Blog - Be Fertility Aware

Dreaming of a greener way of doing things

9/2/2021

Camden New Journal recently published some articles imagining how local news might look in 2030 if all the climate goals were reached. I was very pleased to contribute this:

Camden wins NHS sustainability award for green contraception project
NHS contraception used to mean medication or minor surgery. The NHS website listed fertility awareness (natural family planning) and said it was up to 99% effective but most GPs didn’t recommend it and women had to pay for support, or work things out for themselves.

Does it work? It depends on the method...

27/9/2020

Using fertility awareness as contraception can feel scary if you've ever heard it fails 1 in 4 women with typical use (25%).

That figure is unhelpful as it lumps together all the different fertility awareness methods - some of them are better than others.

The failure rate mentioned in this BMJ update is more helpful because it gives a range of figures, depending on the method used. It ranges from 2% to 34% with typical use.

Zombies and Zoom

15/4/2020

Feeling prepared for the zombie apocalypse used to be one of the things I liked about the fertility awareness method of contraception (FAM).

And here we are – no zombies, but a pretty apocalyptic situation.

Not a great time for popping to the GP or pharmacy for pill supplies, or getting a contraceptive injection or implant.

So how is FAM holding up? Well if you're an established user you're probably fine.

My fertility awareness story

15/4/2020

Like millions of women I used to take the pill, and was lucky enough not to have any unpleasant side effects.

Then in 1995 thousands of women stopped taking it because of reports that it increased the risk of blood clots.

Despite that, I would have continued taking the pill if it wasn't for a friend who suggested using fertility awareness as contraception.

I thought is sounded a bit fringe, not like a

Do you need to bleed?

22/7/2019

Do you need periods, or are they “God’s design flaw” as a senior health professional said in a recent Guardian article?

If you mean a pill withdrawal bleed, I agree they are pretty pointless. They were originally introduced as a marketing gimmick, to help women feel better about taking the pill. FSRH guidance states there are "no health benefits" to pill withdrawal bleeds.

It's a bit more complicated if you mean a true period, the bleed you get after ovulation.

How many red days can you expect?

19/7/2019

You might think using fertility awareness as contraception means you only have a few red days a month when you need to use condoms or other precautions.

Unfortunately that's not how it works. Even with loads of data about your cycles, and regular periods, you need buffer days to allow for things changing from month to month.

You need to allow for sperm that hangs around for 7 days, even though 5 days is more likely. And for releasing 2 eggs when you ovulate that

How to avoid period pain, maybe

6/2/2019

Period pain can seem inevitable, “a common and normal part of your menstrual cycle” as the NHS website says.

I used take a few ibuprofen a month and get on with my life. Then I came across Lara Briden's revolutionary idea that periods are not meant to be painful.

This sounded too good to be true, but I was curious so I bought her book anyway

I was sceptical because Lara is a naturopath

Fixing Period Problems with Lara Briden (Book Review)

4/12/2018

Using fertility awareness as contraception means having periods - true periods, not the withdrawal bleeds you get on the pill.

This can be a mixed blessing.

If all goes well, they can be reassuring. A great indicator of overall health and fertility, and a handy way to confirm that we’re not pregnant.

However some women have absent periods, heavy periods, period pain, PMS, acne, breast pain, PCOS, irregular bleeding, endometriosis, fibroids...

It’s not exactly the stuff to fill you with joy about your natural hormones.

The Contraceptive Pill: How Safe Is It? BBC Horizon (Review)

26/11/2018

I was nervous about this programme. A doctor, on the BBC, talking about pill safety - it’s bound to dismiss women’s concerns, isn’t it?

So I was pleasantly surprised when there was no lecture telling all women they should use a long acting method like the implant, injection or coil.

Instead Dr Williams simply says most women prefer the pill to long acting

How much data do you really need?

1/11/2018

Using fertility awareness as contraception can seem like lots of work.

Record every day of your period, every waking temperature, every scrap of fluid.

Wake up at the same time every single day. Never drink alcohol, or get sick, or travel, or get stressed.

Who can handle that?

Feeling judged for using fertility awareness as contraception?

19/9/2018

2 Comments

Using fertility awareness as contraception can mean you feel endlessly judged.

You might have noticed this in some of the recent press coverage of the contraception app Natural Cycles which is based on elements of fertility awareness.

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A better way to judge fertility awareness and the need for a better app (letter to BMJ Sexual and Reproductive Health)

28/8/2018

In their article about the Natural Cycles app, Hough et al quote a Cochrane Review that dismisses fertility awareness based contraception (natural family planning).

A Cochrane Review is an understandable choice but not an appropriate one. It would be more helpful to quote NHS Choices, the Family Planning Association or Faculty Guidance, which all have a more nuanced

Natalia's story

20/4/2018

Myself and my partner tried natural contraception with one of the high-street apps for nearly a year before we realised that following the app’s algorithm is something we can’t get used to and will never trust.

We wanted to understand the rhythm of female cycles, and support our intimate choices with proven studies and knowledge.

We had seen lots of doctors and nurses.

Does fertility awareness work as contraception?

4/4/2018

Fertility awareness has a terrible reputation. Never mind the Rhythm Method jokes - what about the statistics?

According to one very reputable source, the typical effectiveness rate for fertility awareness based contraception is only 76%.

That means it fails one in four women.

If we can fly robots to Mars...

9/3/2017

I loved the start of this film from the Victoria Derbyshire programme.

At last, women with terrible experiences with contraception services were getting a hearing. We heard about side effects, and trouble getting a diaphragm.

Unfortunately, it didn't follow up on these concerns, or look into how to improve support for non-hormonal methods of contraception

Instead it concentrates on the massive cuts

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