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Fertility Awareness: Natural Family Planning (NFP)
What is fertility
awareness?
Fertility awareness is a
collection of methods using your body's natural and normal
functioning to determine the days of the month you are most
likely to get pregnant. It is also called Natural Family
Planning (NFP), the Sympto-Thermal Method, the Ovulation
Method, or the Billings Method.
Fertility awareness or
Natural Family Planning is a method of birth control that does
not use any drugs or devices. It combines the calendar/rhythm
method, the basal body temperature method, and the cervical
mucus method.
The fertility awareness
method is used both as a means of preventing pregnancy as well
as targeting the most fertile time for getting
pregnant.
How does fertility awareness
work?
The calendar; basal body
temperature; and cervical mucus methods are combined to give
you the awareness of when your body is most fertile. As you
become familiar with your body's ovulation and fertile periods,
it provides you the opportunity to abstain from sexual
intercourse or use one of the barrier methods during that
time.
How do you use fertility
awareness?
The first objective
within fertility awareness is to become familiar with your
menstrual cycle and to begin charting your fertility pattern.
The average menstrual cycle is between 28 to 32 days, however
there are two parts related to your cycle: before ovulation and
after ovulation. Here is a glance at an average cycle to give
you a gauge for examining your cycle:
Day 1: The first day of
your menstrual flow is the beginning of the
calendar.
Day 7: By day seven your
egg is preparing to be fertilized by sperm.
Days 11-21: (based on
28-day cycle) Hormones in your body cause the egg to be
released from the ovary around this time. This process is known
as ovulation. The egg travels through the fallopian tube
towards the uterus. If sperm penetrates the egg, the fertilized
egg will attach to the lining of the uterus and begin to grow.
If fertilization does not happen the egg breaks
apart.
Day 28: Hormone levels
drop around this day causing the lining of the uterus to be
shed making up your menstrual flow.
It is important to
realize that the first part of the menstrual cycle (before
ovulation) is different in every woman and can even change from
month to month. The variation usually occurs from 13 to 20 days
long. The last half of the cycle is usually more similar for
every women, because there are about 14 days from day of
ovulation until the start of the next period. This is why women
are encouraged to track their cycles and count back 14 days
from their LMP to narrow down their most fertile time of the
month.
Calendar
tracking method: Your past menstrual cycles will work
as a guide for estimating your fertile times. In order to track
your menstrual cycle and to identify your expected ovulation
follow the step by step process below:
Step 1: Plan on tracking
your menstrual cycle for 8 to 12 months.
Step 2: Day 1 will be
the first day you start menstruation.
Step 3: Pick the longest
and shortest of the cycles from your monthly
tracking.
Step 4: The first day of
your fertility period is determined by subtracting 18 days from
the length of your shortest cycle. If 26 days was your shortest
menstrual cycle, take 26 and subtract 18 to come up with the
number 8. This means that the first day of your fertility
window starts on the 8th day of your cycle.
Step 5: The last fertile
day is determined by subtracting 11 from the length of your
longest cycle. If 32 days was your longest menstrual cycle,
take 32 and subtract 11 to reach the number 21. This means that
the last day of your fertility period ends on the 21st day of
your cycle.
The time in between
these two days is considered your fertility window. In the
above example, your fertility period would be from the 8th day
of your cycle to the 21st day of your cycle. Your ovulation is
expected during this time frame. You cannot get pregnant
everyday during this period, but it is sometime during this
period that pregnancy can occur.
If you are trying to
avoid getting pregnant, you need to abstain from sexual
intercourse or use a barrier form of birth control during your
fertility window. If you are trying to get pregnant, this
fertility period would be the targeted time for sexual
intercourse.
Basal body
temperature method: Your basal body temperature
measures a change in the temperature that occurs after
ovulation and remains elevated until your next period. By
looking at charting from a few cycles, the temperatures can
reveal a pattern from which ovulation can be anticipated. The
steps below can help you as you begin to track your temperature
and identify when you are ovulating.
Step 1: Take your
temperature orally each morning before you become
active.
Step 2: Use a basal
thermometer which recognizes small changes in your temperature.
Your body temperature will only rise between 0.4 and 1 degree
ferenheit when you ovulate. Buy a Basal Thermometer
Now.
Step 3: Record you
temperature every day on your fertility tracking
calendar.
If you record it every
day, you will see that prior to ovulation your temperature is
rather consistent. As you get closer to ovulation, you may have
a slight decline, but it will be followed by a sharp increase
after ovulation. The increase in temperature is the sign that
ovulation has just occurred. Because the increase happens
after you have ovulated, this method is best used by
those who have time to track and study their charts for a
couple months, to ensure the best chances of conception.
Illness, lack of sleep, and alcohol or drug use can affect your
temperature and make it difficult to establish an accurate
reading.
Cervical mucus
method: The consistency of your cervical mucus changes
during the menstrual cycle. In the average cycle, there are 3
to 4 dry days following a 5 day menstrual flow.
The mucus wetness
increases daily, lasting approximately 9 days until the wettest
day. Your mucus is easily recognized at this point. It should
be abundant, slippery, clear, and very stretchy. It has been
described as egg whites.
Ovulation occurs when
you have your peak day of stretchy mucus (within two days). In
order to use the cervical mucus method to identify your
ovulation follow the few steps noted below:
Step 1: Collect the
mucus from the vaginal opening with your fingers by wiping them
from front to back.
Step 2: Record it daily
on your fertility calendar by making note of the color (yellow,
white, clear or cloudy), the consistency (thick, sticky, or
stretchy) and the feel (dry, wet, sticky, slippery,
stretchy).
Step 3: Ovulation is
recorded on the day that your mucus is clearest, slippery and
most stretchy.
Do not douche or use
spermicides which increase your risk for infection and may wash
away or change the appearance of the mucus.
How effective is fertility
awareness?
When fertility awareness
is used correctly and consistently, it may reach effective
rates around 90%. The effectiveness depends on your diligence
to track and record your fertility pattern and your commitment
to abstaining from sexual intercourse or using a barrier form
of birth control during your fertility window.
Typical use, which
refers to the average use, shows a failure rate of
approximately 25%. If you are committed to tracking and
recording your fertility information, you can achieve much
higher success rates.
What are the side effects or health risks of
fertility awareness?
There are no health
risks or side effects associated with fertility
awareness.
Is fertility awareness
reversible?
Yes. Fertility awareness
does not have any effects on the male or female reproductive
functioning. Pregnancy is possible immediately following the
practice of fertility awareness.
How much does fertility awareness
cost?
Fertility awareness is
free to inexpensive. Free training sessions are usually
available around your community through health centers,
pregnancy services, or some churches. Thermometers used to
measure basal body temperatures cost between Rs.100 and Rs.500 and
are available at local drugstores, grocery stores or
supercenters. You may use one of your home calendars to record
this information, or you can purchase a fertility awareness
chart which cost approximately $8.
What about fertility awareness and
sexually transmitted diseases
(STD's)?
Fertility awareness does
NOT provide any protection against sexually transmitted
diseases.
Are there any other
physical signs of ovulation?
Your fertility period
may be identified by paying attention to other functions of
your body. Fertility and ovulation are sometimes tracked or
noticed by women who:
Fertility awareness is
an acceptable means of birth control for couples who have
religious concerns related to contraception.
Fertility awareness is
also used by couples who are trying to get pregnant. It helps
you target your reproductive efforts at the best times to get
pregnant.
What are the pros and
cons of fertility awareness?
View and print an
Ovulation Calendar, or use our Ovulation Calculator, to better
understand your menstruation cycle and ovulation.
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