Peter Weiss, MD, is a board-certified OB/GYN and expert in women's health.
We independently research, test, review, and recommend the best products. Healthcare professionals review articles for medical accuracy. Learn more about our process. If you buy something through our links, we may earn a commission.
A fertility journal is a helpful addition to one’s efforts to conceive or better understand what is going on throughout their cycle each month. These journals will typically prompt the user to record information like the start of a period, the end, and signs and symptoms that could indicate ovulation. Plus, since they aren’t connected to the internet they don’t have the same concerns around privacy as using a period tracking app. When searching for the best fertility journal, it is helpful to find ones that include thorough calendars for charting, helpful prompts, and accurate advice for recording each data point.
With thorough charting for all the important signs and symptoms that you might experience during your cycle, the PCOS Fertility Journal offers users a full picture of when they might be ovulating. We also recommend the Menstrual Cycle Journal for women who are new to charting their cycles and need helpful prompts to assist them.
“A written menstrual log or journal can be used to track cycles along with other pertinent data including cervical mucus changes, ovulation predictor kit results, basal body temperature, physical symptoms and mood changes,” says Lindsay Kroener, MD, a reproductive endocrinology and infertility specialist with UCLA Health. These characteristics should give women a fuller idea of what is happening in their cycles and what the different signs and symptoms could mean. After speaking with doctors and OB-GYNs, we researched the best fertility journals based on how they allow you to organize information about your cycle, how many cycles they allow you to track, helpful prompts, and more.
Here, the best fertility journals for period tracking on the market.
includes a 40-day cycle length
When looking for a fertility journal, you want one that will provide helpful prompts that can assist you in understanding more about what is going on in your body—which is why we named the PCOS Fertility Journal our top pick. It is a thorough and affordable way to chart your menstrual and ovulation cycle with ease.
We like that this journal allows you to track your period for an entire year (though it doesn’t have a calendar feature). Also, each cycle includes 40 days, which works great for women whose cycle extends longer so they can track each day (since each person’s body is different and the number of days can fluctuate). When tracking a cycle, the journal will prompt you to record helpful measurements that include your waking temperature, cervical mucus changes, spike in the luteinizing hormone (LH), and cramping. All of these indicators can not only assist you in determining when you might be ovulating during your cycle, but they can also give you a fuller picture of what is going on with your body and when you might experience certain symptoms, whether they’re for PCOS or a sign of something else.
Price at time of publish: $9
Variety of charting and list options
Geared toward trying to conceive and may not be as helpful to people who aren’t family planning
Bullet journals are great because they allow you to list, chart, log and draw different elements of whatever you are recording to assist with your journaling. The My TTC Planner combines a variety of charts and list elements that will assist you as you log your cycle each month.
This journal includes daily diary pages that will help you log exactly what you are feeling and thinking about that day of your cycle. Also, the journal includes a helpful calendar chart so you can record exactly when your cycle starts, ends, and when you are experiencing symptoms that likely indicate you are ovulating. Besides all that, the journal also helps you log the medications that you are taking, appointments you are attending, and weekly coaching questions. The journal really does it all as you chart your fertility journey, especially if you are trying to conceive.
Price at time of publish: $8
Includes helpful information and prompts
Only charts 90 days of your cycle
Not as helpful in predicting cycles
Tracking your cycle and ovulation can be a confusing process, especially if you do not know what exactly to measure each day. The Happy Hormone Journal makes the process easy for the user with helpful prompts and information scattered throughout its 125 pages.
Some of the helpful information in the journal is an explanation of the four phases of a menstrual cycle and just what one might expect during each of the phases. Also included in the journal is the ability to chart 90 days' worth of your cycles. This journal asks for information about your overall mood, stress level, diet, and much more so that you can fully understand how your body is responding each month. The one downside about this journal, though, is that it only allows for three months worth of charting, which is not as helpful depending on how long you want to record your cycles.
Price at time of publish: $24
Includes 12 cycles worth of charts
50-day long cycles for each chart
No area to write notes
One of the most important features of a fertility journal is the charting that allows you to record exactly what is going on each day of your cycle. The Hormonology Menstrual Cycle Tracker Journal includes 12 cycles worth of charts that go for 50 days each to help record anything and everything that is going on throughout your cycle. These monthly calendars can assist you in knowing when your next period will start, end, and when you might be ovulating. This information is important so that you can plan out intercourse around when you are the most fertile.
This includes charting the medications that you are taking, the symptoms that you are experiencing, and your mood. A helpful key to follow is also incorporated at the top of each chart to assist you as you record your experience. Overall, this journal should give you all the information you need to understand what is happening in each cycle.
Price at time of publish: $12
Includes fill-in-the-blank months and years
Geared toward teenagers so may not be helpful for everyone
Calendars could be organized better
The process of charting your period and ovulation can be complicated, which is why a journal that provides step-by-step instructions is helpful. The Menstrual Cycle Journal includes prompts for charting your cycle each month. The journal will assist the user in documenting when they are bleeding, the pain they are experiencing, symptoms, and much more. Each calendar also includes a key to help guide you on how exactly to chart everything so that there is no question to what you were experiencing in previous months. Altogether, the journal is a great beginning option for someone who wants to learn how to chart their cycles each month.
Price at time of publish: $7
When selecting the best fertility journals, we spoke with gynecologists and spent hours researching the best and most helpful journals. We determined which to feature based on a few key criteria as recommended by gynecologists: calendars, prompts, and accuracy (if they help you predict your cycle).
