In the first part of this series, I talked a little bit about the “how” of the Fertility Awareness Method (also known as Natural Family Planning). The book Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler, MPH, is an in-depth look into FAM, and should be closely read by everyone interested in using the method.

Although FAM provides information about when you are fertile by charting signs of ovulation, it is not just a method for pregnancy achievement or birth control. All women of menstruating age can use FAM to learn about their individual cycles. FAM provides valuable information about what is normal for you and your body, and can be used to make all types of health care or family planning decisions. It can even provide a clear answer to the question, asked by doctors, gynecologists and midwives the world over: “When was your last period?” How often have you guessed the answer to that question? “Oh, I think it was the first week of April, maybe? Or was it late March?” With FAM, you can simply refer to your chart and have an exact date.

A Few Reasons Why You Should Use FAM

1. As a birth control method, FAM is hormone free. If you choose to have intercourse when you are ovulating, you can be sure to “double up” on the barrier method you choose, for example, using both a sponge and a condom.
2. It is easy. As I said last time, it requires commitment to follow, but once you learn how to chart your cycle, it is a piece of cake.
3. It doesn’t take a lot of time. Last article I compared it to brushing your teeth. FAM takes about the same amount of time to follow – maybe two minutes a day, total, less than brushing!
4. It takes the guesswork out of your cycle. Over time, using FAM tells you how long your cycles tend to be, if you ovulate, when you tend to ovulate (Day 11, Day 17, Day 25?), when to expect the start of your period (you can schedule vacations so you don’t have to deal with the hassle of pads and tampons!), and, if there is a problem, you’ll see it right away and have the information you need for your healthcare provider.
5. You will know if you are pregnant. If you have 18 or more high temperatures after your thermal shift, congratulations! You’re going to be a mother. You’ll even know the likely date of conception, another important day for your healthcare giver to know.

Why I Use FAM

The primary reason I use FAM is because I am 36 years old, and the side effects of hormonal methods of birth control grow more dangerous after age 35. I find most barrier methods inconvenient, distasteful, or uncomfortable. But for the record, I also use FAM because I am Catholic. Natural Family Planning is condoned for family planning by the Catholic Church, and that means a lot to me and my faith relationship with God.

When my husband DearDR and I married, we knew we didn’t want to start a family right away. We used condoms, but neither of us liked them because of the lack of sensation – and, as Catholics, we wanted to be stronger in practicing our faith. I had been on the Pill for seven years in my 20s, and now at 30, I didn’t want to start it again. I stumbled onto Taking Charge of Your Fertility, learned the method, and faithfully applied it. We abstained (or did “other stuff”) during my fertile time (only a few days, usually about a week), and enjoyed worry-free intercourse the rest of my cycle.

After a year, we decided to start trying to have a baby. We didn’t have to try long; the first time we had sex near ovulation, we conceived my son, Gabriel. Unfortunately, Gabriel was stillborn at 37 weeks, a heartbreak we will never get over.

Six months after our loss, we were tentatively ready to start trying to have another baby. Three months later, using the signs of ovulation to plan our intercourse, we again conceived. Today we have a healthy and happy little girl, Monkey, who will be three years old in November.

Then, I must admit, FAM took a backseat. I stopped charting altogether. Oh, I would occasionally tell DearDR that I had fertile fluid, and we would abstain (or whatever), but I wasn’t charting or using any birth control (unless you count the “withdrawal” method — and you shouldn’t!). Thus was conceived our sweet Bun, definitely on the early side of our five-year plan. By about a year. (DearDR still doesn’t believe she’s his because no one in his family has ever been that early.)

I am using FAM again. It is a little challenging now as I get early wake-up calls from our 9-month-old daughter. Also, I am still breastfeeding, and that definitely impacts my cycle, usually by delaying ovulation (I have many of days of fertile-quality fluid). But I know what to look for, and DearDR and I know we are not ready for another. If we decide to try to add to the fun, FAM will let us know if we can, and will give us the signs to provide optimal success.

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