I'm so excited to welcome Rose Yewchuk back to the show! Rose and I recorded 2 previous episodes. Episode 002 and 003. If you haven’t had a chance to listen to them yet make sure to check them out! The previous episodes we recorded give a solid foundation especially if you’re just starting to learn and understand the Fertility Awareness Method (FAM)!

Rose is a certified Fertility Awareness educator, who trained with Justisse Healthworks for women as a Justisse Holistic Reproductive Health Practitioner. She has been charting her own cycles for over 16 years now, and she has a great wealth of information when it comes to fertility awareness!

In this episode, Rose and I delve right in and answer about 20 common questions about the Fertility Awareness Method. We gathered these questions from women who are currently charting and learning to chart their cycles. The questions we asked were: What part of the fertility awareness method are you struggling with understanding? What part is most confusing for you? And/or what question would you most want to ask a FAM educator? This episode is a great source of information for experienced charters, beginners and everyone in between and I think you'll really enjoy it!

Questions discussed in this episode

• I’m too lazy!! How can I make this work? How much work is actually involved in using the Fertility Awareness Method?
• Should I keep the predictor setting on my charting app?
• What are the reasons besides pregnancy that could make my period late?
• What does vaginal cell slough look like? Is it real? And how do I tell the difference between vaginal cell slough and cervical mucus?
• I do internal checks because I don’t see anything when I check externally, so how can I tell vaginal cell slough from cervical mucus?
• Should I be using what I see in my underwear as an observation?
• How do I tell the difference between slippery, smooth, and dry?
• How do I know how to categorize mucus on my app?
• How do I know whether I should mark my cervical mucus “creamy” or “sticky”?
• Is “watery” and “egg white” cervical mucus equally fertile?
• What is peak day? Is it the last day of my “most fertile” cervical mucus?
• What is G-type mucus? Can you see it?
• I don't really have "dry" days, it's always wet down there! Is that normal?
• How can you tell when ovulation happens?
• My temps rise 2-3 days AFTER my peak day. Is that normal?
• I work shift work, how can I make it work with my temperatures?
• Is it worth taking my temperature if I’m waking up in the afternoons some days? Should I even record those temps?
• Can I still use charting for birth control if I have irregular cycles, or if I have PCOS?
• I recently came off the pill, does that have an impact on my cervical mucus pattern?
• I wanted to ask if you had seen anyone receive help with menstrual migraines by charting? My symptoms always start 2-3 days before I start my period, but I don't get them every month
• Do I have to wean my baby if I want to get pregnant again?
• Can I successfully chart after I have my baby? I don’t want to go back on the pill

Connect with Rose!

You can connect with Rose on her website betterovulatethannever.com, and on Facebook and Twitter!

Resources mentioned

• Better Ovulate Than Never | Rose Yewchuk
• Justisse Healthworks for Women | Geraldine Matus
• The Seven Standards of Ecological Breastfeeding: The Frequency Factor | Sheila Kippley
• Ecological Breastfeeding | A Natural Approach to Child Spacing | Modern Alternative Mama
• Fertility Friday Podcast 002 | Fertility Awareness Method Cycle Charting | Rose Yewchuk
• Fertility Friday Podcast 003 |  Identifying Menstrual Irregularities with Fertility Awareness | Special Charting Considerations | Rose Yewchuk
• Fertility Friday Podcast 014 | What does a Healthy Menstrual Cycle look like? | The Menstrual Cycle as the 5th Vital Sign | Colleen Flowers

Music Credit: Intro/Outro music Produced by Sirc of (The Nock)

Colleen Flowers is a Fertility Awareness Educator who loves teaching women and couples about their reproductive health from a holistic perspective. Colleen graduated as a Justisse Holistic Reproductive Health Practitioner in 2012 and she has been working tirelessly in this field ever since! Colleen founded Flowers Fertility in 2011 where she teaches classes and offers private consultations so that women can better-understand fertility awareness charting, and improve their chances of conceiving or avoid pregnancy naturally.

In today's episode, we talk about the menstrual cycle. Colleen takes us through the parameters of a healthy menstrual cycle, and why it is important to chart your menstrual cycles not only for birth control and conception but also for overall health and screening for potentially serious illnesses. Colleen talks about what to look for in a healthy cycle, how to know if your cycles are out of the normal range, and when to seek support from a health practitioner if you have concerns about your menstrual cycle.

Topics discussed in this episode

• What is the Fertility Awareness Method? And how is it different to the Rhythm Method?
• What is the difference between calculation-based birth control methods and observational birth control methods?
• What is the main ideological difference between Natural Family Planning and the Fertility Awareness Method?
• What are the parameters of a normal and healthy menstrual cycle?
• How do these parameters change depending on a woman's age, and her stage of life?
• What does a normal menstrual period look like in terms of color, quantity, and frequency?
• How much variation is normal in the length of your menstrual cycle?
• Is it possible that your menstrual cycles are "normal" even if they aren't always 28 days long?
• What is a vital sign? And why do some practitioners consider menstruation to be the 5th vital sign?
• How does monitoring your menstrual cycle help you to gauge your overall health?
• How does the pill prevent pregnancy?
• How long does it take a teenage girl's menstrual cycles to mature?
• Why hormonal contraceptives can actually prevent a young woman's menstrual cycle from developing normally

Connect with Colleen!

You can connect with Colleen on her website fertilityflowers.com and on Facebook!

