Taking Charge of Your Fertility Without Drugs or Surgery

When the Birth Control Pill was developed and released in the 60's, it was celebrated as a great boon to the freedom and health of our gender. Women were excited to have some control over when they started a family, and though some church leaders opposed the use of birth control as trying to wrest reproductive control from God, many others predicted that the pill would strengthen marital relationships by easing some of the burden a large family can bring. Among some faith groups that debate still rages, but a different birth-control related debate has popped up among the religious and non-religious alike.

Over the years a large variety of hormone, chemical, and barrier methods of contraception that have become available to us. As we've learned more about our bodies and how fertility and conception work, we've not only learned more about reproduction, we've learned how tied together the various functions of our body are and how our treatment of one part of our body affects the whole.

As women become more concerned about the risk of blood clotting and the risks of stroke and heart attack as well as the controversial link between hormones and female cancers, many are looking for a way to prevent or delay pregnancy without tampering with the natural functions of our bodies. Natural Family Planning in its various forms offers women the control they desire without any risk of physical side effects. It is also nearly as effective as the combined pill and more effective than many other forms of contraception when practiced perfectly.

Couples who practiced the "rhythm method" years ago relied on the discovery of one piece of the fertility puzzle - women are not fertile every day of the month. They also knew that most women are fertile around the same time each month. The failure of the rhythm method to prevent pregnancy was due to what those couples didn't know about their fertility - namely that every woman's cycle is unique and that there are signs of impending ovulation that we can observe. They were left guessing at which days they should abstain and they often guessed incorrectly.

We now know that we can observe changes in a woman's cervical position and mucus leading up to ovulation, and if we monitor her daily temperature we can also see a rise when ovulation has occurred. The female ovum or egg only lives for a day or two if it is not fertilized, therefore we can be sure it is safe to resume sexual intercourse a few days after the spike in temperature has occurred. Along with these basic principles of natural family planning there are many tools and tests that can help couple monitor their fertility. Couples using natural family planning are not only protecting their future health, they are learning to communicate about their needs and desires concerning sex and children. It takes more work that most forms of birth control, but the pay-off is invaluable.