Natural Birth Control

Hi again, A.. I HIGHLY recommend the FAM (Fertility Awareness Method) for natural birth control. Particularly since you do plan to get pregnant at some point, this method will give you hormone-free birth control which will actually make it as easy as possible for you to choose when to get pregnant. I used this method to know exactly when to conceive my first two children, and it worked amazingly well.

It is a method that will only work if you are diligent about taking your temperature every morning upon waking and before getting up. (That can be tricky with a 7 month old baby in the house). You use this information (plus several other more intimate indicators your body offers) to chart your cycle. The book, Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni WEschler, is an easy-to-read, easy-to-follow explanation of this method. I found it fascinating to, at the age of 30 when I read it, finally understand my cycle and my body.

Hi A.: I'm at the end of my childbearing years (expecting my 6th and last and will be DONE after this one), and didn't want to be on the Pill either during my childbearing years. You're smart to avoid hormonal birth control. Being a very fertile person, I can definitely recommend the Standard Days Method, or Cycle Beads. Look it up online. It was remarkably reliable for me. The downside is the 11 days you need to avoid intercourse, or choose a barrier method. During this 11 days I noticed that around ovulation my libido increased and so we needed to figure out how to deal with that. It doesn't need to be a big deal, though, if you and your husband communicate about it and perhaps get creative or use barrier methods (condoms, sponge, foam, etc.)It's always good to know, though, that unless you are abstinent, there's always the possibility of getting pregnant on most methods - user error! The advantage, however, is that you know when you are most likely to get pregnant. I was really quite happy with this method. Check it out online to see if you're a good candidate. God bless you!

Natural Family Planning works well. The key is consistency and understanding because there are days when you can't do "it" all. Still, in a loving relationship, you understand there are other things you can do to show love and affection.
Best of luck,
F.

Much like the first poster, I would highly suggest a sympto-thermal method of natural family planning. Going by standard cycles can be very effective, but everyone's cycles are a little different- I concieved the one I am carrying on day 9 of my cycle... SO not supposed to be even a little fertile that day! Some people (and I'm beginning to think I'm one of them!) even ovulate twice per cycle. Either way, it's best to use more than one method- the book recommended by the first poster sounded like a good place to start.

I am not 100% knowledgeable about Natural Family Planning, but if a barrier method is an option, I recommend a diaphragm. They are easy to put in and have a pretty high success rate. They are NOT hormone related. You are recommended to use a spermaside gel for highest protection, but even without, it is still pretty good.

Other than that, look into Natural Family Planning methods.

Good luck, in what ever you choose