There is a birth control method that is just about as secure as the pill, does not upset the body's hormonal balance and costs nearly nothing.
It's called natural family planning or NFP for short, and couples who rely on it watch for signals from the woman's body to determine her fertile days. One of the positive side effects is that women who practice it have a better overall feeling towards their bodies.
"Patients who learn NFP, which is more precisely described as the symptothermal measuring body temperature and observing secretions, are usually surprised to find out how easy it is," said Bettina Witte de Galbassini, doctor and family counsellor from Offenbach, Germany.
The women measure their body temperature in the morning before they get up. The temperature is tracked on a chart. If the temperature is clearly on the rise and remains high, it is a sign that ovulation has past.
To increase the reliability of the method, other subtle changes in the body are observed. As the fertile phase approaches, many women see changes in their vaginal mucus. It becomes more liquid and often can stretch between two fingers into a thread-like strand. Many women also check the shape and position of their cervix and make a note on their chart of a pain that women sometimes feel in their lower abdomen at the exact time of ovulation.
NFP has a Pearl Index under one. This means that of 100 women who practise the method for one year, statistically fewer than one will get pregnant.
"Theoretically, a woman using NFP must abstain from sex for six days per cycle. In practice, however, it is 10 to 11 days," said Ursula Sottong, director of the working group on natural family planning in Cologne.
Couples using NFP should either abstain from sex or use a condom or diaphragm about eight days before and three days after the estimated ovulation. Women can have sex the rest of their cycle without protection, said Witte de Galbassini. The criticism that in order to use NFP women must have regular schedules is unfounded, she said. After a few cycles, most women have enough experience to recognize when irregularities in the curve potentially have other causes, such as too little sleep, too much alcohol or a cold.
In Germany there is a network of advisers who distribute information about NFP and walk them through the first cycle.
When a woman begins using NFP it can also be an occasion for a man to discover more about contraception, said Sylvia Heil-Schlehuber of the German society for gynecological endocrinology and reproductive medicine in Munich.
"Some men are interested and follow the cycle together with their partners," said Heil-Schlehuber. "Others only follow it because their partners want them to."
Internet: http://www.rho.org/html/cont-nfp.htm
