Lena’s Natural Fertility Journey
My introduction to Fertility Awareness
When I was young, I began taking the oral contraceptive pill. No matter which one I tried, I always ended up feeling a little flat with mood changes and experienced weight gain. Over 5 years I tried several different combined oral contraceptive pills and a mini pill – but none of them worked for me.
My experience with the pill had left me feeling defeated, and I needed to find a solution that worked well with my body. At that time I was studying a Bachelor in Applied Health, majoring in Natural Medicine. Late one night while studying for tests, I found myself distracted and googling Natural Fertility. My eldest sister had recently been taught the Sympto-thermal Method by a North Island Educator and I was intrigued to know more. Incidentally my other older sister was going through the process of trying to conceive around this time – so family planning in general was a hot topic amongst my sisters and I.
I was curious about my own natural cycle and fertility, as I was in a long-term relationship and wanted children in the future. As a student practitioner, I was seeing a lot of patients who were having difficulty conceiving and had very little understanding of their fertility, so I was determined to explore this more for both myself, and for those who I was working with in clinic.
I stumbled upon Natural Fertility NZ’s website late one night and sent them an enquiry. At that time they didn’t have any educators in Southland, and asked if I would be interested in a scholarship to train with them to become a Natural Fertility Educator myself. Without any hesitation, I accepted, and studied under a wonderful team of clinical supervisors.
How I learnt the Sympto-thermal Method
After accepting my scholarship, I completed my training to become a Fertility Educator over about 12 months and became a fully fledged Accredited Educator. I was able to put into practice the Sympto-thermal Method as I was learning it, which resulted in a deep understanding of the method and the realities of learning and practicing it successfully. It was amazing to be able to sit down and look at my cycle from start to finish, see if and when I ovulated, how my cervical mucus changed from infertile to fertile and then back to infertile and calculate how long my luteal length was. I found the whole process both empowering and fascinating.
It was not always easy, especially at the start when it was new and I was still learning. It took time to get the hang of interpreting my cycle and determination to make sure I recorded all of the necessary information. Once I had recorded and interpreted a few cycles, it got really easy and I happily used this method to avoid pregnancy for many of my early fertile years.
The knowledge the method has given me has also helped me to monitor my overall health, as things like stress impact on my signs of fertility and I notice changes like breast tenderness, pms etc that was unusual for me. During times of significant stress in my life such as when my father was passing away from cancer, I noticed ovulation shifted, which was due to the severe stress that disrupted my nutrition and sleep.
There is another little perk to practicing Fertility Awareness throughout my reproductive years, and that is – I know what to look out for as I transition through peri-menopause. While each woman will have their own experience, knowing what my normal is, and being in tune with my signs of fertility, I will be able to navigate the changes with confidence.
How Fertility Awareness helped me to get pregnant, and supported breastfeeding
After using the Sympto-thermal Method for around 6 years to avoid pregnancy, the time came to start trying for a baby. We appreciated that we had all this fertility knowledge to tap into and could flip the method to time baby making sex during our most fertile time. This resulted in a gorgeous, big, bouncy baby girl who was nearly 10 pounds and cute as a button. Although I failed to crack the maths on when she would be due, and her original due date was Christmas Day! Luckily she stayed in there a fair bit longer and we made it into January.
After giving birth, I then started using the Lactational Amenorrhea Method (LAM) of Natural Fertility Awareness. This is a separate method that supports breastfeeding in the first 6 months after birth, and tracks your return to fertility during the breastfeeding stage. My cycle returned very quickly, even while breastfeeding fully and on demand – so for me the LAM method was quite a brief period of time!
I am so grateful to have had a thorough understanding of how breastfeeding impacts on fertility, as I was able to detect my return to fertility and take the necessary precautions to avoid getting pregnant. Once my cycles had returned I went back to practicing the Symtpo-thermal Method until we had baby #2 (slightly smaller thank goodness!). Then once again I utilized LAM, and then went back to the Sympto-thermal Method once my fertility had returned.
Our reproductive cycle is a significant factor for a large portion of our lives, and to have the tools to navigate it with confidence has been such a pleasure and something I am really grateful for.
~ Lena Wells, President of Natural Fertility NZ
Learn Fertility Awareness with Lena:
Contact: (03) 214 0350
Email: windsorpractitioner@gmail.com
Website: http://www.windsorhealth.co.nz