Does it work? It depends...
Fertility awareness, also known as natural family planning, is an unforgiving method. But those fails are not generally random bolts from the blue.
So long as you use the right fertility awareness method consistently and correctly it can be up to 99% effective.
The right method doesn't mean a period tracking app, no matter how slick it looks, or just avoiding unprotected sex for three or four days a month.
It means using one like Fertility UK, which is a simplified and easier to use version of Sensiplan, the fertility awareness method with the lowest failure rate on this Guttmacher Institute list.
Correct use doesn't mean recording every last bit of information. There's a limit to how much you need.
A few missed temperatures don't generally matter, it's not like missing a few contraceptive pills, and it's only a few days a month that you need to look out for fluid when you use the bathroom (no internal checks required).
It is essential that you use condoms or other precautions for at least 11 days a cycle. It will be more than this if you're learning, or have a disrupted cycle because of illness, travel or something else.
NHS advice is to get support. It might work if you learn on your own, but it's less likely. Unfortunately this support isn’t always funded by the NHS.
Check the Fertility UK practitioner list to see if you're covered. If not there’s several practitioners, including me, who provide support by Zoom and have a sliding scale.
So long as you use the right fertility awareness method consistently and correctly it can be up to 99% effective.
The right method doesn't mean a period tracking app, no matter how slick it looks, or just avoiding unprotected sex for three or four days a month.
It means using one like Fertility UK, which is a simplified and easier to use version of Sensiplan, the fertility awareness method with the lowest failure rate on this Guttmacher Institute list.
Correct use doesn't mean recording every last bit of information. There's a limit to how much you need.
A few missed temperatures don't generally matter, it's not like missing a few contraceptive pills, and it's only a few days a month that you need to look out for fluid when you use the bathroom (no internal checks required).
It is essential that you use condoms or other precautions for at least 11 days a cycle. It will be more than this if you're learning, or have a disrupted cycle because of illness, travel or something else.
NHS advice is to get support. It might work if you learn on your own, but it's less likely. Unfortunately this support isn’t always funded by the NHS.
Check the Fertility UK practitioner list to see if you're covered. If not there’s several practitioners, including me, who provide support by Zoom and have a sliding scale.
Read more
- BMJ review article about fertility awareness based methods of contraception (paywalled)
- Guttmacher Institute. Failure rates for different fertility awareness methods. (The one I teach is a simplified version of Sensiplan.)
- NHS information about fertility awareness
- Using fertility awareness to get pregnant (my page)
- Get support from me: find out how I work and what I charge