Let’s Talk TTC With Modern Fertility
*PLEASE READ: This is in no way intended to substitute advice or a diagnosis from your medical doctor. Please chat with a professional if you’re trying to TTC and feel you need some more guidance.
Finally! The post I’ve been working on for what feels like FOREVER. Today we’re going to chat about TTC (Trying to Conceive) & Modern Fertility. Note that all of the MF products mentioned were gifted to me. This includes my Modern Fertility at-home fertility hormone test. Okay! Let’s get into it.
OH! I also sent this to my friends at Modern Fertility so that they could fact check. And a lot of the scientific information that I’m going to talk about, I snagged off of their blog. Okay… Okay… Let’s get started.
I’ll tell you a bit about our decision to start our TTC journey. I shared a bit about this in my last post, but basically here’s the quick recap. In December of last year, we went over our finances, our goals and the businesses we have. Everything looked stable and what was most important for us, was that we could afford to have a baby monetarily and of course time-wise. Meaning, we had time. I’d already been here two years, so I guess we could say I was semi-settled. Settled enough to know my way around life here and to be comfortable enough where I felt stable. Though I’d LOVE a dollar pizza eating, SoHo playground, Le Pain Quotidien on Sundays baby… This is where I know we’ll be for a while.
*In the spirit of transparency, you should know this particular TTC journey comes after a previous loss.
LET’S TALK FERTILITY
That’s the logistical part of it all. The part that we could control. Then came the part that made me nervous as all hell. My actual fertility status. To be quite honest, I had ZERO knowledge of anything having to do with reproductive health. As someone who was given a PCOS diagnosis at a very young age, I just figured I’d probably have some sort of trouble. But we’re talking 12 years later, so I had no update and no knowledge of what PCOS even was.
Because I am fortunate enough to have insurance, I was able to make an appointment with an OBGYN last November to discuss the possibility of us having children. I got my pap, asked some questions, and then I went home and didn’t really think much about it. I knew my PCOS had gotten better or even disappeared with my healthy eating and significant weight loss. I had a normal period. I’ve never been on birth control, EVER. I figured it would be sorta easy, no?
Then I started reading. Be forewarned.... TTC forums, articles and stories are plentiful. Stick to science based resources. It’ll save you a lot of panic and self-diagnosing episodes. One of the things that I read was that I should check my hormones and my eggs. UGH I was dreading that. Though I really liked my OBGYN, I didn’t want to have to discuss that with anyone. I also didn’t know if my insurance would cover a random hormone panel that I wanted just to see if things were up to date down there. It immediately became this DREADFUL experience that hadn’t even happened yet.
LET’S TEST OUR HORMONES
I remembered Modern Fertility. I can’t tell you exactly how I heard about them. To be honest, I think I started googling reproductive health last year and saw ads for them come up (thank you algorithm and invasion of privacy). So I figured I’d do some research and I’d check it out. At the time, MF only offered the Fertility Hormone Test. It’s actually pretty rad and minimally invasive.
via modernfertility.com
You fill out a quiz-like form that asks you some questions about your age, period regularity, birth control, and general health. Then a doctor (yes, an actual medical professional) reviews your order. You can take the test in the comfort of your home by using the finger prick lancet provided in the kit, OR you can head down to your local Quest Diagnostics lab to get your blood drawn. But for this post's sake, and to share MY experience, we’re going to stick to chatting about the at-home test.
The instructions are pretty clear, and if you take a minute to watch the video above, it really is SUPER simple. The best part is getting your personalized hormone results once your test has been completed and received. This was a little nerve-wrecking for me. I assumed the worst. I’m newly 30, so you know that cement that’s on your ovaries is drying a little quicker these days according to my mom. There HAS to be something wrong!! (Although, now I know: your fertility does *not* just fall off a cliff in your late 30s), I’m a chicken, so I made my husband click the link. In retrospect, he wasn’t really sure what he was supposed to be looking for so he didn’t really know what to say. But he gave me a quick, “Looks good,” and then I went to town.
Yes, that’s a summary of MY actual results. Everything was normal, and when you hover over each hormone, it lets you know the hormone's purpose. As you scroll down, you’re given a more detailed breakdown of things like your ovarian reserve, expected menopause age, and some other important information. I’ll note that your results might not look like mine. Each test is customized to the person taking it based on their cycle and birth control. Nevertheless, this was such a relief for me!
Now, one of the things I was able to do was get the same panel done through my OBGYN. I figured if I was going to talk to you guys about this, I wanted to be able to compare results. Not just a sponsorship or a gifted product I’m talking about. So once I received the results from my OBGYN, I compared them to my Modern Fertility results, and they were basically spot on. Obviously it depends on when the tests are taken so they aren’t going to match perfectly (you can learn more about Modern Fertility’s “reference ranges” for results here). But there was no significant difference in the numbers.
