Hi I'm just wondering if anyone is using basal body temperature and cervical fluid as a birth control method? How long have you been doing this? Is it working well for you? What has been helpful in learning how to properly track your cycle? I'm new to these things, I have used many different methods of birth control in the past, pill, patch, shot, IUD, etc. just looking for advice on non hormonal cycle tracking type birth control... Thanks in advance mamas!!!!!
Thank you all for all this info and your responses I am learning more and more !!! I will let you all know if I start using this method and what the results are! :)
Here's a site with what is (hopefully) a lot of info. I only glanced at it, but it might be worth looking at. It appears to be heavily religious, so if you don't like that, go ahead and just skip on past. :)
I used NFPt to get pregnant with great success. I also used it when not trying to get pregnant and it also worked, but that time frame was very small.
As Windy City Mom suggested,Toni Weschler's "Taking Charge of Your Fertility" is a great book to read. I liked that there were charts you could photocopy (the book gives permission) and she goes into great detail regarding the Billings Method (checking your cervical fluid).
Because I later realized that while I was using those methods, I had other reproductive health issues at hand, I'm not an accurate yeay or nay on the effectiveness of this.
I practice the Billings Ovulation Method. When used properly it is 99% effective. It considers neither body temp or fluid, but rather vaginal discharge and learning your body's patterns. I love it.
I have used Naprotechnology for years. I love it. It has not only helped us plan our family but has also caught some illnesses and helped me get effective treatment. I love it. I would definitely get an instructor. Call her often. With this system there is a booklet that gave visuals. That was very helpful. Now I have sporadic cycles and it is still working for me. I can also see when my hormones are imbalanced.
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With BBT, you don't know you've ovulated until AFTER you ovulate. The temp spike indicates that you ovulated the day BEFORE the temp increase.
The way to use this as birth control is to temp for several months and (hopefully) get a feel for when you regularly ovulate.... then you can abstain from sex (or use condoms) for the 5 days prior and 2 days after you regularly ovulate.
Lots of women are very regular and I would imagine this to be a successful method for them. However, lots of women do not ovulate regularly..... and if you are off by even 1 day you can get pregnant. I, myself, do not ovulate regularly (even if I always have 30 day cycles..... and so I would not use this method if I was wanting to PREVENT pregnancy (as I am having a hard enough time using it to TTC!!!!!!).
As far as tips for charting..... this is what my OB told me
- You have to test AT THE SAME TIME EVERY DAY. Even on weekends, holidays, days when you really, really, really want to sleep in. SAME TIME. And it has to be after at least 4 hours of sleep.
- Moving can affect your temp. So you want to NOT MOVE when you wake up. just reach your arm over to your nightstand and grab your thermometer and take your temp while you are in bed.
- Fluctuations in room temp CAN affect your BBT - for example if you sleep with your windows up and a cold front moves in and you wake up freezing cold... well your basal body temp will have dropped a bit.
- if you take medications before bed (tylenol or ibuprofen or asprin) that can affect your BBT, even if you take them for something unrelated... ie your back hurts you take an asprin before bed.... since it's a fever reducer it will affect your BBT the next morning (depending on how many hours a night you sleep).
I have not read this book, but I would recommend "Taking Charge of Your Fertility". I hear mama's talk highly of that book.
I third the book taking charge of your fertility. It explains everything...and more. Learning it all totally empowers you as a woman!
I don't actually chart my temperature, but I do pay attention to my cervical mucus and position, and just use that combined with the calendar (rhythm) method. For us, that is all we've needed during our relationship (we've been married 7 years and our 3 children were all planned).
In the past several months, however, my cycle has changed and I am now starting to chart to be more accurate.
You may find that your OB/Gyn is not very familiar with Natural Family Planning, and if so, you can either educate her/him, or you could look for a provider who does NFP only. You can find NFP only health care professionals at www.OneMoreSoul.com
Hope this helps, and happy charting :)
I did, and got pregnant. (Chemical pregnancy.) I am very normal and regular. My cycle has been the same since I started. I had the books, the websites, everything...I did this method perfectly. The fact is, a woman can get pregnant anytime in her cycle. (I did.) There are times where it's much less likely, and times where it's more likely. If the door is closed and you absolutely do NOT want to be pregnant, this is not a method I could ever feel comfortable with. If you want to delay, but are totally open to another...this method might work fine for you.
We chose to use NFP to space our family. We never got pregnant until we were trying, and got pregnant the first cycle we did. We did choose to use condoms for a few days before ovulation and abstain during my most fertile days.
My mom did this.
She has 5 kids.
L.
A friend of mine was using this method....needless to say, she got a surprise 4th child.
My husband and I have been using NFP for over 14 years and with one God-given daughter who will be 13 in January. I have always struggled with irregular cycles, something that the Pill only covered up and once I came of it exacerbated the problem. I will never touch any of that poison again.
NFP, is really more than just a 'birth control', when approached correctly. NFP can really be a true shift of frame of mind and a recommitment to your marriage. NFP has helped me to know my husband so much better, helped us to open up our communication even more that it was already. While it is widely reported that 50% of all marriages end in divorce, that number drops dramatically to (if I can remember it correctly) something like 2% for NFP couples. That's because when approached correctly by both husband and wife those lines of communication in other areas of the relationship are opened wide. Here's one link for divorce rates noting in 2001 that its 0.2% http://www.physiciansforlife.org/content/view/193/36/.
NFP has helped me know my body so much better, to be a better advocate for myself with my doctors and has actually helped my OB/GYN to figure out what was going on with me with some more extreme than usual cycles, helped lead her down the right path as to what specific blood tests, etc.
Hope this helps
I was on the pill nearly 20 years, but have used this method since getting off it 5 years ago. Since I was regular from day one off the pill, it seems to be reliable for me. We just abstain for a 5 day period since I've proven to be allergic to every condom out there.
I think it depends on how badly you don't want to get pregnant. Tracking cyclical changes is much better for trying to conceive, and there's certainly SOME science to it for preventing pregnancy. BUT it depends on how vigilant you are, how well instructed you are, and how absolutely totally regular you are with absolutely nothing going on in your life to disrupt your hormones. So if you are absolutely 100000% confident that there is no stress and no possibility of other intervening medical events, it might work. But make sure that you're okay with getting pregnant if it doesn't work or if you make an error! I spent years working in a women's clinic doing pregnancy tests on women who did this method! It's ancient and obviously physically safe for your health, but it's far far far from 100% effective! I would absolutely use another form of contraception while learning all about your body, before you rely on this.
