fertility awareness: A NATURAL& effective FORM OF CONTRACEPTION

The Fertility Awareness Method (FAM) is a natural and effective form of learning to read your body’s fertile signs as a form of contraception. The Fertility Awareness Method is highly effective for preventing pregnancy, with an efficiency rate of over 99% when used correctly. 

Fertility Awareness is a valuable tool for when you are planning a pregnancy, or if you have been trying to fall pregnant without success. 

With FAM you track your cervical mucus patterns, and observations are made on a day-to-day basis. Temperature and cervical position may also be used, in addition to checking cervical mucus.  Reading mucus patterns is the clearest and most reliable method for detecting your fertile window (the time when you can become pregnant).

The mucus method can be used by all women, and can be used even if you are experiencing irregular cycles. 

Intercourse outside of the fertile phase has a 0.004% chance of conceiving. Therefore, Fertility Awareness is one of the most reliable forms of contraception, when used correctly and precisely.

Fertility awareness is also a beautiful way to get to know your body and your cycle beyond contraception, and allows you to deepen your intimacy with, and understanding of, self.

COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Is The Fertility Awareness Method the same as the Rhythm Method?

No, far from it. Fertility Awareness tells you an a day to day basis whether or not you are fertile and is a highly effective method. The Rhythm Method is based on a woman’s past cycles, and makes predictions based on previous observations. The rhythm method assumes that a woman’s cycle will remain the same month after month, which is usually not the case. The rhythm method is ineffective in preventing pregnancy, and is not a recommended for of contraception.

Can I use fertility awareness for contraception if my cycles are irregular?

You can! Even if your cycles vary in length, the Fertility Awareness Method can be practiced and will be equally as effective. This is because it is based on a day-to-day assessment of your fertile signs. Many women also discover that FAM give them a deeper understanding of why their cycles are irregular, and can therefore be a key element in balancing your hormonal levels and your cycle. 

Will using the Fertility Awareness Method help me to conceive?  

Most women will find that yes, it both makes the chance of conceiving higher, AND it shortens the time frame a couple generally spends trying to conceive.

Charting your cycle will clearly show you when your most fertile time of the month is, and you therefore time intercourse accordingly. 

It is a great tool in understanding if your hormones and body is in balance, or if there is something that may be preventing a pregnancy from happening (such as a weak luteal phase). 

There are several key markers that we look for in a chart that will identify that optimal conditions are present for conception to occur. Once you have conceived, using fertility awareness will be able to confirm a pregnancy. 

Can I use the Fertility Awareness Method when breastfeeding?

Yes, fertility awareness is a great tool to implement as part of your contraception when breastfeeding. With FAM you will be able to determine when your body begins to ovulate after giving birth. Using this method when breastfeeding is great as is is hormone-free and chemical-free: making sure these unwanted chemicals do not enter into your breastmilk. 

VALUABLE FACTS ABOUT YOUR CYCLE:

• Only 14% of women actually ovulate on day 14.

• Only 13-26% of women is able to determine the fertile phase of their menstrual cycle before learning the Fertility Awareness Method.

• The time of ovulation varies from woman to woman, and also from cycle to cycle!

• The time between menstruation and ovulation is what mostly determines the length of your cycle.

• An optimal luteal phase is between 11 and 16 days.

• Sometimes the body attempts to ovulate, but doesn’t succeed. Often the body will then try to ovulate again later in the cycle. When this happens, you may or may not have a longer cycle. 

• It is possible to have anovulatory cycles.

• Ovulation CAN happen two times within one cycle, but the second ovulation will always occur within 24 hours (which can sometimes result in a twin pregnancy)

• In a healthy cycle the luteal phase (the time between ovulation and menstruation) is longer than 10 days. A luteal phase shorter than 10 days is equivalent to an infertile cycle and may be linked to stress, deficiencies/imbalances or illness. The luteal phase is never longer than 17 days.

“It is unfortunate that the Fertility Awareness Method is even referred to as a method, because in reality, it should be seen as a fundamental life skill that all women should learn, just as they are now taught basic feminine hygiene. This is because the practical knowledge women glean from charting their cycles will aid them from puberty to menopause, and all life phases in between. While this vital information has been slow to disperse into the mainstream, the good news is that things are finally starting to change. A grassroots movement has begun to spread among women everywhere, which I would like to think is reforming women’s health one fertility chart at a time.”