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Dr. Kerry Hampton is a registered nurse, a midwife, and an active researcher in fertility-awareness and lifestyle education. The aim of Kerry’s research is to reduce the incidence of infertility by promoting fertility literacy with the fertility awareness method. Her findings have shown that most women seeking fertility assistance cannot accurately identify the fertile days of their menstrual cycle. And of course, by educating women about their fertile signs through fertility awareness women can be taught to be able to identify their fertile days and increase their overall knowledge of how their fertility works and understand their menstrual cycles better.
Kerry is also a leader in professional development in her field having developed programs that teach Natural Fertility Education to professionals so they can offer support to their clients in understanding their menstrual cycles. She is the author of the Comprehensive Course in Natural Fertility Education© and co-author the Advanced Practice in Natural Fertility Education©.
In today’s show, Kerry and I talk about why it’s important for women to have the opportunity to learn how to accurately identify their fertile days. In her research, Kerry found that only 13% of women who had been referred to fertility clinics for IVF treatments after at least 12 months of trying to conceive could accurately identify their fertile window. In her clinical practice, she has helped hundreds if not thousands of women to conceive naturally after providing basic education about how to observe and identify cervical mucus patterns, and how to pinpoint the fertile window during the menstrual cycle. We talk about how important it is for couples who are having difficulty conceiving to learn how to pinpoint the 3 days prior to ovulation, and how a simple shift in when sex is timed has helped numerous couples to conceive after several months or even years of unsuccessful attempts. We also talk about the important role that cervical mucus plays in fertility and why it is absolutely essential for women to be able to conceive naturally.
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Topics discussed in today’s episode
- What is Fertility Awareness?
- How is the calendar/rhythm method different to the mucus method and the temperature method?
- Why the rhythm or calendar method is ineffective for most women
- Why cervical mucus observations are essential to understanding how to accurately identify your fertile window
- How learning to pinpoint your fertile window can save you tens of thousands of dollars in IVF treatments
- The unfortunate reality that the overwhelming majority of women seeking Assisted Reproductive Technology such as IVF and IUI are unable to correctly identify their fertile window
- Why you could be having sex 2 or 3 times per week every week and still be missing your fertile window every time
- Why it’s not about simply having more sex, but about accurately timing sex based on the days you observe cervical mucus prior to ovulation
- How to observe your cervical mucus when you don’t tend to see very much of it from cycle to cycle
Connect with Kerry!
You can connect with Kerry on her website!
Resources mentioned
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Music Credit: Intro/Outro music Produced by Sirc of (The Nock)
Great show today! Both edifying and frustrating to hear I am doing all the right things (thanks endometriosis and minimal CM).
Thanks Kelly! So glad you enjoyed the show!
I adore the FF Podcast! I am training to teach Fertility Awareness and your podcasts are a great way for me to learn more.
I enjoyed this interview with Dr. Hampton. She is so well spoken and warm. I admit I am a bit perplexed at the efficacy of relying on sensation alone to identify your fertile days. It is so essential to know the point of change, that is, going from nothing to something, and that first show of fluid may not feel like anything at all.
I know that I don’t really observe any sticky or creamy-type fluids via sensation, though I sure see it when I check manually. I also have my wettest fluid at my cervix a few days before it descends, so relying on vulva checks or sensation would put me at a risk of missing that fertile fluid.
I am fascinated by all the many different approaches to Fertility Awareness, though at times I wish there was one sure and solid way to practice it that proved most effective.
Hi Caitlin! Thank you for your kind words! I’m thrilled you’re enjoying the episodes. Yes, in my interview with Kerry Hampton it was the first time I had considered relying primarily on sensation. It makes sense for women who have very little observable mucus, and when she was talking about it I realized that I can often “feel” my mucus days before I actually check, but I still believe that it is important to check throughout the day. I am also fascinated with all of the different approaches to FAM. I have had success with the Justisse Method, particularly the way it is recommended to check for mucus, but I would say that whatever method you choose, the important thing is consistency especially when it comes to checking for cervical mucus. I wish you the best in your teacher training!
This was a well informed, information packed podcast. Thank you!!
Without knowing any other information, what would your initial thoughts be regarding a woman who has had 3 months of cervical mucus (going through all the stages of thick, tacky, slippery, dry) but no menses and no positive pregnancy tests. If CM is necessary for ovulation and menses occurs after ovulation that does not result in fertilization, why would there be no menstruation? Too much estrogen, not enough progesterone? Thank you!
In a case like this I would say it’s time to get support. Something is happening to prevent you from ovulating. Your body is trying to ovulate, but not getting there. Check out these episodes: http://fertilityfriday.com/pcos/
Hello. I love your podcast and have begun to listen to them all from the beginning. In this episode, she covers facts on how many people dont know there cycles and how once they do many people get pregnant. But she didnt tell us how to time our cycles. She said that a woman thought she should time it for after or during the temp spike, but this is incorrect. When is the best time? Right before the temp spike? Thank you so much,
Jewelia Buenaflor
Hi Jewelia, when you’re trying to get pregnant, time sex on your days of cervical mucus! Also, have a read through Chapters 3, 5, and 10 of The Fifth Vital Sign for a detailed explanation!
When I’ve tried listening to this episode, it seems to continually stop working around 40 minutes. I’ve tried both on my Podcast app on my phone, as well as on my computer through your website. I am so bummed because I would love to hear the last 20+ minutes.. plus I enjoy listening to her accent, ha ha!
I downloaded the episode to see if it would help and it did play for a couple more minutes but then it started skipping (like there were pieces of the podcast cut out), and then right in the middle of her answering a question it jumped to you ending the podcast, around 43 minutes. When it showed there was still 20 minutes left technically. Not sure what the problem is! Hope you are able to resolve it. 🙂
I can’t seem to play the second half of this podcast.