An article by the Danish journalist Loeka Schopenhouer

In the previous two articles, ‘’It’s about bloody time – a brief look at history and periods’’ and ‘’ A Quick Guide to Cervical Fluid’’ I addressed a need for more knowledge about our bodies reproductive systems and make a start with sharing some bits of information, this small guide builds on the topics of the two preceding articles.

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor. This writing is based on my own learning and experiences and meta-analysis of research. If you think you have an infections, disease or other health problem related to reproductive health: go to your doctor or a trusted practitioner. Although ultimately, I don’t want to be depend on a doctor that doesn’t take me seriously, until we have built up sufficient capacity in self-organized health structures, this is what we are dealing with.

Cervical fluid, the main topic of the previous article, is an important indicator of fertility and the stage of the menstrual cycle. However, you can not really look at it separately from (basal) body temperature and cervical position. When observing two or three of these fertility signs at the same time, it allows you to compare them and connect the dots.

Basal body temperature

In most people body temperature undergoes a distinct change during the menstrual cycle. Although the change is not big, typically not more than 0.5 to 1 degree, a pattern in temperature changes is quite apparent. Temperature also changes throughout the day, based on activity, nutrition, stress, etc. That is where the ‘’basal’’ part of basal body temperature comes in. Basal body temperature indicates the body temperature in rest. It is usually taken immediately after waking up, since the body has had hours of rest then. This creates stability in the measurements, which means that the temperatures taken right after waking up are relatively reliable if you are trying to compare temperatures from different days.

Hormones and temperature

Body temperature changes under the influence of hormones. Estogren keeps the body temperature down whereas progesterone heightens the body temperature. After ovulation the concentration of progesterone in the body increase, and so does the body temperature. The temperature tends to go up within a day of ovulation. A raised body temperature, right after the day(s) when you are expecting to ovulate, is a kind of confirmation that ovulation happened. When ovulation does not happen, the body temperature does not go up because there is no increase in progesterone. A cycle without ovulation is also called an anovulatory cycle. We will come back to this later.

Body temperature varies from person to person, but it tends to be between 36 and 37 degrees Celsius. The changes are usually quite small, but also relatively easy to observe when taking the body temperature every morning. They will differ day to day, but overall there is usually a clear pattern over the course of a month.

Observation

If you want to track your body temperature there are some specifics to think about.

• You will need a thermometer, specific to at least 0.1 degree.
• Take your temperature first thing in the morning, before getting up, before peeing, before drinking water. It should be the very first thing. This because then there is more stability in the measurements, and they are easier to compare over different days.
• Ideally you take your temperature at the same time every morning. Give or take an hour, but it is most reliable if you have a regular rhythm in your sleeping and waking times.

Temperatures can be influenced, and become unreliable by external factors such as alcohol consumption, jetlag, sleep deprivation, night work and fever and illness.

Anovulatory cycles

A cycle without ovulation is an anovulatory cycle. Most people still bleed even though ovulation did not happen, this bleeding is technically not a period by an anovulatory bleeding. This means no egg is release during this cycle. It is quite common to occasionally have an anovulatory cycle, for example due to temporary stress, travel, changing routines or illness. Having an anovulatory cycle every once in a while, is not a reason to worry. If anovulatory cycles are more the rule rather than the exception it is worth having a closer look at why that is. There can be many reasons for this again, long-term illness, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), endometriosis, hypothyroidism, excessive prolactin (often when breastfeeding) or Primary Ovarian Insufficiency (POI). If you experience anovulatory cycles for extend periods of time, go to your doctor and check in on it. By keeping an eye on your fertility signs you will be able to identify any such problems relatively early on most of the time and be able to take action together with your doctor, if needed.

Cervical position

The cervix is the end of the uterus that extends into the vagina. With the increase of estrogen leading up to ovulation the position and characteristics of the cervix changes. The changes occur to increase the chances of sperm being successful in making their way through the cervix to the uterus and then the ovaries. Most of the cycle the cervix is quite low in the vagina, firm to touch and not every wet, the opening in the cervix to the uterus tends to be quite closed, but this also on if you have given birth before or not. When approaching ovulation, the cervix becomes softer, more wet (with cervical fluid), it tends to position itself a little higher up in the vagina and the opening in the cervix will be more open.

You can check the cervical position most easily in a squatting position. Make sure you have clean hands and trimmed fingernails when doing so. It can be most convenient to do this while in the shower. It can take some practice to feel the differences in softness, height, openness and wetness. If you check up on the cervical position through out the cycle you will learn to identify the differences bit by bit. If you start regularly observing the cervix, you might feel some little bumps on the cervix, these are Nabothian cysts, they are not a cause for concern and tends to come and go without treatment.

By getting to know our bodies better, we can take charge over our gynaecological health and will be in a better position to make informed decision about how we want to treat our body, what medicine or hormones we want to take, what birth control suits us, what treatment we want in case of disease, etc. We can learn what is normal to our specific body, and with that learn what is unconventional to us. Knowing your normal can be helpful in conversation with a doctor as well, since they often go from a ‘’standard’’ that is inaccurate for many people. This can help avoid confusion, stress and worries. More knowledge about our bodies can help us build autonomy and resilience, because knowing our bodies better will enable us to take care of them better. Learn about your body and bodies different from yours, explore it, share with each other, have fun with it.