What is natural contraception ?

Natural contraception

If you don't want to use devices or chemicals to prevent pregnancy, it is possible to learn how to predict a woman's fertile times. You may then either have sex or abstain, depending upon whether or not you want to become pregnant. If you are using this method, it is best to book some time with a sexual and reproductive nurse to learn about the issues in some detail. This method really requires you to learn a lot about your body. You will find many helpful books and articles, if you contact your local library or the local family planning library.

What are the advantages?

* It is a totally natural approach, involving no chemicals
* It is acceptable to all religious beliefs
* It allows women to be in touch with their own bodies and natural changes.
* It can be used to either avoid or to plan a pregnancy
* It is effective only with strict adherence to the rules
* It is a method that requires commitment from couples.

What are the disadvantages/side effects?

* Effective learning about the method can take up to six months. Expert instruction is needed.
* Intercourse must be avoided for extended periods which may correspond to those when a woman's libido is strongest.
* Daily records must be kept
* Indicators of fertility may be changed by events such as illness, having sex or stress
* Both the woman and her partner must co-operate
* There is no protection against sexually transmissible infections.

What is a normal menstrual cycle?
This is the time taken from the start of one period to the start of the next, with the first day of the menstrual period described as Day One.

If you have a 28-day cycle, it is likely that:

* You will produce an egg sometime between Day 11 and Day 17
* The egg will survive for approximately one day
* The next period will come between 11 and 17 days later
* A woman can fall pregnant anywhere from Day 4 to Day 18.

What works and what doesn't?
The Rhythm Method
This involves calculating the safe days of a woman's period. This is NOT a recommended method, because even women who have their periods "like clockwork" may have an early or late ovulation without knowing it. Such a situation may affect the timing of the so-called "safe" period.

Temperature
The body temperature rises shortly after ovulation, and stays high until the next menstrual period. You will need to take your temperature vaginally or orally before you get up every morning (preferably using a digital thermometer). The rise will be at least 0.2 degrees C but may be as high as 0.5 degrees C. You are no longer fertile when you have recorded temperatures for three days in a row that are higher than all the previous six days. Remember that other factors such as taking painkillers, having a cold, or even sleeping in, can all affect your body temperature.

Mucus Changes
The cervix (which connects the top of the vagina to the uterus) produces mucus that changes over the time of the menstrual cycle. Immediately after your period you will notice that there is little or no mucous and there is a dry sensation on the vulva or skin outside the vagina. Women with short cycles may not have a dry period and, in women with longer cycles, this dry period may be extended.

Once mucus begins to appear in your cycle, you are entering your fertile time. The vulva feels wet and the mucus may be wet, sticky or cloudy. Over the next few days, the mucus becomes more watery, clear and elastic (it looks like raw egg white). At this time the mucus is so sticky that it can be stretched between two fingers without breaking. This is your time of peak fertility.

Shortly after ovulation, the mucus changes and become thicker and more fragile (associated with a rise in body temperature and a dry vulva).

Commercially Available Ovulation Predictors
These tests generally use urine to measure a hormone that rises for a brief period of time just before ovulation. They are expensive and are best for women trying to increase their chances of becoming pregnant.

Does natural contraception work?
When you stick to the rules, it is 98 percent effective. But only if you have sex when the rules say it is OK (and unfortunately that can mean not having sex when your libido is strongest). Some women combine natural family planning with barrier methods such as condoms and diaphragms to decrease their chances of becoming pregnant.

And if I ignore the rules?
Emergency contraception is available from your pharmacy, doctor or local family planning clinic within 120 hours of having sex.