Part One of Two: The Basics of FAM
By Red Pen Mama (Earthmother’s sister-in-law)

A Little about Me
I am the 36-year-old stay-at-home mom of two girls, Monkey (turning 3 years old in November) and Bun (9 months old); I lost a child in 2003 (pertinent to the discussion in Part II), my son Gabriel. Like Earthmother, I advocate for natural childbirth, midwifery, vegetarianism (my two girls and I are vegetarians), and, well, just a lot of things that you find on this site. Earthmom & I are quite like-minded.

She asked me to write about the Fertility Awareness Method for her site, and I am quite honored to comply. I have been using the Fertility Awareness Method for most of my 6-year-old marriage to DearDR. FAM is also known as Natural Family Planning (NFP), but for brevity’s sake, I’ll just refer to it as FAM. It is my chosen method of birth control, but it has other far-reaching benefits, which I will talk more about in Part II.

What You Need to Know about FAM

Most of the discussion here is taken from the book Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler, MPH. I am not going to teach you how to chart your cycles; please, please go to the book to learn how to use FAM.

The most important thing to know about FAM is this: it is not the Rhythm Method! The Rhythm Method is based on the premise that the menstrual cycle (from period to period) is 28 days, and that ovulation occurs on day 14. Although this is true for some women, it seems safe to say that it certainly is not true for most women. I, for one, have never had a 28-day cycle; my cycles have always been on the long side, from 32 to 36 days (and occasionally longer). So let’s forget all about the Rhythm Method, and learn about what FAM truly is.

FAM uses three signs of ovulation to determine the ins and outs of your menstrual cycle. Some of the things you will learn about using FAM are:

• The best time to have intercourse if you want to achieve pregnancy;
• When to avoid intercourse or use a barrier method of birth control if you seek to avoid pregnancy;
• When to expect your next period;
• Whether or not you are even ovulating;
• Whether or not you are pregnant.

The three signs that you will learn how to chart are: waking temperature (also called basal body temperature); cervical fluid; and cervical position. All you need is a digital thermometer, a way to keep track of your temps and observations (charts are available in Taking Charge of Your Fertility, but you could probably devise your own if you wanted) and a little patience as you learn FAM.

Let me assure you right upfront: FAM is not at all difficult to learn or use. It does require a serious commitment, but once it becomes a habit, it’s as simple as brushing your teeth. Really, I am not exaggerating – just as you learned to brush your teeth at least twice a day (or after every meal), you can apply FAM throughout your cycle to know what is going on with your body.

In a nutshell, this is how you practice FAM. Every day:

• Before you do anything else when you wake up in the morning (roll over to kiss the hubby, get up to pee), take your temperature;
• Check your cervical fluid throughout the day (you can check when you go to the bathroom; you can use your finger or toilet tissue);
• Check your cervical position (this step is optional; I haven’t used it, and FAM is still effective for me);
• Chart your findings: waking temp, fluid and/or vaginal sensation, and cervical position.

You will observe the signs that are natural and normal for you. Day 1 of the chart is the first day of your period. If you are ovulating, you will clearly see the changes in your cervical fluid from dry, to sticky, to creamy and then egg-white (the most obvious sign of impending ovulation) and back to dry or sticky until your period. Your temperatures will fall into a certain range until ovulation, and then there will be a thermal shift (your morning temperatures will increase). If you do not get pregnant, 12 to 16 days after the thermal shift, you will have your period.

Other things you can note on the charts provided in TCOYF: when you have sex; if you use a barrier method of birth control (if you know you are ovulating and you don’t want to get pregnant); miscellaneous things that can affect your cycle. You may even note physical changes, such as breast tenderness, bloating, irritability or a tendency to tear up (when I start PMS’ing, I can cry during a diaper commercial) that let you know premenstrual syndrome may be coming on.

See Also: FAM for You: Why you should choose FAM

Share This