Page 36 - summer2016

FASCINATING FERTILITY FACTS

• It’s normal for women in the transition to menopause and young teens to have variable cycle lengths. This is not
a disease and women, young teens included, should not be go on the birth control pill for this normal variability.

• On rare occasions women can ovulate but not show a temperature shift on the fertility chart.

• Occasionally women who do not ovulate will show a temperature shift on their charts. This seems to be due to
a phenomenon known as a luteinized unruptured follicle (LUF), whereby a developing follicle begins releasing
progesterone but does not release an egg.

• Many women can feel or sense the start of mucus before actually seeing it. This is caused by the ability of nerve
receptors on the inner labia (at the vulva) to detect the presence of much smaller quantities of mucus (up to 8
times less) than what it takes to see mucus.

• Blind women can practice NFP as successfully as sighted women; they focus on their sensations, which provides
sufficient information for interpreting their mucus sign.

• Infertile patterns of discharge may occur in healthy fertility cycles of less than thirty-five days, in long cycles, and
in transition times (that is, postpartum and premenopause) and are considered normal. There are multiple types
of infertile patterns. This knowledge is available, thanks to the late Professor James Brown (Australia).

• Couples using a sympto-thermal method of NFP are not taught about all the possible infertile patterns of discharge
that could occur. If these couples have any of these infertile patterns and wish to avoid pregnancy, they will experi-
ence unnecessary extra abstinence.

• A woman’s mucus pattern directly correlates to her hormonal pattern. Observing mucus therefore enables a woman
to understand what her hormones are doing, thanks to Professor Brown.

• Professor Brown also developed a highly sensitive and accurate home ovarian monitor that measures urinary me-
tabolites of estrogen and progesterone to detect the onset and end of the fertile times. The only drawbacks are
the cost of the monitor and the testing protocol. Look for refinements with a more user-friendly protocol in the
future.

• Not all bleeding episodes are menstruations. Normal bleeding episodes can be divided into the following catego-
ries:
Menstruation
Implantation bleed
Withdrawal bleed
Breakthrough bleed

• A pregnant woman can accurately predict her baby’s due date. Only one catch: she needs to observe her fertility
signs!

• Dr. Erik Odeblad of Sweden has identified and named the major types and subtypes of cervical mucus produced
in the cervix and has discovered their functions. He predicts that more will come to light. Also to his credit are
the expanded explanations of the workings of the Pockets of Shaw in the vaginal walls, and the response of the
vaginal epithelial cells to sex hormones. Dr. Odeblad has discovered that not all mucus is a sign of fertility, which
supports part of Professor Brown’s discovery of different infertile patterns of discharge.

• In premenopause transition charts I have occasionally observed no temperature rise until six days after Peak Day,
which is a sign that those cycles are infertile.

36 Wise Traditions SUMMER 2016 Wise Traditions