaling Tips & Tricks request, "Let me see your period trackers." Thanks to you all, I am now far less clueless about the female cycle! Oh, how I would have loved what I'm about to show you when I was younger. Better "late" than never I guess? (Har, har!) Anyways, below I'll describe how to track the length of your cycle, better predict the start of your next period and identify the portion of each month you're more likely to be fertile. I'm using the Period Fertility Tracking Stencil we designed to make the whole process both simple AND lovely.

CREATE THE CIRCLE

Aside from the marvelous set of repeatable tracker icons in the center that you can use with your daily, weekly or monthly journal layouts,  this stencil creates a circle that consists of 28 squares. 

TRACKING YOUR PERIOD

Begin your tracker by writing the number 1 inside the first square at the top of the circle (12 o'clock). The day you begin bleeding, write the day of the month just off to the side of that first square. Indicate the amount of flow (heavy, medium, light) that day by shading in a portion of the square. Each day, move clockwise along the circle, one square at a time, filling in the next number, adding the date next to the square, and shading the amount of flow. 

FIGURING OUT THE LENGTH OF YOUR CYCLE

​​​After your period ends, continue to move clockwise along the circle, one square at a time, filling in the next number and the date in order to eventually figure out the “length” of your cycle, The average menstrual cycle is about 28 days, but it can be less or more. 

​If you find yours is less and you start your next period before you fill in all 28 squares, cross out any remaining squares and begin a new circle, placing the date you start bleeding next to the first square at the top. 

If you find that your cycle is more than 28 days, use the stencil to create additional squares, numbering and dating each, until you ​start bleeding, then begin a new circle, placing the date you start bleeding next to the first square at the top.

LATHER, RINSE, AND REPEAT

​Since the length of your cycle can vary slightly from month to month, keep track of your cycle for at least 5 or 6 months initially in order to get an overall average of your cycle lengths.

FERTILITY AND FAMILY PLANNING

Intercourse during the first seven squares on the circle will have a very low likelihood of resulting in pregnancy. ​However, somewhere between squares 8 through 19 will be a fertile period of approximately 6 days, during which there is a higher likelihood of getting pregnant if you have unprotected intercourse. Here's how you can get a little bit closer to figuring out where your 6 days will fall each month using trackers.

Once you've tracked your cycle for 5 or 6 months, subtract 18 squares from the length of the shortest cycle tracked, starting from the last square and moving counter-clockwise. Highlight that square with a new color. 

Next, subtract 11 squares from the length of the longest cycle tracked and highlight that square as well. 

As long as there are no major changes to your cycle length in the coming months, the squares that fall in between these two squares will represent your most fertile period. Continue tracking each cycle. If the length of your cycle changes, count down the shortest and longest again to adjust your fertile period for the upcoming cycle. You might be surprised with what you find! Sometimes your period and your fertile period may even overlap, so YES, it is possible to get pregnant while on your period! 

Becoming more aware of your cycle can give you an idea of when to use additional birth control methods if you want to avoid pregnancy or help highlight the days during which you're more likely to conceive if you're hoping to start a family. Identifying the day you actually ovulate and the days that proceed and follow it when conception is actually possible is a more involved process.  It involves tracking your menstrual cycle as described above, combined with the Temperature Method where you take your temperature in the morning every day before you get out of bed and the Cervical Mucus Method where you check your cervical mucus (vaginal discharge) every day. We've included the icons in the center of the Period Fertility Tracking Stencil to make recording these types of details in your daily, weekly, or monthly spreads more enjoyable as well. 

LASTLY, PLEASE NOTE: NOT EVERYONE IS THE SAME
​This tracking technique is effective if your menstrual cycles are regularly between 26 and 32 days long. Determine if your cycles are in this range and whether they stay in this range first before you use a tracker like this for family planning purposes. If you have cycles outside this range, you should use a different family planning method ​to prevent pregnancy. It's also advisable to use more than one method of birth control at a time if you want to avoid becoming pregnant.