Resources mentioned

• Flowers Fertility | Colleen Flowers 
• Gynecological Cancer Symptoms | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• The Center for Menstrual Cycle and Ovulation Research | Jerilynn Prior
• The NaPro Technology Revolution: Unleashing the Power in a Woman's Cycle | Dr. Thomas W. Hilgers
• Can we Achieve International Agreement on Terminologies and Definitions used to describe Abnormalities of Menstrual Bleeding | Fraser IS, Chritchley HO, Munroe MG, Broder M
• Justisse Healthworks for Women | Geraldine Matus

Music Credit: Intro/Outro music Produced by Sirc of (The Nock)

I'm happy to welcome Justina Thompson to the Fertility Friday Podcast today! Justina is a certified Fertility Awareness Educator and the founder of RedCoralFertility.com. As an educator, she connects women with a deeper knowledge about their bodies and teaches women how to use the Fertility Awareness Method for birth control, to optimize their chances of conception, and to improve menstrual cycle health overall.

In today's episode, we talk about the Fertility Awareness Method, and why it is important for women to know they have a natural, non-hormonal birth control option that is 99.6% effective when used correctly. We talk about some of the most common side effects of the birth control pill although they may not be what you think. We talk about why the Fertility Awareness Method is an extremely effective and reliable method of birth control even for women who have "irregular" cycles. We also talk about how the Fertility Awareness Method can be used effectively during the post-partum period when a woman is breastfeeding.

Topics discussed in this episode

• How Justina overcame her own skepticism about the Fertility Awareness Method and became confident in using it for birth control
• How does the Fertility Awareness Method work? What are the basics?
• How the Fertility Awareness Method allows you to identify whether you are fertile or not each day
• What are some of the most common side effects of the birth control pill? And why is the pill the last thing you would even consider to be causing them?
• Why women who have "irregular" cycles can use the Fertility Awareness Method just as effectively as everyone else
• Why your cycle may not be "irregular" even if it isn't exactly 28 days every time
• Why it is possible to use the Fertility Awareness Method effectively when breastfeeding
• How cycle charting when breastfeeding is different to regular charting
• How to successfully transition from the pill to the Fertility Awareness Method even if you are skeptical of the method's effectiveness

Connect with Justina!

You can connect with Justina on her website redcoralfertility.com and on Facebook and Twitter!

Resources mentioned

• Red Coral Fertility | Justina Thompson
• Get your free 15-minute consultation with Justina here!
• Grace of the Moon | Sara Bly

Music Credit: Intro/Outro music Produced by Sirc of (The Nock)

Laura Schoenfeld is a Registered Dietitian who also has her Masters in Public Health Nutrition. Laura is the founder of AncestralizeMe.com and is passionate about making traditional diets healthful and accessible for all her clients. You may know Laura from the work that she’s done with Chris Kresser. Laura encourages the use of an ancestral diet to achieve optimal health and wellness. She is passionate about increasing the awareness of the benefits of high-quality fat and properly-raised animal products in the diet, as well as eliminating industrial foods like polyunsaturated vegetable oils and refined grains. She believes that the same health and nutrition principles that apply to avoiding chronic disease can be applied to supporting overall health, beauty, and fitness.

Today we talk about the importance of incorporating enough saturated fat into our diets especially when trying to restore and improve fertility after coming off oral contraceptives. We talk about Post-Birth Control Syndrome, why it can take several months to a year and beyond for a woman's period to return after coming off the pill, and what dietary changes can help our bodies to restore our fertility sooner. Laura discusses the specific nutrients that are often depleted from the body as a result of taking the pill, and how we can work towards restoring these nutrients, especially when planning for pregnancy.

Topics discussed in this episode

• What is an ancestral diet? And how is it different to the traditional North American diet that most of us eat?
• Why saturated fat is important for fertility and hormone balance
• What is the difference between saturated fat, monounsaturated fat, and polyunsaturated fat?
• How polyunsaturated fats cause inflammation in the body, and why it is better to use saturated fats for cooking
• What is Post-Birth Control Syndrome?
• How long can it take for your period to return after going off the pill?
• What are some of the key nutrients that the birth control pill depletes from our bodies?
• How can we replenish our bodies with these nutrients with food and through supplementation?
• What are some of the ways we can prepare our bodies for pregnancy with nutrition?
• Special considerations for vegetarians and vegans when coming off the pill
• What is the difference between folate and folic acid?
• Why getting nutrients from food can have a greater impact on your health, and the importance of getting high-quality supplements when supplementation is necessary
• Why you should probably consider eating liver even if you hate it!

Connect with Laura!

You can connect with Laura on her blog AncestralizeMe, her website, her podcast The Ancestral RDs, and on Facebook and Twitter!

Resources mentioned

• Ancestralize Me | Laura Schoenfeld
• Laura Schoenfeld | Holistic Nutritionist in Raleigh NC
• Get Your Period Back: 5 Tips for Recovering from Post Birth Control Syndrome | Laura Schoenfeld
• Hate Liver? Eat it Anyways with These Tips | Laura Schoenfeld
• The Ancestral RDs Podcast | Laura Schoenfeld & Kelsey Marksteiner
• Is it Safe to Cook with Olive Oil? | Kelsey Marksteiner
• Listen to Chris Kresser's Podcast with guest Chris Masterjohn | Cholesterol & Heart Disease
• Chris Masterjohn | The Daily Lipid

Music Credit: Intro/Outro music Produced by Sirc of (The Nock)