Taking a quick break to talk money. The process done through my OBGYN was a little over $1.2k. The MF Hormone test is $159. Though I understand and acknowledge that not everyone can afford that, it is indeed a way more affordable option than getting a bill for $1k+. Though you can’t put a price on your reproductive health and health in general, not knowing and not being able to afford a doctor's visit will absolutely cost you your peace of mind. It did for me for YEARS.
LET’S TALK TTC LANGUAGE
Now this is the part that you are all probably interested in. The actual TTC part. Before I get into this, here are some acronyms you may hear during your TTC journey or research. There’s a ton of them. You can check out some of the acronyms often used when discussing TTC HERE.
GENERAL
AF: Aunt Flow (a.k.a. your period)
BC or BCP: Birth control or birth with the goal of baby-making
IF: Infertility
PCOS: Polycystic ovary syndrome (a condition in which the female sex hormones are out of balance, which can prevent ovulation from occurring regularly and make it more difficult for a woman to get pregnant)
TESTING
BFN: Big fat negative (a negative pregnancy test)
BFP: Big fat positive (baby’s on board!)
EPT: Early pregnancy test
hCG: Human chorionic gonadotropin (a hormone produced during pregnancy; elevated levels result in a positive pregnancy test)
HPT : Home pregnancy test
TWW: Two week wait (the two-week period between ovulation and when you can test for pregnancy)
FERTILITY CHARTING
BBT: Basal body temperature (the body's temperature upon first waking up in the morning; it’s tracked using a special thermometer and rises sharply around the time of ovulation, helping a woman to determine when she’s fertile)
CD: Cycle day (usually followed by a number, the cycle day is when a woman is at in her menstrual cycle; if the average cycle is 28 days, CD1 is the first day of your period, and ovulation usually occurs at the midpoint of the cycle, though timing varies)
DPO: Days post-ovulation (the number of days since ovulation — e.g., 4 DPO; the term is usually used when someone is waiting to take a pregnancy test)
EWCM: Egg white cervical mucus (the clear, slippery egg white-like discharge that occurs near ovulation)
O: Ovulation (or ovulated)
OPK or OPT: Ovulation predictor kit or ovulation predictor test (urine or saliva tests that can detect an upcoming ovulation 12 to 24 hours before it happens)
LET’S TALK ACTUAL TTC & OPKS
Okay, so my hormones are good. I’m feeling good. We’re ready. Eh.. Not so fast. You know when you’re 15 and sex-ed teaches you that the window to get pregnant is so large you can get pregnant just by looking at it? That’s not necessarily true. The window (called your “fertile window”) where you can get pregnant every month is narrow: up to five days before ovulation, as well as on the day of ovulation itself. So, six days total.. There are also some things I opted to do when we started TTC. I cut out about 85% of the sugar in my diet. We stopped using any form of birth control, and I started tracking my ovulation. That for me was the key to actually learning about my body. Something I kind thought I already knew. Turns out, I was Jon Snowing my way through my reproductive health. Literally knew nothing. Here’s an article I found incredibly helpful by my friends at MF.
My cycle is bit longer, so actually learning how to track my cycle was really hard for me. Both emotionally and physically. I didn’t understand any of the OPK’s I bought. I wasted A LOT of money on “the best” OPK’s (ovulation predictor kits), and I still knew nothing. Lucky for YOU, MF has recently blessed us with Ovulation tests, pregnancy tests and a free app. Sadly, this was not available when I was TTC. By the time it was, we had already gotten our BFP.
via modern fertility
via modern fertility
via modern fertility
So this is pretty easy. I will say that the ones I tried were not easy at all and I wasted a lot of them. So much so that I caved and got the expensive digital ones because I couldn’t understand what I was supposed to be looking for or at. Now I know you might be thinking, “Well why can’t I just buy a pack of 100 on Amazon for $9.99?” From my experience, those aren’t always accurate. The apps are often outdated, and I can’t tell you how many times I got “error reading test.”
The Modern Fertility Ovulation Test is semi-quantitative, meaning it doesn’t just give you a “positive” or “negative” result. It can actually help you identify if your LH is at low, high, or peak levels (which can be key to understanding when you’re approaching your fertile window and ovulation).
Here’s a chart via MF that compares other tests to the MF ovulation test.
via modern fertility
This will be your best friend. & just a quick note: HERE is a great article by MF sharing reasons as to why you should track your ovulation anyway even if you aren’t TTC. If you’re still wanting some more information on Ovulation Predictor Kits and tests, MFM has a great article HERE.
