Natural/rhythm method family planning?

[MiniAlphaBravo]

Has anyone used temping etc to track cycles and/or withdrawal method successfully? I always see people here being very anti withdrawal but this has worked for us previously although doing it every time isn't ideal so I could maybe also try to track cycles.... only 4weeks pp right now and exclusive breastfeeding and also not had sex yet but trying to plan ahead.

I just absolutely hated the pill and can't stand the thought of a coil or the implant, due to their intrusiveness and hormonal consequences such as weight gain/depression/acne etc. So I'd like to hear from others who aren't using hormonal methods or condoms and have managed not to get pregnant!

Any tips would be most welcome also. Thanks.

Have a Google for "Natural Cycles" - it's just had accreditation as a form of contraception as reliable as the pill. You would still need to use condoms at fertile times of the month though. Also as you've just had a baby, might be difficult to temp accurately as you need to have uninterrupted sleep, but definitely worth a look at.

thank you weathergirl I will check that out now. Sounds interesting.

We have used the rhythm method/withdrawal for 19 years. We supplement with condoms at my most fertile times. It wouldn't have been a disaster for us had I fallen pregnant though.

Thanks shockers that's good to hear. That's probably what we would do as well. Wouldn't be a disaster for us if I fell pregnant but not something we actively want. Hopefully this will work out for us as it has for you.

For it to work well, you need to combine at least two methods, ie temperature and mucus. With other symptoms if you get them and a nod to the calendar.

Perfect use gives a much higher reliability rate than is sometimes thought.

The snag is that the typical use rate is significantly lower (possibly not helped if one of your ovulation symptoms is horniness)

Ha good point about horniness scaevola!
Definitely getting the natural cycles app. And at present this is all academic anyway with a new baby!!

We used temperature and mucous tracking to successfully avoid pregnancy for 2 years before conceiving DD1, and then again for 2 years before conceiving DD2. Both pregnancies were planned.
We used condoms at fertile times, never used withdrawal.
I taught myself all I needed to know from the book "Taking Charge of Your Fertility". All the same info is online though. Plenty of apps to choose from to chart your cycles.

I used the cervical cap, which worked really well for me, and causes no problems or side effects. I understand why doctors push hormonal contraception on people, because it is "easier" and "more reliable", but I think there are lots of reasons to stay away from permanently taking hormones.

If used consistently, the cervical cap is reliable, and I don't like the paternalistic attitude of doctors assuming women can't be counted on to take care of their own fertility.The cap can be put in a few hours before sex, is used in conjunction with a small bit of spermicide, is comfortable, and is easy to use once you get the hang of it.

You could use the cap in conjunction with tracking your cycle.

Thanks claraschu sounds like it has potential. How do you know you're gonna have sex though?

Totally agree about the attitude of doctors. I've been strongly encouraged to have the implant in the past despite the fact that I was married and in my twenties and planning to ttc AND hadn't gone to the docs about anything to do with contraception. In my early twenties they mentioned it at every appt when I was perfectly capable of deciding for myself. Annoying! If men had to take something that interferes with their testosterone I'm sure there would be a different attitude.

I combine basal temperature and mucus, with condoms and sometimes withdrawal during my fertile days. I've been using this method for years now, must be nearly a decade now? Can't remember exactly tbh. I've had two planned pregnancies. I can't recommend NFP enough. A condom tore on cycle day 24 once, normally I would have assumed I had ovulated days ago, but thanks to NFP I knew that this wasn't the case and I decided to take the morning after pill.
I am a bit wary of withdrawal now because I became pregnant very easily and definitely don't want another baby right now!

Thank you scumptious that's good to know. Yeah I seem to get pregnant easily (one try twice) but withdrawal has actually worked in the past. However it seems too risky now.

I (we) have been using natural family planning for 15 years on and off, only got pregnant when I actually wanted to.

I know my body very well though and have very regular cycles, I did have one scare a while back but like others it really wouldn't be the end of the world for me to be pregnant, at the moment we are currently thinking about ttc again anyway.

I should add that we regularly discuss our situation, and if either of us were unhappy taking the risk we'd abstain during ovulation.

I can't see myself using any other form of contraception again, it really works well for us.

We used it successfully for over a year before my last (planned) pregnancy, after which DH had the snip. We knew we wanted another baby, so it wouldn't have been the end of the world if it hadn't worked for us. We're quite fertile, never had to ttc for more 2 cycles.

I went through a Catholic charity (we're Anglicans, but they didn't mind) who put me in touch with woman who taught me to chart my cycles via the Billings method. She reviewed my charts via post for a few months. I tried a Persoma alongside it, although that did not work for me at all and never identified ovulation.

OP, if you feel like you might have sex, you can put it in ahead of time, and if you don't use it, there is no harm done...

If you suddenly want to have sex it only takes about 20 seconds to put in, so yes you have to remember to do it, but not much more trouble than a condom.

We used the withdrawal method for 7 years too, well only leading up to ovulation, condoms when I was ovulating, DC1 was planned, DC2 was not! I was drunk he was drunk I got my dates wrong and bam!

We used rhythm method for 5 years OK - but I have v regular cycles would not recommend for any one with irregular ones as either too much risk of an oops or long abstaining days.. or both!
Now learning Billings method (adds mucus observations and more organised approach) and much more confident of reliability and relaxed about avoiding as long as we want - and good teaching and books to help..
Hope that helps

We used the withdrawal method successfully for 6 years, average of 3 times a week (so that's about 1000 times!). It worked well for us regardless of the time of month, but maybe that says more about my fertility than anything else! In saying that, when we did properly TTC it worked quite quickly.
I'm fully with you on the pill, tried several types and sent me into awful depression

i found that the number of days when you could forego protection was really small. you know how they tell you that sperm can survive for 7 days inside you and you can still get pregnant? it's true...

Sorry for late post, but if anyone interested, we used rhythm method for years and it worked for us. Two key points are - that you need to have regular cycles whether short or long - also that 'abstain on fertile days' means just that .. I would guess (?) that most unplanned surprises from rhythm come from taking a chance on a near-fertile day!
We have now moved to Billings method as we wanted to be more secure in our baby/no baby choice. Adding in cervical mucus observations - something I was occasionally adding into my fertile decisions anyway - has made us more confident.
Hope this helps someone!