We compared each journal’s benefits, along with their price, to determine how valuable they will be for different people (if you’re trying to conceive, you may want a place to log your temperature every day, whereas someone new to menstruating may just want to jot down notes about their cramps and length of their period). While some choices on our list may be more expensive, we wanted to give a wide range of options that would fit all needs and budgets. We compiled this list of the best fertility journals based on all of these factors.
Often these fertility journals include calendars that assist the user in marking different aspects of their cycle – such as when a period starts, ends, and symptoms that could be related to ovulation. “We think of the menstrual cycle as a vital sign and so it really does help women to know, just like blood pressure and pulse, when the cycles are happening at a regular interval,” says Valerie Baker, MD, director of the division of reproductive endocrinology and fertility and professor of gynecology and obstetrics at Johns Hopkins Medicine. “That is an indication that a lot of things are going right.” Calendars should include spaces to record the start and end of your period, as well as when you are having intercourse, your basal body temperature, and other markers that could indicate ovulation.
The calendar feature is a particularly useful tool if you are trying to conceive since you want to increase intercourse around the time that you are ovulating for the best chance of getting pregnant. Ovulation typically occurs 14 days after the start of your period. “When attempting pregnancy, recording when you have intercourse is important to make sure this occurs over the ovulatory period,” Dr. Kroener says. “While the egg is typically only good for 12-24 hours, sperm can last in the reproductive system for two to five days. Thus intercourse leading up to and at the time of ovulation is ideal.”
Some journals include prompts for how you are feeling during each day of your cycle, as well as any symptoms like cramping or pain that you might be experiencing each day. “Some women might want to have an idea when they are having other symptoms like poor sleep or depression and just try to see if it is linked to the period or not,” Dr. Baker says. Journaling these experiences for several months can assist you in understanding when you might have certain mood changes or symptoms during your cycle so you are prepared for them.
Although tracking your menstrual cycle has many benefits, the process is not entirely foolproof in determining what exactly is going on each day of a cycle. For best results, you need to record your cycle daily. “Most importantly, make sure to accurately and consistently enter cycle information,” Dr. Kroener says. “Definition of day one of the cycle is defined as the first day of full flow, which can be confusing if you have spotting leading up to your cycle.”
Dr. Kroener also recommends charting various points each day, such as basal body temperature, cervical mucus, and bleeding, instead of relying on just one data point. “One mistake can be to rely too heavily on one marker of ovulation rather than looking at the whole picture,” she says. “For example, some [people] may have more difficulty or are unable to pick up the LH surge on ovulation predictor kits (OPKs). However, when cycles are otherwise very regular with cervical mucus changes, ovulation is likely occurring.”
If you are using these journals to naturally prevent pregnancy, then it is important to know that this is not as effective as other birth control methods and contraceptives. “If [people] use it they have to understand that it is imperfect and either be using a backup contraceptive method or be willing to accept that risk of pregnancy,” Dr. Baker says.
“The most important part of tracking your menstrual cycle, with or without an app, is recording accurate data and doing this consistently over multiple cycles,” Dr. Kroener says. “The input of period timing, as well as OPK results, cervical mucus changes, physical symptoms, and other pertinent variables, is key.”
After collecting these data points for a few months, the information can indicate to someone what exactly is going on in their cycle. “Typically, ovulation occurs on average 14 days prior to the onset of menses, although there can be some variation,” Dr. Kroener adds. “Analyzing cycle length data in conjunction with the timing of positive LH surge and ovulatory cervical mucus that is wet, stretchy and slippery can help accurately determine how long your cycles are and when ovulation happens relative to expected cycle length.”
For women with an irregular cycle, it might be difficult for them to accurately track ovulation. “If cycles are very irregular and inconsistent, using menstrual history alone to predict ovulation will alone not be sufficient,” Dr. Kroener says. “While other markers such as OPKs, cervical mucus, and basal body temperature can be attempted, it is much more difficult to know when to track these markers and when to expect signs of ovulation.”
Even though you might not be able to chart when your ovulation starts with 100 percent accuracy, tracking your experience throughout your cycle could still be beneficial. “Even if one piece by itself may have some plus-minus accuracy, you can still chart putting it all together to make some sense out of your cycle,” Dr. Baker says. “For example, charting can help you to know if you are bleeding only during your expected menstrual time or are bleeding throughout the month.” This information is beneficial for a healthcare provider to know during your next visit, no matter if your cycle is regular or irregular.
Fertility journals can cost between $7-25. The price varies depending on how long they allow you to track your cycle, whether they have things like prompts and calendars, and what kinds of materials they are made of (a leather-bound journal might be pricer than something that’s spiral-bound). Our best overall choice, the PCOS Fertility Journal was only $9 at time of publish and will let you track your cycle for an entire year.
As a seasoned health writer, Danielle Zoellner knows the importance of finding just the right product to fit your medical needs. Throughout her career, Danielle has interviewed a variety of experts in the medical and health fields while reviewing dozens of products. Her experience and knowledge in the field work together to help readers like yourself find the best products for your daily life.
By Danielle Zoellner Danielle is a freelance writer based in NYC with a background in health writing. She’s written for publications like The Independent, DailyMail.com, and Vox. Danielle has a journalism degree from the University of Missouri at Columbia.
Thank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up.
There was an error. Please try again.
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.