For fertility awareness to work well,
it is best to use all of the following methods together.
Calendar (rhythm) method
Record the dates of your
menstrual periods for 6 to 8 months. See if your menstrual cycle is regular and
how many days it is. If your cycle is regular and about 28 days long, you are
most likely to ovulate 14 to 15 days after menstrual bleeding begins.
To find the first day that you are likely to be fertile, take 18 away
(subtract) from the number of days in your shortest menstrual cycle. Your first
fertile day should be that many days after your menstrual bleeding begins. For
example, if your shortest menstrual cycle is 26 days long, you would subtract
18 from 26 to get 8; your first fertile day would then be the 8th day after
menstrual bleeding begins.
To find the last day that you are
likely to be fertile, subtract 11 from the number of days in your longest
menstrual cycle. Your last fertile day should be that many days after your
menstrual bleeding begins. For example, if your longest menstrual cycle lasts
31 days, you would subtract 11 from 31 to get 20; your last fertile day would
then be the 20th day after menstrual bleeding begins.
live in your vagina 3 to 5 days after sex.
- If you want to become pregnant, have sex
every day or every other day from your first fertile day to your last fertile
- If you do not want to become pregnant,
do not have sex or be sure to use another method of birth control for 1 week
before your first fertile day. In the example above, your fertile period is
from day 8 to day 20, so protect yourself from becoming pregnant for these 12
days of your cycle.
The calendar method of birth control is not the best
choice for women who have short, long, or irregular menstrual cycles. For this
reason, the calendar method alone is never recommended for birth control. It
must be used in combination with other birth control methods.
Standard days method (SDM)
On the first day of
your period, move the ring to the red bead (day 1) on the CycleBeads. Count
each day as one bead. On days 1 to 7, you can have unprotected sex. On days 8
to 19, do not have sex or be sure to use another method of birth control to
avoid pregnancy. From day 20 to the end of your cycle, you can have unprotected
sex. All brown beads are days when you are not likely to become pregnant. All
white beads are days you are likely to become pregnant. The dark brown bead
marks day 26 and the last brown bead before the red bead is day 32. The SDM
works best for women who have cycles between 26 and 32 days long.
Basal body temperature (BBT) method
temperature every morning for several months just after you wake up. Do it
before eating, drinking, or doing any other activity. Use a special ovulation
thermometer or digital thermometer that shows tenths (0.1) of a degree. Your
temperature may be taken orally or rectally, but be sure to use the same
location and the same thermometer each time. Leave the thermometer in place for
a full 5 minutes. Record your temperature, then clean the thermometer and
put it away. Any activity can change your basal temperature. Record your
temperature on a chart or graph. Use a simple
Fahrenheit temperature chart(What is a PDF document?) or Celsius temperature chart(What is a PDF document?) to track your temperature. Ovulation usually causes your BBT to rise by
0.4°F (0.2°C) and to stay high for over a week.
want to become pregnant, have sex every day or every
other day from your first fertile day until 3 days after your BBT rises.
If you do not want to become pregnant, do not have
sex or be sure to use another method of birth control from the end of your
menstrual period until 3 days after ovulation. After your temperature rises and
stays high for 3 full days, your fertile days will be over. Your temperature on
these 3 days should stay higher than on any of the other days in that
Cervical mucus method (Billings method)
put one finger into your
vagina and record the amount, color, and thickness (or
thinness) of the mucus. Test the "stretchiness" of the mucus by putting a drop
of it between your finger and thumb. Spread your finger and thumb apart and see
if the mucus stretches.
After your period, you will not have much
cervical mucus and it is thick, cloudy, and sticky. Just before and during
ovulation, you will have more cervical mucus and it is thin, clear, and
stringy. It may stretch about
1 in. (2.5 cm) before it
If you want to become pregnant,
have sex every day or every other day from the day you see your cervical mucus
becoming clear and stretchable until the day it becomes cloudy and sticky. Do
not test your mucus right after sex since semen may be mixed with it.
If you do not want to become pregnant, do not have
sex or be sure to use another method of birth control from the day your
cervical mucus becomes clear and stretchy until the 4th day after it becomes
cloudy and sticky.
Another 2-day method of checking your cervical
secretions can be done. Every day of your cycle, ask yourself if you have
secretions today and did you have secretions yesterday. For all days that you
answer "yes" to one of these questions, it is likely that you are fertile and
can become pregnant if you have unprotected sex. If you answer "no" to both
questions on any day, you are not likely to become pregnant.
If you are using a home
ovulation kit, follow the instructions on the kit exactly.
Combined (symptothermal) method
This method uses
some of the other methods all at once to tell you the most fertile days of your
cycle. You check your basal body temperature, the changes in your cervical
mucus, a hormone test, and watch for signs of ovulation (such as breast
tenderness, abdominal pain, and mood changes). You may have any of the
following physical signs of ovulation:
- Breast pain
- An increase in sexual
- Pain in your lower belly on one side or the other (called
mittelschmerz). This pain can be sharp or dull and usually lasts from a few
minutes to a few hours. It occurs when the egg is released from the
ovary on that side. The ovaries usually switch
releasing an egg each cycle, so pain occurs on the side the egg is released
from during that cycle.
If you do not want to become
pregnant, do not have sex or be sure to use another method of birth control for
5 days before ovulation may occur and on the day of ovulation.