Do You Have A Conceivable Cycle?
What is a Conceivable Cycle? And do you have one? The first step to discovering this is to take your body basal temperature (BBT) and note it down on a chart. Most people take their temperature as a way to see when they ovulate, but did you know that your BBT chart shows way more than just ovulation?
Your BBT chart holds the key to understanding your cycle.
And your cycle is one of the most important parts of your fertility.
A Conceivable Cycle is a fertile cycle where ovulation, fertilisation and implantation occur at the right times and in the right conditions for a healthy pregnancy. It's where your oestrogen, LH, progesterone, thyroid and immune system are all well balanced. Amazingly, we can see all of these things on your BBT chart!
When you learn to read your BBT chart you'll be able to see if you have a problem with your hormones.
As you understand more about your cycle, think of yourself as a fertility detective. Each piece of information is like a clue in a case that will help you solve your fertility puzzle. When you learn about the Conceivable Cycle it will help you to feel empowered to identify what is missing, understand your hormones better and notice your fertile signs.
It's incredibly motivating when you see your fertile signs improving and your cycle getting closer to a Conceivable Cycle. It means that you're on the path to pregnancy.
A Conceivable Cycle
If you want to get pregnant, then one way to figure out why you’re not and what to do about it is to understand your cycle better.
I teach women what a Conceivable Cycle looks like, analyse their cycles and see what is missing. Next, we work out the exact steps they need to improve each part of their cycle and help them to get closer to a Conceivable Cycle.
The Conceivable Cycle shows up as a specific pattern on your chart and is made up of many factors that show your hormones are well-balanced:
1. Fixed Cycle
A fixed cycle means it is always 26 days, or always 30 days. If your cycle varies and it's 26 days one month and then 30 the next, then this variability shows an imbalance that needs regulating to make it the same each month.
2. 26-30 Days
A Conceivable Cycle is between 26 and 30 days. Ideally, you want a 28-day cycle, but it's fine to have a fixed cycle that varies between 26 and 30 days.
3. Perfect Period
A Perfect Period is when your period arrives and passes without causing discomfort, pain or changes in mood. The blood is bright red and fresh with no clots. It lasts for 4-5 days. There is no spotting, which means it has a clear start and end.
4. Follicular Phase
The first half of your cycle is the follicular phase, where oestrogen is dominant. On day 1 of your cycle (or the day before) your temperature drops to its base level, which should be between 36.2-36.5°C or 97.2-97.7°F. Ideally, you want a temperature around 36.5°C or 97.7°F.
It's important that your temperature is stable and doesn't rise and fall too dramatically. For optimum fertility, you only want a 0.2°C or 0.3°F change in temperature throughout this phase and up until ovulation.
5. Before Ovulation
Before ovulation, you want to see at least one day of egg-white cervical fluid. It looks like it sounds and is see-through and stretchy like egg whites. Sometimes you might get several days of this and other months only a few hours.
6. Ovulation
High levels of oestrogen stimulate a surge in LH, which matures the egg and creates ovulation. Sometimes there is a dip in temperature just before ovulation, but this is not always measured. Around day 14 there should be a rise in temperature of 0.2°C and sustained higher temperatures for three days afterwards to confirm ovulation. When you've ovulated, your cervical fluid will change consistency and not be stretchy anymore.
7. Luteal Phase
The second half of your cycle is the luteal phase where progesterone is dominant. The actual temperature of the luteal phase is less important than the difference in temperatures between the follicular and the luteal phase, which needs to be at least 0.2°C. Luteal phase temperatures can range between 36.6-37.0°C or 97.9-98.6°F.
Normally the average luteal temperature is around 36.7°C or 98.1°F. To achieve a Conceivable Cycle your temperature needs to stay high for at least 10 days (preferably 12-14 days) for the egg to implant and pregnancy to occur. At the end of the cycle on day 27 or 28 (in a 28-day cycle) if there is no pregnancy, then the temperature will drop to 36.5°C or 97.7°F and the period will start.
Conceivable Cycle Checklist
Fixed cycle.
26-30 days.
Perfect Period - bright red blood, no spotting, no clots, no pain and no other changes.
Follicular phase - stable temperatures between 36.2-36.5°C or 97.2-97.7°F.
Before ovulation - Egg-white stretchy cervical fluid.
Ovulation - temperature might dip and then suddenly rise. Ovulation is confirmed by a rise of temperature of at least 0.2°C.
Luteal phase - stable temperatures between 36.6-37.0°C or 97.9-98.6°F, that stays high for at least 10 days for the egg to implant (preferably 12-14 days).
No Conceivable Cycle
If you don’t have a Conceivable Cycle, then it can stop you from getting pregnant.
You might have a short follicular phase and ovulate too early. This means that your egg may not be mature enough to make a healthy baby.
Perhaps your temperatures are low in your luteal phase, which indicates your progesterone could be too low to maintain a pregnancy.
Maybe you have a lot of stress (let's face it who doesn't when they're struggling to get pregnant). This means that cortisol is running the show and stopping your sex hormones production. Stress shows up on your chart with lots of fluctuations and spikes and can happen in the follicular, luteal or both phases of your cycle.
Your general temperatures could be too high, which would indicate too much heat, inflammation or immune issues. Or they could be too low, which would suggest that you have a thyroid problem.
Next Steps To Getting A Conceivable Cycle
Now you know what a Conceivable Cycle is, you can be a fertility detective and get clearer on what is missing or out of balance. It gives you information each month that can help you work out why you're not getting pregnant.