Natural methods of contraception (the most popular are thermal, Billings, symptomatic-thermal methods) help determine when the fertile days occur in the menstrual cycle. Natural methods of contraception, however, require extreme care and regularity as well as knowledge of the functioning of your body. How to use natural methods of contraception to calculate your fertile days?

Natural methods of contraceptionrequire women who use them to know their body perfectly and strictly follow the rules.

The simplest natural method of contraception is to avoid having sex on a woman's fertile days.

Unfortunately, the available methods only allow you to determine when ovulation occurs (release of an egg ready for fertilization), but none of it makes it possible to predict it 2-3 days in advance. And sperm can survive more than 48 hours in a woman's body. Hence the unplanned pregnancies. There are a number of ways to do this. The so-called marriage calendar - the most unreliable natural method.

Thermal method

The thermal method of contraception is based on a daily temperature measurement. After ovulation, the temperature increases by about 4-5 lines (0.4-0.5 degrees C) and remains at an elevated level for three days. After them, the period of certain, postovulatory infertility begins. The period of pre-ovulatory (probable) infertility is determined by subtracting at least six days from the first day of the temperature rise. The morning temperature should be measured daily with the same thermometer, in the vagina or under the tongue, at the same time, immediately after waking up and without getting out of bed. Climate change, stresses, infections, getting up at night, e.g. to a baby or during doctor's office hours, may cause an error. Advantages: a good method for mature women, menstruating every 25-32 days, with a regulated lifestyle. Disadvantages: the method evaluates ovulation after it occurs, so it does not specify the time of infertility before it. If you are not planning a pregnancy, you can have sex from the 4th day after the morning temperature rises and abstinence during the entire first phase of the cycle. The method is difficult to trust after childbirth, while breastfeeding, when a woman is tired, has a cold, works shifts or travels a lot. Pearl Index: 1-20

MethodBillings

The Billings method is based on the observation of cervical mucus. There are two types of it: estrogenic - characteristic of the fertile period around ovulatory, and gestagenic - appearing in the infertile phase of the cycle. It is thick and sticky, so it is impermeable to sperm, which are retained in the eyes of the cervical mucus network and there, under the influence of the acidic pH of the vagina, die after about 8-12 hours. Several months of observation are needed to distinguish the mucus of the fertile period. Estrogenic is clear, glassy, ​​flexible, slippery, chewy, gives a feeling of moistness in the vagina, while gestagenic - opaque, cloudy, flocculent, dense, sticky, non-sticky, sticky, non-slippery, whitish or yellowish. When your period is over, there is very little vaginal discharge. This is called dry, infertile period. It takes an average of 4 days. The beginning of the fertile period is signaled by more abundant mucus, initially thick, white-yellow in color. it then turns into a clear, sticky, stretchy, egg white-like texture. The last day of the presence of such mucus is the day of ovulation. after ovulation, the mucus becomes thick and dull again and cannot be pulled out into threads. after 3 days you can have sex until the next menstruation. This is the second infertile period in the cycle. If the mucus changes appearance, you must abstain from intercourse for 3 days. Advantages: when you get into practice, the infertile days before and after ovulation and the time of fertility are precisely determined. The mucus observations can be made under any conditions and at any time of the day. The method determines the time of ovulation several days in advance, longer than the survival time of the sperm in the reproductive tract. It can be used by women of all ages, menstruating irregularly, also during lactation. Disadvantages: problems with using this method may be experienced by women after miscarriage, childbirth, perimenopause, with acute and chronic inflammation of the vagina. The problem may also arise after intercourse, because then the mucus becomes more fluid. You can buy yourself a fertility tester. A drop of mucus is taken daily, put on a slide and wait for it to dry. When the oestrogenic mucus dries, it is shaped like fern leaves or fir twigs. Pearl Index: 1-25

Sympto-thermal (Rötzer) method

Sympto-thermal method (Rötzer) - in addition to measuring the temperature and mucus testing, the woman pays attention to her well-being and symptoms suggesting the possibility of ovulation, such as ovulatory pain - severe, short-term pain in the lower abdomen, usually one-sided, preceding 1-2 hours freeing the egg from the ovary. Examination of the cervix should be taught by a doctor. In the infertile phases it is hard and directed towardsrear. In the fertile period, it becomes soft, slightly raised forward. When determining the onset of the fertile period, the symptom that proves this and appears first is selected, e.g., elevated temperature or threadlike cervical mucus. The end of the fertile period signals the disappearance of fertility symptoms. All elements affecting fertility should be taken into account. If the limits of the fertile period determined by these methods do not coincide, the first day of infertility is calculated taking into account the later day. Advantages: the method is good for partners with a stable life. Disadvantages: the method should not be used after childbirth, during breastfeeding, with colds, diseases with fever, when a woman is tired. Pharmacies also offer tests supporting the methods of cycle observation, e.g. persona - collecting information from many cycles. Hormone levels in the urine are tested. You just need to pee on the tip. However, even with this great convenience, it turns out that out of a hundred women who use the persona for a year, six will become pregnant. Pearl Index: 3-35

