If your new to the fertility awareness scene welcome. Whether your dabbling in it or are going all in, there’s a lot of information out there that can be confusing, so let me start by saying there isn’t just one fertility awareness method. I think at one point I counted roughly 35 that I was aware of. The term Fertility Awareness Based Method (FABM) is a newer term coined by George Town University that is an overarching umbrella term that holds all the different practices that are “cycle tracking” practices1.
See graphic below for a few of them.
Graphic provided by Sarah Bly from The Well’s School of Body Literacy.
This slide was super overwhelming to me when I first saw it. The fact that there are this many Fertility Awareness Based Methods (FABM) is mind-blowing. How on earth would you know were to even begin let alone which one is right for you?
Well, let’s start with a little history lesson shall we?
Before the 1900’s methods such as cycle beads or cycling with the moon and tracking cervical fluid were intuitive forms of birth control used around the world by many native cultures. From 1900-1920’s ovulation was discovered which lead to the introduction of the rhythm method which is still used to this day especially in many apps. After this discovery the woman’s cycle began to be studied more and in the 1950’s the discovery of cervical fluid and temperature shift around ovulation occurred along with the development of the birth control pill. The launching of the pill then triggered the church to adopt practices so as to prevent women from going on hormones and instead implemented Natural Family Planning. Fast forward to the early 90’s when many of these secular methods came about after Toni Weschler wrote her book Taking Charge of Your Fertility. Eventually this triggered even more methods with different efficacy rates to come out and by the 2000’s there were hundreds of apps available to offer cycle tracking. Currently today, you can find many methods and educators who teach specific methods to fit an array of needs.
“There is literally something for everyone but how can you choose what’s best for you?”
First, I always recommend starting with what your intentions? Meaning what is your goal for using a FABM? In my fertility awareness and charting course I use an intention scale. In this scale I have you ask yourself:
- What is your intention of pregnancy on a scale of 0-10? 10 is to get pregnant now. Zero is absolutely no pregnancy and of course you could sway within the middle.
- Why does it matter? Ask yourself what would happen if… and why would you feel that way?
- How can you or the people around you honor that choice?
You could also want to learn more about your own cycle and health while this scale may not apply within your life at this time. There is no one correct answer and this an individual and personal choice.
I definitely think acknowledging that all of these methods are not the same and have different efficacy rates, some better than others, is a great thing to consider next. Note that they also have different rules and regulations to follow that make them more or less effective. When I talk about efficacy, what I’m referring to is the rate of unintended pregnancies that occurred while using a specific method. So this is where your intentions come in handy.
For instance, the Sympto-Thermal Method with perfect use is 99.4-99.6% effective while the 2 day method which is a calculation method is 96% effective with perfect use as seen below in the chart. A person looking to get pregnant may choose a different method than one who doesn’t want to become pregnant at all. I discuss all of this in my body literacy and cycle charting course by the way if your wanting more info on this.
I also would like to point out that many of the Fertility Awareness Based Methods (FABM) are linked to some sort of religion. Some of you may have even had to take some sort of class especially before getting married. This isn’t anything bad or wrong it’s just may not align with your own personal values and beliefs or fit your in with your own intention scale.
While some may hear the term “fertility awareness” and think oh this is only for when I want to have babies, your incorrect. Our fertility is becoming threatened even within the womb. Umbilical cords are being found with hundreds of toxins in them at birth.2 With the rising amount of infertility cases, increased exposure to exogenous hormones as well as the push of birth control on young healthy women we are seeing an increase in hormone and reproductive issues as well as a decline in overall fertility.3 So don’t just think that you need to protect your fertility when your ready to have a baby because that just isn’t the case. Fertility Awareness can give us daily clues into our hormones, metabolic systems and overall health that we may not know we are even facing until we can no longer reverse it.
Let’s get on with the practice you will be learning from me. Originally when I first got married I took an Natural Family Planning class. This was my first exposure to a FABM. You can read about this in my blog My Story; Menarche to Perimenopause. I wasn’t well educated on it, I never worked privately with an educator nor was I motivated to do so and unfortunately had an unintended pregnancy eventually reverting back to hormones. I don’t blame this method because quite honestly they have many similarities to the FAM I teach now. However, when we fast forward 13 years later, I found The Well’s method and I fell in love with the way this program thoroughly informed me of ALL of my choices as well as taught me the science of how and why it worked. I loved how sustainable it was for me as well as it can be adapted for EVERYONE.
- Teens
- Natural Birth Control
- Trying to Conceive
- Postpartum
- Period Prediction
- Irregular Cycles
- Perimenopause
- Wanting to live more cyclically
- Those having health issues or wanting to chart for health purposes
- Inclusivity of religion and/or personal beliefs
It’s truly the all in one package for me which is why I ended up going through an extensive 2 year program to learn it and teach it to you!
The Well’s Method is the single check sympto-thermal method. With this method we will open our fertile window with cervical fluid and close it with a basal body temperature and cervical fluid. Optional instruction for cervical checks and additional calculations if needed for more assurance. You will learn how to accurately open and close your fertile window (the time in which you are fertile which, spoiler alert is NOT every day of your cycle). You will also be given instruction on how to chart your cycles with a basal body thermometer as well as making daily observations of your cervical fluid. I will teach you skills of Body Literacy; a skill of tuning into ourselves to read and understand the language of our bodies. Finally you will learn how to interpret your own charts for preventing pregnancy, planning pregnancy or for health. In the end, this practice should only take about a 3 minutes but will enhance your knowledge as well as your overall self awareness.
So what if you learned another method and chart but still want to work with me? We can 100% work around this. Though I’m only certified in The Well’s method I am familiar with other methods and when we work together we will have to come to mutual terms of what things mean and differing rules for your chart. Usually it isn’t a big deal. So long as you are charting your temps and monitoring your cervical fluid most likely I can help answer any questions you may have with your charts.
Fertility Awareness is truly a self care practice. It’s being able to track our cycles and hormones in real time. It’s also a lifestyle choice in which we can have daily check-ins with our own fertility and make decisions based on what we observe. Lastly, it’s not your grandma’s birth control. It is backed by science and can be very effective so long as you follow the guidelines given. However, it is a self-reliant method. It’s your job to follow-up with your educator, be consistent, ask for help, know your risks and facts and make wise choices.
I have had many people ask me why this isn’t being taught to us when we are young and I truly don’t have an answer but what I do have is a passion to provide it to all who want to learn. I love teaching this method and have seen it improve lives as well as bring joy and answers to those who were struggling to find them. If you would like to work with me please reach out or look at some of the classes I provide. As always if you aren’t sure if this method is for you schedule a free discovery call where we can talk about what may be a good fit for you.
- https://www.fertilityawarenessprofessionals.org/become-an-educator/ ↩︎
- https://www.ewg.org/research/body-burden-pollution-newborns ↩︎
- https://www.acog.org/clinical/clinical-guidance/committee-opinion/articles/2014/03/female-age-related-fertility-decline ↩︎
Additional Resources:
4 1.2 P (.5 F):r 1a3n1k0–H13e1r9mann et al, 2007. “The effectiveness of a fertility awareness based method to avoid pregnancy in relation to a couple’s sexual behavior during the fertile time: a perspective longitudinal study”. Human Reproduction 2.
5. http://www.factsaboutfertility.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/BillingsPEH-REV3.pdf
6. https://www.factsaboutfertility.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/MarquettePEH.pdf
7. https://www.factsaboutfertility.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/TwoDayMethodPEH.pdf 5
8. https://www.factsaboutfertility.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/CTFailureTable.pdf
9. ©Christine Camilleri 2020 | www.lightofre.com