5 Reasons to Try Natural Family Planning
Get Started in Five Simple Steps
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Hormonal birth control is a HARD no for me. I had a short experience with both the birth control pill and a hormonal IUD early in our marriage and both methods drastically altered my moods to the point where I didn't recognize myself. My husband strongly requested that I go off the pill once he noticed the change in me, and I decided to get my IUD removed after several months of similar changes to my mood along with consistent cramping.
It was only after I had decided to avoid hormonal options that I began to learn of the dangers of hormonal birth control. I'm so glad more information is coming to light about the link between hormonal birth control and cancer risks, delayed return to fertility, mental health issues and more.
I knew I wanted a natural method that was simple, so we began using Natural Cycles (a fertility tracking app) for family planning in 2019 and used it to successfully prevent pregnancy for two years before conceiving our first planned baby in March 2021. Even though I’m currently pregnant with our surprise third child, I still recommend this method to anyone who asks! The app is 98% effective with perfect use and 93% effective with typical use. (When we conceived a surprise baby, I was using it typically, but chose to ignore the app's prediction of ovulation.) Use my link for 20% off your first year and a free thermometer
If you’re also looking to avoid hormonal birth control options, I'm sharing five reasons I recommend trying natural family planning along with five simple steps to get started.
Disclaimer: this is not intended to be medical advice. I’m just sharing my experience
1. Natural Family Planning Can be Simple
Cycle tracking can seem overwhelming at first. Many of us weren’t taught basic information in school. I remember believing a woman could get pregnant at any time of the month and thinking the pill was the only birth control option.
Once I learned my cycle was more than just a period, it felt like there was SO MUCH to learn! Natural Family Planning (also known as Fertility Awareness Method) seemed complicated with paperwork and charts. I bought the hefty book everyone recommends, Taking Charge of Your Fertility (amazon.ca | amazon.com) but to be honest, I didn’t spend much time reading it once I discovered how simple it is to track my cycle with Natural Cycles.
This app takes all the guesswork and struggles out of it. All I need to do is consistently take my temperature at the same time each day, and the app calculates my fertility. There are also hundreds of articles within the app and I have learned so much throughout my time using it!
2. Tracking Your Cycle Helps You Better Understand Your Body and Emotions
When I was in high school, I thought I had a serious mental illness. I had days where I felt so happy and on top of the world, and times when I felt down in the dumps for days.
I had no idea these mood changes were a natural part of being a woman with a menstrual cycle, or that drastic mood changes and physical symptoms could be managed by diet and switching to clean personal care products.
As I began tracking my cycle to prevent pregnancy, I learned those moods fit predictably within my cycle, and life began to feel more balanced.
Many women use this knowledge for cycle syncing and plan big work projects and events around their monthly cycle. I’m excited to try this once I eventually spend more than 6 months NOT pregnant!
3. Natural Family Planning Encourages Whole-Body Wellness
Once we're more aware of our bodies and the symptoms that come up throughout the month, we can often find natural ways to treat negative symptoms through dietary changes, essential oils, or supplements.
Before my first pregnancy, I reached the point of nearly pain-free periods. I could almost predict how painful they would be based on what I ate in the week leading up to my period.
Since we’re supporting our bodies instead of disrupting a natural system, switching from preventing pregnancy to trying to conceive often happens faster than if a woman needs to detox from hormonal birth control.
4. It is Quite Effective When Done Right
As I mentioned, I'm in the middle of an unplanned pregnancy. It can happen with any method of birth control, but in my case, it wasn’t a fluke, I decided to ignore the advice of my Natural Cycles App (more about that here).
It's hard to get a statistic on how accurate natural family planning is as a whole since many women use many different methods, but the Natural Cycles app is 93% effective with moderate use and 98% effective with perfect use.
When it comes to natural family planning, you can put in as much effort as you choose to. During those first two years using Natural Cycles, I was very on top of taking my temperature daily, and I respected the app when it told me it was a “red” day (fertile day). Now that I love being pregnant and having babies, I take the warnings less seriously.
5. Natural Family Planning is Budget Friendly
The only real upfront cost is a thermometer. Taking Charge of Your Fertility (amazon.ca | amazon.com) is also a great resource if you want to track it yourself or learn more.
Since I do it the easy way and use Natural Cycles, I pay about $90 per year for my subscription. Hormonal birth control cost me at least that amount, if not more.
It can also be helpful to have ovulation tests on hand, but I've never bothered with them. In recent years, I like to have pregnancy tests on hand for my peace of mind. But if you’re the same way, don’t waste $20 on a drugstore test. Go grab this 20-pack of test strips on Amazon! (amazon.ca | amazon.com)
How to get started in 5 simple steps
1. Part with hormonal options if necessary
You may need to talk with your family doctor if you have an IUD to be removed or another method that requires assistance to wean yourself off of.
If you decide to consult your doctor, prepare for pushback. Natural family planning often is not recognized by the medical community and you may be told it's unreliable. It is difficult to gauge effectiveness since there are so many different methods and some people also use natural family planning to plan pregnancies which makes it appear ineffective. Like I said, Natural Cycles is 98% effective with perfect use and 93% effective with typical use.
2. Choose a method for tracking your cycle
Decide whether you want to read up on your cycle and chart it yourself or use the easy method like I do.
3. Begin taking your temperature each morning when you wake up
Of course, consistently taking your temperature is the most important part of natural family planning. It is important to take your temperature at a consistent time of day, but thankfully most thermometers will store this information so you can input it later.
Keep your thermometer next to your bed on TOP of anything you reach for first thing in the morning to ensure you remember to grab it. Insert it under your tongue, press the button, and wait until it beeps. If you're not inputting the information immediately, turn it off so the temperature will be saved until you are ready.
Input the temperature into your chart or into the Natural Cycles app along with any other information you want to track.
4. WAIT and use a barrier method for several months
It takes several months to gather enough data about your cycle to trust this method. Thankfully, if you are using natural cycles the app will account for this and give you very few “green” days until it learns your specific patterns. If you decide to use ovulation tests, you will likely see an increase in green days more quickly.
DON'T FORGET to use a barrier method for the first few months and on “red” days. Again, with natural family planning you are going to put in as much work as you choose to. Often women who get pregnant using this method want to even if it is subconscious.
5. Continue consistently charting
Continue to input data and learn about your body. If you are using natural cycles, there are tons of articles for further learning that will pop up as you go about your charting. The app even has fun quizzes to test how much you already know.
And that's it! Five reasons to try natural family planning, and five simple steps to getting started. If you decide to try it the easy way with Natural Cycles, use my link for 20% off your first year and a free thermometer!
Whether you’re preventing or trying to conceive, I wish you all the best with your family planning!
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