Handheld microscope: calculate your fertile days from saliva

Easyfertile is a pocket-sized device that allows you to assess your fertile days with a saliva sample. How to prepare for this method? It's very simple - for 3 months you should make observations and record the days on which the next phases of the cycle occur. Saliva is put on the microscope slide and after a few moments the image is observed. The instruction attached to the device contains microscopic photos of changes that occur in saliva due to the increased amount of estrogens. As the fertile days approach, the screen shows many bubbles in the pattern of tiny fern leaves. On fertile days, the screen is covered with large leaves, similar to those that the frost paints on windows. Safe days are identified by individual fluff particles that resemble scraps of paper visible under the microscope Advantages: the microscope is tiny, so observation can be made in all conditions Disadvantages: it is difficult to check the cycle phase before spontaneous approach Pearl Index: 5-6

Contraception methods - learn the surprising facts

Important

You are 30 years of fertile ageA woman's fertile period is on average from 15 to 45-50. age. The ability to have children in adolescence is relatively low, increasing markedly with age, reaching a maximum between the ages of 20 and 30. After the age of 35, it gradually decreases, reaching a value of zero around the age of 50. Among women who do not use any contraceptive methods, the average age of the last birth is 40 years.

Calendarelectronic

A device helpful in determining fertile days. It consists of a reader and an interpreter of the results. The length of each monthly cycle should be recorded for six months. After entering the data on the longest and the shortest cycle, the device itself determines on which days the concentration of LH and estrogen derivatives should be assessed using strip tests. On the basis of the collected information, he determines the period of infertility. The electronic reader learns more and more precisely from month to month to describe the fertility of its owner. Advantages: the device remembers the periods of fertility very accurately, even from the whole year. Disadvantages: the high price of the electronic calendar and the need to buy ovulation tests make this method expensive. The device does not take into account the situation (illness, stress) of changing ovulation dates. Pearl index: around 6

Fertility Tests

They are used to indicate the date of ovulation. They help to establish the times when it is possible or impossible to get pregnant. Dip the test strip into your urine and compare it with the picture on the packet Advantages: These tests are based on morning urine LH (Luteinising Hormone) levels and are mainly used to learn your own fertility. LH influences the release of the egg from the Graaf follicle and the increase in ovarian progesterone. a high concentration of the hormone precedes ovulation. It occurs within 12-24 hours of the highest concentration of LH. Pearl index: not determined.

Marriage calendar (Ogino-Knaus method)

Marriage calendar (Ogino-Knaus method) is not recognized as a contraceptive method in the world, on the contrary in Poland. It is about avoiding intercourse during the period of fertility. The sperm in the woman's genital tract are fertilized for 1-2 days. By abstaining from intercourse between days 11 and 16 in a 28-day cycle, the risk of an unwanted pregnancy is reduced. Before you start using the marriage calendar, you should conduct careful observations for 6 months to determine the length of the longest and shortest cycle.

The first day of fertility is determined by subtracting 18 days from the shortest cycle. In women with a shorter bleeding cycle or a longer period of bleeding, this day may drop around during your menstrual period. The last fertile day is calculated by subtracting 11 days from the longest cycle. this is the beginning of the period of postovulatory infertility. If menstruation occurs, e.g. every 25-32 days, abstinence should be maintained between the 9th and 20th day of the cycle. With cycles lasting 23-34 days, you should not have sex from the 5th to the 23rd day. Disadvantages: the method is very unreliable. ovulation can be delayed easily - only 20 percent of women have regular periods. after childbirth andCalendar miscarriage cannot be used for 8-10 months, as the woman's body re-sets hormonal standards, including the time of ovulation. Not suitable for girls and women during ovulation Pearl Index: 14-50

When sperm does not reach target

What if you stop the sperm on its way to the egg? Some people try to do this through intermittent intercourse, a very popular (and very ineffective) way to avoid pregnancy.

Intermittent intercourse is not a method of contraception!

It involves the withdrawal of the penis from the vagina just before ejaculation. It has no chance of success in men who are excitable or prone to premature ejaculation. In addition, even before the penis ejaculates, fluid containing sperm is secreted.

A good way is with a condom. It protects against sexually transmitted diseases (including HIV / AIDS, hepatitis B), is available over the counter, relatively cheap and can also be bought at kiosks or gas stations. However, many men evade the use of a condom, claiming that they had less fun having sex with it.

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