Let’s see . . . what do these male celebrities all have in common: Steve Martin, Clint Eastwood, Warren Beatty, Larry King, Luciano Pavarotti, Rod Stewart, and Paul McCartney, to name but a few. Take a second to think about it. OK, time’s up. Answer? They’ve all fathered children when they were in their 60s and their wives were often in their 30s. Of course, it is never EVER the reverse. Aside from the obvious double standard in our society, there is actually a biological reason. Men are fertile from puberty until the day they die, whereas women are only fertile from puberty through menopause, and more realistically, their fertility decreases often a decade before menopause. Another major difference between male and female anatomy pertains to when [...]

Starting to chart your cycle can be either exciting or intimidating if you don’t have a solid understanding of how your cycle works and what you are ultimately observing and recording. Which, of course, is why I can’t stress enough the need to either read a comprehensive book (preferably my book, Taking Charge of Your Fertility), a Fertility Awareness class, or ideally, a combination of both. In any case, for now, I’m just going to briefly address times that might be especially challenging when first start learning to chart: Coming off the Pill or Other Hormonal Methods There is no way of predicting how long it will take for your cycles to return to their former patterns before you were on hormones. Some women may ovulate within [...]