Fertility awareness method refers to many different ways of knowing the days of the month when a woman is most fertile or has the highest chances of conception. By making a chart of the physical changes in her body during, before and after ovulation every month, it is possible for a woman to know exactly when she is going to ovulate. This information is enough for a woman to prevent pregnancy as she can avoid sexual intercourse during times when she is most fertile. A woman can know a lot about her menstrual cycle through FAMs as she can at least make use of barrier methods of birth control to prevent conception if she has to undergo sexual intercourse on her fertile days of a month. Taking charge of your fertility to prevent a pregnancy is the main objective of FAMs.
Are you aware of the common fertility awareness based birth control methods
Not every woman is aware of FAMs as what are fertility awareness based methods is a question most commonly asked by women from their gynecologists. The next question in line is how do fertility awareness based methods work. In simple words, tracking one’s menstrual cycle and ovulation allows a woman to know when she is releasing eggs. This knowledge is enough for her to prevent her from becoming pregnant. As no artificial means are used, FAMs are also called natural family planning methods. There are three important fertility awareness based methods namely the temperature method, cervical mucus method, and the calendar method. Collectively, the knowledge from these three methods, when they are consistently tracked, is enough to give control over one’s conception.
All about cervical mucus method
If what is the cervical mucus method is what you want to know, you must understand that your cervix produces mucus during the menstrual cycle. There are many changes in the quality and quantity of vaginal mucus just before and during ovulation. Tracking these changes makes a woman aware of just when she is ovulating in a month. For 3-4 days after periods, there is dryness followed by wetness with the fluid changing consistency and color all the time. At times it is sticky and cloudy and at times it is whitish. It becomes slippery at times while it is almost clear at other times. This method requires tracking quality and consistency of the vaginal secretion from the first day of menstruation for the purpose of charting fertility. Ovulation takes place when the vaginal mucus is most sticky.
Basal body temperature method
For those who ask what is the temperature method, this requires taking your temperature orally every morning with the help of a basal thermometer that is capable of recording even minute changes in your body temperature. During ovulation, the basal body temperature increases by 0.4 to 1 degree Fahrenheit. This means you can know the time of the month when you ovulate and are thus most fertile to avoid sexual intercourse on those days. Fertility awareness allows a woman to avoid pregnancy easily.
Understanding calendar method
This is a simple method where a woman tries to make sense of her past cycles to know the average duration of her cycle as well as shortest and longest cycles. There is a mathematical formula to determine your most fertile days once you know the length of your cycles. This method requires tracking menstrual cycle duration for at least 10-12 months. Having a clear record of your menstrual cycle allows you to know your most fertile, and therefore the most unsafe days. What is Standard Days Method becomes clear to you if you know calendar method as it is one of the several types of calendar methods. All such methods make use of fertility awareness method charts or fertility awareness calendar.
What is the symptothermal method? Combining several fertility awareness methods such as BBT, cervical mucus method and even cervical position to arrive at most fertile days to avoid sex, and therefore pregnancy is termed symptothermal method.
Pros and cons of FAMs
Using FAMs to prevent pregnancy is a safe and natural way to avoid conception. Its advantages are as follows:
- Natural and safe;
- No side effects;
- No cost involved;
- Stop and become pregnant easily;
- No medications are taken.
However, there are also some disadvantages of FAMs which are as follows:
- FAMs work only for women having a single sex partner;
- You have to be sincere and committed to be able to make the most of FAMs;
- Regular readings are required for the success of these methods.
After reading through all these fertility awareness methods, it becomes clear that these methods are all natural and safe. If you want to learn more about these methods, there are many sites explaining how to use fertility awareness methods to be able to avoid pregnancy.
