Trying to Conceive Using a Fertility Calendar When Trying to Conceive By Rachel Gurevich, RN Rachel Gurevich, RN Facebook LinkedIn Twitter Rachel Gurevich is a fertility advocate, author, and recipient of The Hope Award for Achievement, from Resolve: The National Infertility Association. She is a professional member of the Association of Health Care Journalists and has been writing about women’s health since 2001. Rachel uses her own experiences with infertility to write compassionate, practical, and supportive articles. Learn about our editorial process Updated on October 15, 2020 Medically reviewed Verywell Family articles are reviewed by board-certified physicians and family healthcare professionals. Medical Reviewers confirm the content is thorough and accurate, reflecting the latest evidence-based research. Content is reviewed before publication and upon substantial updates. Learn more. by Leyla Bilali, RN Medically reviewed by Leyla Bilali, RN Leyla Bilali, RN is a registered nurse, fertility nurse, and fertility consultant in the New York City area. She works in house at a reputable private clinic in New York City while also seeing her own clients through her concierge fertility consulting and nursing services business. Learn about our Medical Review Board Print Vstock LLC / Getty Images Keeping a fertility calendar or fertility chart allows you to record your menstrual cycles and fertility signs. Some people think fertility calendars are only for those charting their body basal temperature (BBT), but that isn’t necessarily so. Fertility calendars can be as simple or as detailed as you like. What form your fertility calendar will take depends on what fertility signs you are tracking. If you’re going to track your BBT, then you’ll need a graph style chart, which you can make by hand, with computer software, or by signing up with one of many online fertility charting websites. If you’re not tracking your temperature, you can use a wall calendar or a pocketbook calendar. There are also apps available if you want to track your fertility signs using a smartphone. You can choose the method that fits your personality and lifestyle best. Why You Should Keep a Fertility Calendar Tracking your fertility signs and menstrual cycles when you’re trying to conceive can help you pinpoint your most fertile days. If you chart your BBT, you can find out when you actually ovulate, which can help you time sex for pregnancy in future months. Keeping a BBT fertility calendar can also help you discover if your ovulation is not normal. If you are not ovulating, or you notice anything unusual about your ovulation period, you can show the information you have gathered with your fertility calendar to your doctor. She can use this information to help you. What Is Ovulation? Plus, while doctors usually suggest trying to conceive for a year (for women under 35) before seeking help, if you can show your doctor that you have timed intercourse for ovulation for six months already, they may be willing to investigate earlier. A fertility calendar can also confirm whether or not your period is late, which is important to know if you’re itching to take a pregnancy test. Another reason to track fertility signs is to help plan your month. If your cycles are regular, tracking when your last period was will help you know when to expect your next one. If you or your partner is out of town on business, and you’re trying to conceive, you can try to plan trips to occur after ovulation. A fertility calendar can also serve as a reality check. Maybe you feel like you’re having sex every other day, but when you start tracking things, you might notice you’re having conception sex just once a week. Then, you can adjust what you’re doing to help boost your chances of conception. Fertility Signs You Can Track With a Fertility Calendar You can track as little or as much as you like on a fertility calendar. At the very least, you should track the first day of your periods. This will help you see if your cycles are regular or irregular, and help you figure out when to test for pregnancy. Of course, tracking more fertility signs will help you detect your fertile window — the time sex is most likely to lead to pregnancy. Tracking more than the bare minimum can also help your doctor if you need help with trying to conceive. Fertility signs you may want to track include: Your body basal temperature Your cervical mucus Your cervical changes Your ovulation predictor kit results (both negatives, positives, and not-sure results) Saliva ferning test results Your sexual mood (yes, feeling sexy or “in the mood” is an ovulation sign!) Ovulation pain, also known as Mittelschmerz pain Days you have baby-making sex (some people abbreviate it as BD, for baby dancing, on a fertility calendar) Any unusual symptoms, including possible early pregnancy symptoms (bad cramps, headache, nausea, fatigue) Anything that may throw your cycle off (like illness, travel, or extreme stress) Don’t look at this list and think you must track all of it. Think of this list as your options, and track what seems most helpful to you. Hopefully, keeping a fertility calendar will help you time sex for pregnancy and conceive faster. If you end up trying to conceive for longer than you hoped, you’ll have more information to share with your doctor. 9 Sources Verywell Family uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Wark JD, Henningham L, Gorelik A, Jayasinghe Y, Hartley S, Garland SM. Basal Temperature Measurement Using a Multi-Sensor Armband in Australian Young Women: A Comparative Observational Study. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2015;3(4):e94. doi:10.2196/mhealth.4263 Simmons RG, Shattuck DC, Jennings VH. Assessing the Efficacy of an App-Based Method of Family Planning: The Dot Study Protocol [published correction appears in JMIR Res Protoc. 2018 Mar 16;7(3):e9]. JMIR Res Protoc. 2017;6(1):e5. Published 2017 Jan 18. doi:10.2196/resprot.6886 Su HW, Yi YC, Wei TY, Chang TC, Cheng CM. 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Intermenstrual pain (the mittelschmerz) and the time of ovulation. Br Med J. 1949;1(4609):803–805. doi:10.1136/bmj.1.4609.803 Foxcroft KF, Callaway LK, Byrne NM, Webster J. Development and validation of a pregnancy symptoms inventory. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2013;13:3. doi:10.1186/1471-2393-13-3 By Rachel Gurevich, RN Rachel Gurevich is a fertility advocate, author, and recipient of The Hope Award for Achievement, from Resolve: The National Infertility Association. She is a professional member of the Association of Health Care Journalists and has been writing about women’s health since 2001. Rachel uses her own experiences with infertility to write compassionate, practical, and supportive articles. See Our Editorial Process Meet Our Review Board Share Feedback Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! What is your feedback? Other Helpful Report an Error Submit