Some NFP charting questions!

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Caliban

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Hiya! Any veteran NFP users out there? I’m wondering if you can help me get through this first month if charting.

So the book says you should start recording mucus on day 5 of your period…

My question is, how can you figure out if there’s any mucus mixed in down there if your period is still going strong? Aside from the fact that it’s also bloody, my discharge right now is gooey and stretchy just like mucus.

And then how am I supposed to record sensations? During my period, the sensation I feel is always wet/slippery… But I don’t think that means I’m fertile, lol. Should I mark it that way anyway?

My period usually goes strong for at least six days before it lessens…

I’m doing the home study course, so I hope to have someone check my charts soon. (:
 
Caliban said:
So the book says you should start recording mucus on day 5 of your period…

My question is, how can you figure out if there’s any mucus mixed in down there if your period is still going strong? Aside from the fact that it’s also bloody, my discharge right now is gooey and stretchy just like mucus.

And then how am I supposed to record sensations? During my period, the sensation I feel is always wet/slippery… But I don’t think that means I’m fertile, lol. Should I mark it that way anyway?

My period usually goes strong for at least six days before it lessens…

I’m doing the home study course, so I hope to have someone check my charts soon. (:
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I’m no expert, but my understanding is that mucus observations prior to end of period are not useful.

It is normally suggested that Temperature measurements be started on Day 5 of period.
 
As Rau said, mucus observations before the end of the period are not considered useful/reliable. The Billings method, as an example, calls for abstinence during the period because you cannot reliably detect mucus and so may be at risk during this time.

Over time you may come to the conclusion that your cycle is regular enough to know it’s extremely unlikely to have mucus that early, but the inherent risk will always be there. We have one child who is likely a result of taking such a risk.

PS I’m a dude, so just relaying the experiences of my wife and me as a couple. I can’t comment on the specifics of the sensations.
 
You don’t say what method you are using, but if you are using Creighton model, period days are considered days you should not use because you could be producing peak mucus without realizing it.
 
You learn something every day! I would never have imagined that sex during a period could produce pregnancy! I assume that suggests the cycle is quite out of whack in that case?
 
Rau said:
You learn something every day! I would never have imagined that sex during a period could produce pregnancy! I assume that suggests the cycle is quite out of whack in that case?
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I believe it’s essentially impossible at the start of the period, but later in the period a woman can already be generating mucus that will keep sperm viable until ovulation, but due to the bleeding it’s hard to detect. Yes, in this case the cycle would be out of whack if there is usually a nice gap between bleeding and mucus. Unfortunately, you can’t know this until it’s already too late - just another one of the challenges of NFP.

Some methods are a little bit more allowing in this regard, but basically NFP prior to detecting ovulation is all about risk management. There is always the inherent risk of a short cycle in which mucus is generated while the period is still finishing up. If you definitely don’t want a pregancy, you should avoid during this time. If you sort of don’t want a pregancy, but would cope if one came, you may decide to take the risk.
 
Sorry, I’m trying to learn the sympto-thermal method that the Couple to Couple League teaches. I’m working my way through the home study course.

The book seems to indicate it is important to record mucus at cycle day 5, even if your period’s happening - or earlier, as soon as your period lessens - but I just don’t know how that works practically. Guess I’ll just keep taking my temperature and try to get a better picture of my cycle throughout the month.

Seriously, in the back, there are exercises to figure out why accidental pregnancies happened by looking at charts. One of the answers is that they didn’t record mucus signs at cycle day 5. But how??? Sigh.
 
rau said:

“You learn something every day! I would never have imagined that sex during a period could produce pregnancy! I assume that suggests the cycle is quite out of whack in that case?”

Yes–a super short cycle can have that effect.

underacloud said:

“Over time you may come to the conclusion that your cycle is regular enough to know it’s extremely unlikely to have mucus that early, but the inherent risk will always be there. We have one child who is likely a result of taking such a risk.”

Yes–it’s one of those things where once you have a long enough track record, you may feel comfortable with that level of risk. When cycles are odd or during certain disturbed times (after a miscarriage or coming off breastfeeding or perhaps during perimenopause), the level of risk is higher.

We have one absolutely amazing kid who was conceived via Day 7 relations with ovulation on Day 14. That was rather surprising and since then we do not go further than Day 6 during Phase 1 unless we are attempting to conceive.

And so as not to scare the OP with NFP failure stories, I should add that we’ve had a grand total of 4 pregnancies (with 3 live births and one late miscarriage) over the course of 15 years.
 
Caliban said:

“The book seems to indicate it is of VERY importance to record mucus at cycle day 5, even if your period’s happening - or earlier, as soon as your period lessens - but I just don’t know how that works practically. Guess I’ll just keep taking my temperature and try to get a better picture of my cycle throughout the month.”

If you are still bleeding on Day 6, it seems to me that that advice about recording mucus probably does not apply to you.

“Seriously, in the back, there are exercises to figure out why accidental pregnancies happened by looking at charts. One of the answers is that they didn’t record mucus signs at cycle day 5.”

I think that chart should have been stamped ACT OF GOD.
 
underacloud said:

“Some methods are a little bit more allowing in this regard, but basically NFP prior to detecting ovulation is all about risk management. There is always the inherent risk of a short cycle in which mucus is generated while the period is still finishing up. If you definitely don’t want a pregancy, you should avoid during this time. If you sort of don’t want a pregancy, but would cope if one came, you may decide to take the risk.”

I totally agree. The problem is that our friend Mr. Sperm can live a surprisingly long time while at the same time, changes in mucus can come surprisingly rapidly, so there’s always at least some inherent risk of pregnancy in Phase 1.
 
Allegra said:
You don’t say what method you are using, but if you are using Creighton model, period days are considered days you should not use because you could be producing peak mucus without realizing it.
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I don’t know that it matters which method.

Don’t all of them say you could be fertile during bleeding?

I know STM does. And now Creighton does.
 
maryjk said:
I don’t know that it matters which method.

Don’t all of them say you could be fertile during bleeding?

I know STM does. And now Creighton does.
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I don’t know about the other methods, so I couldn’t say. However, it makes alot of sense if they do.
 
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