With the BlogHer conference this weekend, I thought it’d be a good time to talk about infertility blogging. Blogging, which can be quickly summed up as journaling within the public’s eye, is a great way to express yourself and make connections with others. And there are many infertility bloggers to connect with.

To get just an idea of what is out there in terms of fertility blogs, check out The Stirrup Queen’s connection blog, Lost and Found and Connections Abound.

There are more than 1,000 blogs listed here, on every aspect you could think of in regards to infertility. There are blogs from those going through treatments now, and blogs from women who have past treatment and are now parenting after infertility. There are blogs from families who have decided to go with adoption, and families who have decided on living child-free after infertility. There are blogs about pregnancy loss, IVF, IUI... the list goes on.

(Read the following in that old-grandma-talking-about-the-good-old-days way.) Years ago, when I kept a personal blog on my miscarriages and infertility diagnosis, there was no cohesive group. Sure, we found each other through intense internet searching, but we had nothing like the community that Melissa of The Stirrup Queen has put together. I’m so jealous. I just may start a personal infertility blog again.

If there has ever been a better time to consider blogging as a way of coping with infertility, this is the time. If you haven’t delved into the blogging world yet, it’s not so difficult to get started. Learn why and how to start an infertility blog in this article.

And regardless of whether or not you’ll be starting your own blog, do check out some of the blogs at Lost and Found and Connections Abound. You’re sure to meet others who understand you, people you can learn from, and, most importantly, you can leave a comment and lend some support to another infertility survivor. And that is what it’s all about, right?

Photo © User Zela from Stock.xchng

When it comes to ovulation, the more you know, the better. If you’re not dealing with infertility, but looking for ways to get pregnant faster, knowing how to detect and tract ovulation can help. If you’re being treated for infertility with fertility drugs, like Clomid, your doctor may ask you to track ovulation to better time sex and to help evaluate whether the drugs are working.

Tracking cervical mucus is the best way to predict your most fertile time of the month, but if you’re taking Clomid, this can become a problem. Clomid has the unfortunate side effect of drying up your cervical mucus.

You could use ovulation predictor kits, but you may want to try detecting ovulation by checking your cervical position. No, really. It’s not as difficult as it sounds, and it’s really neat (I think) to learn how your body works. The more I learn about how our bodies change throughout our cycles, the more amazed I become at the complexity of the reproductive system. But perhaps more to the point -- I've gotten really good at knowing when I'm going to ovulate.

If you’re feeling up to the challenge, why don’t you read about how to check your cervical position for ovulation in this article?

More articles on ovulation:

• Signs of Ovulation
• Ovulation and Cervical Mucus
• Charting Your Body Basal Temperature