Introducing the Fertility Awareness Method (an alternative to hormonal contraception)
Alright, alright, I’ve spoken a lot about the potential implications of hormonal birth control BUT what are your options if a baby isn’t on the cards just yet?
Introducing the Fertility Awareness Method (FAM)
I’m a huge advocate for FAM as it helps you get in touch with your body, menstrual cycle and fertility AND can be a form of contraception (or assist in getting pregnant).
According to Jolene Brighten in Beyond the Pill, if used correctly FAM can have a 95-99% efficacy rate - more effective than the 91% the combination pill provides.
So, how does it work?
Women are only fertile for a fraction of our cycle (approx 6 days) ~ this is the 24 hours of ovulation and the 5 days prior to ovulation as sperm can survive 5 days within the female reproductive tract. FAM allows you to determine which days of your cycle are fertile, and which are infertile. FAM involves tracking your
Basal body temperature (BBT) ~ which rises post ovulation due to increase of progesterone.
Cervical mucus (CM) ~ which should be nice and slippery to help keep sperm alive and to help them travel to meet the egg
Cervical positioning ~ a high, soft and open cervix is a fertile one, a low, firm and closed cervix indicates you are not ovulating yet or you have already ovulated.
These 3 fertile signs allow you to identify your fertile window and either avoid unprotected sex (for contraception) or have unprotected sex (if you are trying to conceive).
Do you use FAM?
How long have you been using FAM for?
Written by Karina Marschall, Women’s Health Naturopath, supporting women throughout all their life transitions from hormone health, fertility, pregnancy, menopause and so much more!
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