Natural family planning as 'contraception' does it work?

[HJWT]

If you use natural family planning as a way to avoid pregnancy, has it worked for you & how long have you been using this method?

Also how does it work and what method do you use?

I don't want to go back on contraception after this baby! Iv always used the implant/pill and since my first one iv put on 5 stone, I had serious boil like acne at the end of my last one, no sex drive and exhausted! Hate the thought of the coil and don't want to keep pumping my body with hormones but DH & I look at each other without contraception & I get pregnant🙈

So I want to try the natural method, I was thinking of getting an Ava bracelet to track ovulation and force DH to use condoms around this time!!

Thoughts please oh wise women of MN 😇

It worked for me. I didn't want to to back on hormonal contraception. We avoided about a week when I knew I would be fertile. Tracked symptoms and used the Ovia app (which is for fertility but works both ways).

It worked for me. I used a combination of temperature, mucus, and cervix placement. Didn't use an app, just charting on paper. I had lessons from a couple who taught me the method first.

The only negative thing I found is that there were certain times (e.g. with a young child, so a bit sleep deprived) when I couldn't be quite sure when I'd ovulated so there was a long unsafe period. It meant most of the month without sex, some months.

However, once I got used to it and was better at reading the signs, it was easier to tell.

Worked really well for me. I used Natural Cycles and loved it. It also means when you do start TTC then you have a better understanding of your cycle.

Only thing to remember is you have to have a fairly regular life if you're using the BBT - if you drink a lot or have irregular sleeping patterns then it might not be the best.

@BaweB I have a pretty boring life except for the fact I will have a newborn and 3 year old 🤣

I just really don't want to go on any contraception, DH doesn't want the snip as we are not certain we wouldn't want a third, and TMI (sorry) he finds condoms to uncomfortable even the XL ones. So no help from his end!

@Bellaposey how did it go with a young baby? X

It does work as long as you stick to it very carefully. Many people have used this method for years. It's easier now than ever because you can buy something from a pharmacy that predicts ovulation so even if cycle is irregular, it can still be done.

Honestly, I do not know why more people don't use natural family planning. Must be better than putting hormones into your body (which I did, was on pill for about eight years), messing about with a diaphragm (I had one of those too at one stage), or having a coil.

@Rachelover40 yes, I definitely want to give it a go! I think I will try the Ava bracelet as well as the app and other methods!

How big is the fertile window? I sound so thick but iv not really had a period for 8 years just one when I got my implant removed before DD and 2 before getting pregnant this time! I know I do ovulate regularly though and have a 28 day cycle when not on contraception...

Like contraception, you do have to do it properly for it to be effective. So if you missed a pill or whatever, your chances of conceiving would be higher. Same with NFP, if you take temperature as soon as you wake up, don't take chances on the days when you're not sure if it's safe or not, then it's nearly 100% effective. It has a lower % effectiveness in practice because people do get frustrated and decide just to have sex anyway. Bearing in mind that around ovulation is when the woman's sex drive is usually highest, so you're avoiding sex when you most feel up for it.

On the method I used, to start with (baby, not used to method) I would have around 10 safe days at the beginning of the cycle (including the ones where I was on my period), about 15 unsafe days in the middle, and about 5 safe days at the end. If you used something which could more accurately determine ovulation, the number of unsafe days would be lower. When I got used to it (and my sleep pattern settled down), it was only about 7 unsafe days in the middle. If your signs were super regular and you were confident in reading them, you could probably have as few as 4 unsafe days.

The thing with NFP is it's quite easy to track when ovulation has actually occurred, but much harder to predict when it will occur. And if you want to not get pregnant, you need to avoid the days when it might occur. That's why it's not just the one or two days post-ovulation when you have to avoid.

Also, if you're coming off hormonal contraception, that affects your signs. The people who taught me advised non-hormonal contraception (i.e. condoms) for the first 6 months of charting after being on the hormonal contraception.

It's also not as accurate if you're on any medication or unwell (but then, would you feel like sex anyway?). But not as accurate just means more days to avoid as unsure. It never gives you a safe day that isn't actually safe.

It does work as long as you are prepared to really learn it. Get a copy of the ‘Taking Charge of your Fertility’ book and learn how to chart your cycles.

I wouldn’t rely on an app or bracelet alone - they won’t track enough information to be reliable enough. I also wouldn’t do it if I had really interrupted sleep (like getting up lots with a baby!) as that makes it harder to track properly.

It worked great for me. I also felt more in touch with my body because I was aware of ovulating and I had a very regular cycle.

I know two people it definitely didn't work for. My friend was extremely diligent about temp taking, used an app, followed all the rules cautiously and still got pregnant within a few months. As did my ex's new wife. It depends how much of a disaster another baby would be, I suppose. I wouldn't risk it personally.

We've used it since having our second baby - it took months for my cycle to come back after being on the POP after my first pregnancy, so I wasn't keen to go down that route again. It works for us as my cycle is very regular, and I get very definite fertile mucus coming up to ovulation, so it's easy to pinpoint when that's happening, and we use condoms during the fertile period (and for a day or two either side of it). I don't temp as toddler is still in our bed and breastfeeds once or twice during the night, so temping is unlikely to be reliable for me. Just an app that charts my period and highlights the likely date of ovulation.

That said, an accidental pregnancy now would not be a major crisis for us; if that was the case, then we would opt for something more reliable

Very risky if you don't want to get pregnant again so soon. It works for some but there is a failure rate.

Yes, it absolutely does work if you know what you're doing! For some reason it doesn't seem to be very popular or widespread in the UK, but don't let that put you off. If you look at the chart in the Wikipedia article, NFP ("Forschungsgruppe NFP symptothermal method" which includes charting temperature and mucus and is the version I use) has a failure rate of only 0.4 (perfect use) / 1.8 (typical use), so very safe if you do it properly.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_birth_control_methods

It is important to properly understand the method rather than to just rely on an app, though. 'Taking charge of your fertility' is probably one of the best English books on the topic and a genuinely interesting read: www.amazon.co.uk/Taking-Charge-Your-Fertility-Reproductive/dp/0091887585?tag=mumsnetforu03-21

The actual fertile window is around 6 to 7 days. With NFP you will have about 12 days per cycle where you are advised to use condoms or other methods of contraception to avoid pregnancy.

I wouldn't be here if it did

@notmylittleangel oh god 🤣

Well for DH and I it's either that or no sex at this point after baby comes 🙈