What is Fertility Awareness?
Fertility Awareness is tuning into your body’s daily fertility signs, and knowing what they mean. It’s the foundation of body literacy and can empower you to be the expert of your own cycles, fertility and hormonal health.
Fertility Awareness-Based Methods (FABMs)
FABMs are specific methods that offer tools for observing and charting your daily fertility signs which can assist you in achieving your reproductive health goals. Be advised that not all FABMs are equally effective! Predictive apps and devices may be convenient but they are not as effective as observation-based methods.
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I Offer two types of fertility awareness methods
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The Symptothermal Method is an observation-based practice that involves charting your daily fertility signs, including cervical mucus, basal body temperature, and the optional sign of changes to the cervix. This method equips you with a set of guidelines to assist in making informed decisions on the timing of PIV (penis in vagina) sex based on your intentions of either avoiding or achieving pregnancy. The STM is more commonly known as the Fertility Awareness Method (FAM).
There are single-check STMs that rely solely on observation of the daily fertility signs to open the fertile window, and then there is the double-check STM that includes these observations plus a calculation to determine the start of the fertile phase of the cycle. One reputable study found that the double-check STM is between 99.4-99.6% effective in preventing pregnancy with perfect use, and is 98.2% effective with typical use. The efficacy rates observed in this study are in major part attributable to the high level of fertility awareness education that its participants received directly from a qualified instructor.
Some STMs are compatible with barrier methods such as condoms, though do understand that you are relying on the efficacy of the condom and not the STM should you choose to use them during the fertile phase of the cycle.
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The Billings Ovulation Method is a cervical mucus-only method that focuses on sensation at the vulva and the appearance of secretions without the need to actually touch your cervical mucus. It is highly researched, standardized with just four simple rules, and appropriate for all stages of the reproductive years including postpartum and perimenopause. It particularly shines for those who never experience ‘dry days’ in the early phase of the cycle as its pattern-based methodology brilliantly recognizes infertile and fertile patterns of vaginal and cervical secretions.
The Billings Ovulation Method does require abstinence from genital-to-genital contact during the fertile window for effective contraception, so the Symptothermal Method may be a better fit for those who wish to enjoy more freedom in their choice of managing the fertile phase of the cycle.
Who can use FABMs?
If you have a cycle, you can learn to chart!
Your cycles do not have to be regular to use this practice. Whether just coming off of hormonal birth control, breastfeeding, or entering the perimenopausal years, the practice can be adapted to fit your unique lifestyle, needs, and intentions.
While FABMs might not be the best form of contraception for everyone, observing daily fertility signs can give incredible insight into your health and can empower you to deeply connect to your cyclical nature so that you can take advantage of your hormonal strengths at each phase of your cycle. From menarche to menopause and everything in between, cycle charting centers you as the expert of your own body.