The Anatomy of a Fertility Friend Chart

I thought I'd go into how a chart is laid out. For this post, I've taken a sample chart from Fertility Friend, one that's diverse enough to show at least some of the things the FF application can track.

Dots/Circles

You'll notice that there are a couple types of dots/circles shown in the example above. These dots/circles are placed at your BBT on the day you record it.

• Dot is filled in: This is your actual temperature at the actual time (or around that time) you always test.


• Circle is open: If something in the data indicates that the temperature may be slightly inaccurate (either by events selected in the Special data area -- i.e. "sleep deprivation" -- or by a time difference larger than normal), the temperature plot uses a circle instead of a dot. While they're not to be discarded, it can show a reader an area of the chart where data may be less accurate.


• Dot is black: This indicates a discarded temperature.


• Square points: When a note is entered or if you check something in the Special data section, the graph will show a square instead of a dot. These may indicate patterns and symptoms not directly related to charting (i.e. sickness). This is not a default setting; rather, you need to enable it by clicking on the "Display Settings" link below your chart.

Crosshairs

The chart above shows a solid crosshair -- those lines that intersect at CD15. The horizontal line is the coverline (a visual tool used to differentiate your pre- and post-ovulation phases on your fertility chart), and the vertical line is the date of ovulation.

When FF figures out your ovulation date using their calculations based on your symptoms and BBT, it draws red crosshairs. Blue crosshairs indicate a manual override by the user.

Charts can also have dashed crosshairs, meaning that fertility signs are somehow in conflict. Details can be found in the ovulation detector.

DPO Count

After ovulation, you will see a count of your DPO just above the coverline. This feature is only available online, not on the mobile version.

Green Line

Did you get your BFP either by POAS or blood test? If so, your line turns green to indicate pregnancy. Congrats!

Then there are "detail" lines below your chart that explain what was going on each day.

CM Line

Incredibly handy for keeping track of your CM fluid, this line gives you the following options and the label given:

Label	Fluid
M	Menses (Period)
L (Pink background)	Menses Light(Period)
H (Pink background)	Menses Heavy (Period)
*	Spotting
-	Dry
S	Sticky
C	Creamy
W	Watery
E	Egg White

• Blank entries mean that CM was not recorded that day.


• Menses and spotting can be combined with other fluid types in a two-letter code, e.g., "E*" for EWCM with spotting. Menses show up as a pink square.


• A blank entry means that you did not record your CM that day.


• The Menses and spotting can be combined with the other fluid types in a two letter code. For example egg white fluid with spotting will be displayed "E*". Menses are displayed on a pink square.


• The corresponding square is colored in green when your entry denotes a clearly fertile sign (OPK+, watery CM, EWCM, etc.).

Pregnancy Test Line

Label	Test
+	Positive
-	Negative
B+	Blood Test Positive
B-	Blood Test Negative

Intercourse/Insemination/Retrieval Line

Label	Meaning
X	Intercourse
AM	Intercourse in the morning
PM	Intercourse in the afternoon/evening
R	Egg Retrieval
I	IUI or Home IUI
XX	Intercourse morning and afternoon (More than once)

OPK Line

Label	OPK Result
+	Positive
-	Negative

• Positives/fertile signs are shown over a green square.

Saliva Ferning Test Line

Label	Ferning Test Result
F	Full Ferning
PF	Partial Ferning
-	None

• Positives/fertile signs are shown over a green square.