BabyMed Charting Help

Most of the features of FertilChart™ can be accessed from the menu bar, as seen below.  On this page, the same menu bar is presented for illustration, and you can click any of the menu items to see the corresponding help details below.

Cycle Menu: Create New
This is where you can start a new cycle.  You will be asked for the first day of your last menstrual period...this is typically when menstrual bleeding is first observed when you get your period.  You are also asked for your cycle length, which is the number of days between the start of consecutive periods.  An average will work here if you're not quite regular, and it doesn't have to be perfect.  The date and cycle length are used to establish the range of dates for the cycle, and make some calculated predictions of key dates within your cycle, such as expected ovulation, and when your next period might come.  It may be important to remember that your period occurs at the beginning of your cycle, not the end.

Cycle Menu: List All
This will present you with a list of all of your stored FertilChart™ cycles, with their ID number and start date, which is the first day of the menstrual period that you entered to create the cycle.  Select from the list and continue to load the chosen cycle into FertilChart™.

Cycle Menu: Retrieve   ►
If you have previously saved cycles, this menu item will expand to list them by start date, which is the first day of the menstrual period that you entered to create the cycle.  Just click the one you want and it will automatically be loaded into FertilChart™.  This is a shortcut to selecting from the list shown in the List All screen above.

Cycle Menu: Save
This is the function that writes all the data you've entered into your cycle to the server.  Any data you enter and changes you make are temporary until you select this function from the menu, so don't forget.  This allows you to experiment a little with your data, especially temperatures, so you can see how FertilChart™ works, or how it might react to changes in the data.  In addition to the function, all of the data input screens have a check box labeled "Save Cycle" and when this is checked all changes are saved to the server automatically. Clear this box if you just want to experiment.

Cycle Menu: Print
This will open a separate window with an Adobe PDF version of the currently loaded chart.  You must have Adobe Acrobat™ Reader to view this format.  Some browsers may occasionally present an empty screen at first...simply refresh that screen using the browser window refresh function and it should display correctly.

Cycle Menu: Share
This feature provides a couple of convenient ways for you to share your FertilChart™ with others, either by sending them and email link, posting a link in a blog or forum, or in instant message (IM) programs.  The box at the top has the direct link you can copy for sharing in any manner you like.  The lower part of this screen is a convenient email form where you can enter the email address of the recipient and a message to send.  Your message, along with the link, will be formatted into an email and sent immediately.  Share your progress with friends, family, even your doctor!

Edit Menu: Daily Data
On this screen, you will see three calendar months spanning your cycle dates.  Key dates are shown in color, and some data selections on certain days may color those days.  Key dates are your projected fertile days and ovulation day (green), days where some level of bleeding is indicated (pink or red), and your next period is expected on the date shaded in light blue.  You can click any of the days in the calendars to change the current day (framed in red) for which data input is desired.  On the right, you'll see all of the different fields from which you can make your selections.  Accurate temperatures are important, as well as the other information, especially later when you're reviewing your cycles with your doctor or one of our Fertility Experts.  There is a checkbox to mark a temperature as Invalid.  This is used to indicate that the recorded temperature was likely unusual due to some external factor, like a fever or illness, or high levels of stress on a particular day. Depending on the current day, you may see a combination of Previous, Update, and Next buttons here.  Clicking any of these will update FertilChart™ with your choices, and Previous and Next will automatically take you to the next day in your cycle.  Clicking the Update button simply updates FertilChart™ and keeps you on the same day.  Here we also see the Save Cycle Checkbox...if this is checked, your changes are automatically saved to the server.  Clear this box if you just want to experiment, leave it checked otherwise so that you don't accidentally forget to save your changes later.

Edit Menu: Quick Entry
Sometimes it's easier to just enter your temperatures and move on, especially if you're catching up after several days or are copying a bunch of information from something else.  That's what this screen does.  As you go, the chart will keep updating with each new temperature, and you can use the Previous, Update, and Next buttons here to see the chart develop.  There is a checkbox to mark a temperature as Invalid.  This is used to indicate that the recorded temperature was likely unusual due to some external factor, like a fever or illness, or high levels of stress on a particular day.  Here we also see the Save Cycle Checkbox...if this is checked, your changes are automatically saved to the server.  Clear this box if you just want to experiment, leave it checked otherwise so that you don't accidentally forget to save your changes later.

Edit Menu: Comments
It may be helpful to put a reminder notation in your chart for little bits of information that isn't covered by the daily data fields, and here's where you can do that.  Comments appear directly on the chart, so if you print it out or send someone the link to this chart, these comments will be visible to anyone who views it.

View Menu: Graph
This is where your graph is presented with all current data.  Depending on your level of membership, and whether or not your graph has been evaluated by one of our staff Experts, some elements may or may not be visible.  In the top section, your temperatures are plotted in blue and are connected with a line.  Any temperatures you marked as Invalid are shown in dark red, and are excluded in the temperature line plot.  You may see a vertical bar that indicates that the chart has calculated your ovulation day based on matching a pattern in your temperatures and other factors.  When you submit your chart to an Expert for evaluation, the expert may definitively mark your ovulation day in a differently colored and labeled bar.  Along with ovulation, a red coverline may also appear.  Temperatures that follow ovulation day must stay above this line past when your next period might be expected to indicate a probable pregnancy.  If your temperatures fall below this line in a few days, you are not likely to be pregnant, and your period would normally be expected to arrive as indicated by a second bar on the chart 14 days after ovulation day.  With the ovulation day and next period bars and coverline, you'll see a series of numbers below the coverline counting the days after ovulation.

View Menu: Data Table
This screen presents all of your cycle data in a table format...essentially just another way to view the information.  You can click any of the dates on this screen to jump to the data input screen for that day.

Expert Menu: Submit Graph
This is where you can submit your chart to our staff Experts for evaluation.  You can type a question or comment in the box provided that only the evaluator can see.

Expert Menu: View Evaluation
After your chart has been evaluated by one of our staff Experts, their remarks are shown here along with other key information about your cycle.

Calendars Menu: Fertility
This is a larger extended calendar view of your cycle, and can be printed for your convenience.  Some users print this out and keep it next to their bed where they can note their temperatures first thing in the morning and any other notes, and later can go online to input the data and see their graph.

Calendars Menu: Pregnancy
This is simply a shortcut link to the pregnancy calendar.  Details on that can be found in the main page of that tool.