Fertility Awareness Methods
Do you know when you are fertile?
What is fertility awareness?
Fertility awareness means that the user monitors daily the body's changing symptoms and can therefore identify fertile and infertile days in each menstrual cycle.
Fertility awareness is also known as natural family planning (NFP) or body literacy. It is an umbrella term for non-hormonal methods of contraception that are all based on daily observation of various symptoms such as menstruation, basal body temperature, cervical mucus, and the appearance of the cervix. The symptoms indicate changes in hormone levels that are part of a regular menstrual cycle. The appearance of cervical mucus is different before and after ovulation, whereas basal body temperature increases after ovulation. By practicing fertility literacy the menstruator identify days of increased fertility before ovulation, and also confirm that ovulation has occurred which means that the fertile period has ended in this cycle.
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Menstruators can only become pregnant for less than 24 hours after ovulation, or for one day every few weeks. Sperm on the other hand can survive for three to five days in the vagina. This joint fertility needs to be taken into account when relying on fertility awareness methods for contraception.
Some fertility awareness methods focus on a single symptom, such as cervical mucus analysis (Billings ovulation method) or basal body temperature measurement. Symptothermal methods, such as Sensiplan©, observe multiple symptoms simultaneously to maximize the safety of the method.
It is very common for ovulation to occur on different days in different menstrual cycles as well as change in cycle length. This makes prediction of ovulation solely based on previous cycle lengths not a very reliable form of contraception (also known as the calender method). Fertility awareness methods evaluate the observations daily until ovulation has been confirmed and infertility can be concluded.
Advantages of practicing fertility awareness
no side effects
low cost
&
environmental friendly
increased body knowledge
&
increased awareness for the cycling of the body
increased communication with the partner
less worries about unplanned pregnancies
You are taking informed choices.
Disadvantages of fertility awareness methods
Commitment of all partners needed for successful use of the method
Does not prevent STIs
Ovulation occurs involuntarily and
is biologically necessary;
ejaculation into another person's body is
always a choice.
Fertility awareness in the relationship
Using fertility awareness in a relationship distributes the responsibility for contraception equally between the partners as everyone is required to follow the natural rhythm and their family planning intention. Adjusting sexual behaviour offers the possibility of increasing and deepening communication, new ways to cultivate intimacy, and unconventional ways to provide pleasure.
What means to adjust sexual behaviour according to family planning intention?
Most fertility awareness methods recommend to refrain from penis-in-vagina-penetration during your fertile days for maximum safety. Some couples will rely on condoms, withdrawal or diaphragms during the fertile days and is this referred to as mixed methods.
Please note that when using a condom, you are relying on the safety of the condom and not on the fertility awareness method!
Not practising penetrative sex does not mean abstinence. Instead it can become a time where you are consciously creating intimacy differently. You can still be naked together and enjoy pleasuring each other. Only, make sure to not get any semen near or in the vagina.
Here are some ideas for you
Talk about your intimacy –
what you like and enjoy, what you would like to explore, what you would like to change
Tell each your partner what you love about them & compliment them regularly
Take time to explore each others bodies in detail -
find unexpected erogenous zones, compliment the body parts
