Cycle-Timed Diagnostics

Cycle-timed diagnostics means scheduling tests on the right cycle days, found through fertility charting, rather than on random calendar dates. These tests include hormone blood tests and ultrasound scans. Hormone levels change sharply from one phase of the menstrual cycle to the next.

A blood test drawn in the wrong phase can therefore look normal and hide a true problem. It can also look abnormal when it shows only normal monthly change. When clinicians know where a woman is in her cycle through FABM charting, they can time each test to the phase where it has meaning.

This approach turns charting from a family planning tool into a diagnostic tool.¹ Charting landmarks anchor the timing of tests. Examples include the peak day and the start of the luteal phase. One test timed this way is the follicle maturation study. It is a series of ultrasound scans that follows the growing follicle.

Named methods such as NaProTechnology and NeoFertility have built cycle-timed testing into set diagnostic plans. Each method defines its own phase timing and test order.

Most conventional fertility workups draw blood on set days counted from the start of the period. They do not time these tests to the phase shown on a woman's chart. RRM clinicians see this practice as inadequate for hormones that change with the cycle.