OPK’s along with a comprehensive app like Modern Fertility’s, will give you a better idea on when that small window I mentioned opens. Now for me, this part was a little more complicated, so we opted for the SMEP method after month 3 of trying. Which by the way, my husband says those don’t really count since between my wasted sticks and ovulation being a mystery, we didn't really get down to the science of it till about month 4. The digital OPK’s really helped me because they took the stress out of having to read and guess what my OPK tests said, but again, had I had MF’s I would have saved myself money, time and a headache (probably an emotional breakdown or two as well).
via modern fertility
One thing I’m super jealous about is the MF app. There are TONS of ovulation tracking apps that aren’t nearly as nice or comprehensive. They also aren’t FREE. I had to pay like $9.99 a month for the one I used.
I think understanding OPK’s and learning to use them correctly really relieves a lot of stress and enlightens you with what is going on with your body or your partner's body. I’m not a doctor, but MF has an INCREDIBLY INFORMATIVE article available HERE where they explain OPKs. Yes. MF along with my OBGYN are basically the ONLY sources I went to during my TTC journey. I tried forums and reddit, and I noticed that for me, listening to the stories of others psyched me out more than it informed me.
There are lots of other ways to track your ovulation. You can track your BBT (Basal Body Temperature), but know that in many cases BBT rises after ovulation — so it can tell you that you’ve ovulated, but it is less likely to tell you that ovulation is *about* to happen. I tried different methods and hated them all. I like science just in case that wasn’t clear. What worked for me was using OPKs along with tracking my CM (cervical mucus). It’s amazing how our bodies physically speak to us.
via modern fertility
It probably sounds way complicated, but I promise it’s not. Here are two articles by MF that go share a little more about CM:
What your cervical mucus is trying to tell you about your fertility
What your cervical mucus looks like before, during and after ovulation
LET’S TALK EATING, EXERCISE AND SUPPLEMENTS WHILE TTC
So this part will be sort of short since there isn’t really much to talk about. I mentioned I cut out most refined sugars, carbs and unhealthy fats. I really wanted to prepare my body. I also worked out a TON. At some point, I went so hard on the peloton that it messed with my cycle. THIS MF article explains in great detail and clarity how exercise impacts your fertility. Basically for my body, suddenly indoor cycling 13 miles a day 6 days a week sent me into shock. I took it easy after that.
Talk to your doctor or do your research about what level of exercise is good for you. I dove in head first on the deep end because I thought that’s what I was supposed to do. Had I read that article a little earlier, things probably would have been different. Knowledge, my friends, is power.
Another thing I added was prenatal vitamins and these two products from my girlfriend, Organic Olivia’s line. NATAL NOURISH, & FLOW BALANCE. I actually purchased 2 bottles of both during her Black Friday Sale in 2019. I started to take them in December and took them both until we got our BFP. It’s a naturopathic supplement, and I’m not a doctor, so I can’t tell you whether or not this got us our BFP. But I do know that I was comfortable taking it and will for sure take it again after this pregnancy.
LET’S TALK TTC DURING A GLOBAL PANDEMIC
I’m almost done, I promise! But this is something I wanted to address because I get asked a lot about this. By now, you’ve heard the term “Covid Baby.” It’s a term I loathe and it makes me cringe. Please don’t call anyone’s baby a Covid Baby. You never know how long someone has been trying, and you never know what their journey is like. It can be insensitive and offensive. It also implies that we had nothing better to do since we’re locked up at home. [insert eye roll here].
Anyway, we chose to continue to TTC during the pandemic. Granted, things were not as bad while we were trying. In fact, everything hit the fan a little after we got our BFP. Would that have changed the course of our plan? I can’t answer that with certainty, but like everything we commit to, we would have continued and we did in fact continue to do our research, monitor and take care of ourselves. Does it add an extra layer of stress? Sure, it does. But as I mentioned, we take social distancing seriously and we haven’t hung out with anyone since March. It’s the decision we feel is best for our family based on the knowledge or lack of information about the way this virus operates.
If you decide to TTC during this time, know that you’re not alone. Do your research. Take care of yourself. You got this!
Oh, PS… Here’s an article from MF regarding the Covid-19 vaccine & TTC / Pregnancy.
EVERYONE’S BODY IS DIFFERENT
I’ll end with this… We were fortunate enough to need no assistance when TTC, and technically get our BFP within just 2 months of knowledge based trying. But it’s important to remember that everyone’s body is different. What worked for me may not work for you. What we can rely on, and what is consistent through all of this is science. So I’m incredibly grateful for sources like Modern Fertility who are committed to removing the stigma that surrounds reproductive health, spreading knowledge, and making sure that it is available to ALL of those who want to learn more about their fertility.
I’m sure there’s lots more I can say, and though you might have come here in search of tips and tricks for TTC, the only tip I can give you is show yourself some grace. Test your hormones, treat your body kindly and head to sources like MF that are there for you whether you’re trying to TTC, or just trying to learn more about your body.
My favorite part about all this is that although we’re all different, MF has created a community that is supportive, informative and above all judgement free. Check it for more info HERE. & if you’re interested in testing, you can do so HERE.
Thanks for coming to my TTC talk. Wishing you knowledge, health and peace of mind!
