After my last post, you may be questioning how exactly do you prevent pregnancy then? After all, no one wants to become like the Duggars and end up with 20 kids right?
There is an all natural way to prevent pregnancy! and it is effective!
When I began on birth control, no one told me there was a natural way to go about this. I have tried 3 different types of hormonal birth control, because each one gave me negative side affects. The depo shot made me an emotional crazy person and gain weight like someone was blowing up a baloon, the typical pill made me depressed, and I eventually settled for the nuvaring, even though there STILL was negative side effects.
Throughout all this switching, not one doctor had informed me of the natural way to do things. Even though this article shows that NFP (natural familly planning) is as effective as the pill, .4-.6% had unplanned pregnancies using NFP (note the . before the numbers). If I had known there was a way to do this without subjecting myself to emotional mood swings and weight gain, of course I would go that route! Not to mention all the the side health effects we learned about it part I of this series!
How does NFP work?
It is fairly simple actually, once you get the hang of it. It requires you to spend 5 minutes a day charting your fertile symptoms. The biggest downside to using NFP for birth control is having to abstain or use barriers when fertile, and the first few months while you figure everything out. Generally, your "fertile window" will be 7-10 days.
The first thing you check is your basal waking temperature. This needs to be done within the same hour every day. I set my alarm for a specific time, and then go back to sleep after my thermometer beeps! You will need to have a basal thermometer, and have more than 3 hours of sleep before measuring. This will help you confirm when ovulation has occurred, and after the 3rd day of high temperature you are in your "infertile" stage. If you have 18 high temperatures, you are pregnant!
The next thing is cervical fluid. I know, super gross, right? It is actually very interesting to see how it changes throughout the month. When cervical fluid is present, especially if it is an eggwhite consistency, stretchy, or creamy, you are most like fertile at this time. If you are using NFP for birth control, abstain or use barrier methods, if you are trying to conceive, get it on friends! :) Once you get used to charting and your fertile/infertile symptoms, you are infertile on any days you do not have any cervical fluid before 6 pm. It is important to understand your fertile/infertile symptoms before you use this rule!
Another optional way to double check fertile/infertile stages (which I personally use when trying to avoid (TTA) but not if I was trying to conceive (TTC)) is checking cervical position. Yes, this does involve sticking your finger up your hoo-haa, but ladies, it is time to feel comfortable and get to know your bodies! If your cervix is high, soft, and open, you are close to ovulation, if it is low, hard (like the tip of your nose), and closed, you are in an infertile stage. (Please note you must wash your hands prior to checking!)
You record all this information on your chart, and then you interpret it to determine whether you are infertile or fertile today!
There is way more information on each of these steps in Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler. I very highly recommend reading it!
NFP really helps you to be in tune with your body. You will know when your period will be coming, you will know your baby making parts are working, and you will know if they are not, and be better informed of how to tackle the issue.
I think women who used NFP in the older times, before the sexual revolution, ditched it for sexual freedom. They wanted to be able to have sex whenever they wanted, without consulting a chart to see whether it is a good idea or not. It gave them the freedom to have sex without unplanned pregnancies, to be on a equal playing field with a man.
The idea of choosing when you become pregnant is priceless, and I am so glad that God has given us so many signs in our created bodies to be able to tell when we are fertile. A huge benefit as well is getting pregnant happens much quicker when charting, since you know when it is the best time to strike. I recently had a friend get pregnant her first month of TTC with NFP. I do not know about you, but when I am TTC, I do not want to wait around a few months!
Switching from Hormonal Birth Control to NFP
When switching from hormonal birth control to NFP, whether TTC or TTA, can be very annoying. There are many withdrawal symptoms the body goes through, such as heavy bleeding, cramping, breast tenderness, mood swings, no ovulations, longer/shorter cycles, etc. It will take an average woman 3-18 months to get all the hormones out of your system, and doctors recommend you at least wait 6 months after going off hormonal birth control to get pregnant.
This causes many problems. When TTA: If you do not ovulate, it is much harder to know when your infertile/fertile days are! The signs are way off, cervical mucus is changing everyday as the body figures itself out, and there is no natural rhythm occurring.
When TTC: again, if you do not ovulate, it is impossible to get pregnant! I could not imagine the excitement of getting off birth control to get pregnant, and then not ovulate for 3-18 months because of the birth control! I highly recommend beginning NFP way before planning to TTC, the better you know your fertile/infertile symptoms, the faster you will have a baby growing!
It is VERY important to read more information on NFP before using it. The book I mentioned above is AMAZING.
If you have any questions feel free to comment here or post on our facebook! Looking forward to hearing your feedback!
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