Hi Stella. Keeping track of your period is a great thing to do to get to know your body better. Women get pregnant when they are ovulating, which usually happens mid-cycle. I understand why you could get confused, especially if your period isn't absolutely reliable in terms of an exact # of days per cycle (my cycle isn't like clockwork: it'll go for 23 days one month and for 31 the next month). The good news is that even if your cycle isn't exactly the same month-to-month (which is totally normal!), you can learn to pay attention to the clues that your body gives about when you are and aren't fertile, meaning when you can and can't get pregnant...
So. What I would recommend right now is that you use condoms with your current partner/s and take a few months to really get to know your body and what you notice about when you're ovulating and when you're not.
The main things that you'll need to do are: Chart your period
Take your basal body temperature every day (which means taking your temperature every morning RIGHT when you wake up and keeping track of "spikes" in the temperature), and monitor your cervical mucous, which isn't for the squeamish...
To make it easier, there are some simple online tools to help you keep up with your periods and ovulation: WebMd's online ovulation calculator
and Monthly Info, which is my personal favorite and something that I use. It's great because it charts your cycle for you, you can plug in your basal body temperature, keep notes on certain days, and keep track of where you are in your cycle.
If you have an iPod Touch or an iPhone, you could also try iPeriod, which I also use and like a lot--it has a lot of other features including the ones that MonthlyInfo has.
Hope this helps. I know it's a lot of information, but fertility awareness can be a really cool process. Keep in mind that this isn't the most effective (it's about 75%-88% effective) of all the birth control options, but it definitely helps you pay attention to your body!
Great information Anna!
Stella, instead of counting, which is not the best way to avoid getting pregnant why don't you consider birth control? Women find that they can even enjoy sex more when they are on birth control because they don't have to worry about pregnancy. The oral birth control available now has a very low dose of hormones and many women love it. If you want an alternative, I'd avoid your fertile days and use a condom and/or cervical cap (which works sort of like a small diaphram) on others.
I think that it's really important to remember that condoms are the only birth control option that offer protection against sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. You may not be concerned about this if you are in a monogamous relationship, you and your partner have been tested, etc - but I just have to put it out there.
Hi Stella. Keeping track of your period is a great thing to do to get to know your body better. Women get pregnant when they are ovulating, which usually happens mid-cycle. I understand why you could get confused, especially if your period isn't absolutely reliable in terms of an exact # of days per cycle (my cycle isn't like clockwork: it'll go for 23 days one month and for 31 the next month). The good news is that even if your cycle isn't exactly the same month-to-month (which is totally normal!), you can learn to pay attention to the clues that your body gives about when you are and aren't fertile, meaning when you can and can't get pregnant...
So. What I would recommend right now is that you use condoms with your current partner/s and take a few months to really get to know your body and what you notice about when you're ovulating and when you're not.
The main things that you'll need to do are:
Chart your period
Take your basal body temperature every day (which means taking your temperature every morning RIGHT when you wake up and keeping track of "spikes" in the temperature), and
monitor your cervical mucous, which isn't for the squeamish...
To make it easier, there are some simple online tools to help you keep up with your periods and ovulation:
WebMd's online ovulation calculator
and Monthly Info, which is my personal favorite and something that I use. It's great because it charts your cycle for you, you can plug in your basal body temperature, keep notes on certain days, and keep track of where you are in your cycle.
If you have an iPod Touch or an iPhone, you could also try iPeriod, which I also use and like a lot--it has a lot of other features including the ones that MonthlyInfo has.
Hope this helps. I know it's a lot of information, but fertility awareness can be a really cool process. Keep in mind that this isn't the most effective (it's about 75%-88% effective) of all the birth control options, but it definitely helps you pay attention to your body!
Great information Anna!
Stella, instead of counting, which is not the best way to avoid getting pregnant why don't you consider birth control? Women find that they can even enjoy sex more when they are on birth control because they don't have to worry about pregnancy. The oral birth control available now has a very low dose of hormones and many women love it. If you want an alternative, I'd avoid your fertile days and use a condom and/or cervical cap (which works sort of like a small diaphram) on others.
I think that it's really important to remember that condoms are the only birth control option that offer protection against sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. You may not be concerned about this if you are in a monogamous relationship, you and your partner have been tested, etc - but I just have to put it out there.