By: Aaliyah Ellison-McPeters
Introduction
When it comes to family planning or pregnancy prevention, women with epilepsy need to take the proper precautions. When it comes to planning for a pregnancy, your OB/GYN as well as your neurologist need to collaborate and make sure all the necessary steps are taken to have a safe pregnancy. For the time women are not looking to conceive, using protection such as birth control or condoms is necessary. It is important for a woman to understand how her body works and what is taking place when she has her monthly cycle.
What are Fertility Awareness-Based Methods?
Fertility Awareness-Based Methods, or FABMs, are methods of family planning that help a woman identify her fertile period or window in order to prevent pregnancy or successfully conceive. The fertile period is the days of the menstrual cycle where unprotected sex will most likely result in a pregnancy. The fertile window is approximately 5-6 days long and includes the days leading up to the ovulation and ovulation itself. Ovulation is a biological process that occurs approximately two weeks prior to the start of the menstrual cycle. It entails the release of mature ova, or eggs, from the ovary. After the egg is released from one of the ovaries, it moves downward in the fallopian tube and remains there for 12-24 hours. This is where fertilization can potentially occur. Physical changes to cervical fluid, temperature, cramping, and breast tenderness are ways a woman can tell if she’s reaching ovulation.
What Are The Different Types of FABMs?
There are different types of fertility awareness methods. The Standard Days method is a simplified version of the Rhythm method and involves following the days on which you’re most fertile during the menstrual period. Depending on the length of your menstrual cycle, the method has set days on which you’ll likely be most fertile. If your cycle is 26-32 days long, the method suggests that the fertile window will be between days 8-19. This method works best for those with cycles that are regularly 26-32 days in length. There’s the Cervical Mucous method that observes the changes in cervical fluid throughout the cycle to identify fertile days. The BBT or Basal Body Temperature method tracks one’s basal body temperature daily to determine days where there is a small increase in temperature, which identifies ovulation. The temperature is measured every morning before getting out of bed. The Symptothermal Method combines both BBT and cervical mucous methods with other identifiers, such as cervical position and pain during the cycle.
Effectiveness and Use
Fertility Awareness-Based Methods effectiveness can range from approximately 77-98%. However, the effectiveness depends on how consistently and correctly they are used. With typical use, as many as 24 women out of 100 can become pregnant in the first year of use. While there are benefits to using FABMs, such as the options being non-hormonal and non-invasive, those for who unplanned pregnancy would be a risk to their health should be cautious when considering these methods of birth control. Others who are on medication for other reasons may not benefit from FABMs due to certain medicines affecting fertility markers, making it more likely to misinterpret fertility signs. It’s important to check with your primary care provider and a certified fertility awareness educator for all your birth control options, more education, and what birth control methods are the safest and most effective for you.
Conclusion
There are different types of fertility awareness-based methods in helping plan for a family, understanding when the fertile period is taking place, or helping to prevent pregnancy. Along with understanding different types of fertility methods, for those who are not looking to conceive, protection such as birth control and condoms should be used to prevent unplanned pregnancy. Talk with your physician to make sure you understand the different types of fertility awareness-based methods.
Resources
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Fertility Awareness-Based Methods of Family Planning. (n.d.). https://www.acog.org/womens-health/faqs/fertility-awareness-based-methods-of-family-planning
Fertility Awareness Methods | Natural Birth Control. (n.d.) https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/birth-control/fertility-awareness
Fertility Awareness–Based Methods—USMEC | CDC. (2023, March 27). https://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/contraception/mmwr/mec/appendixf.html
Simmons, R. G., & Jennings, V. (2020). Fertility awareness-based methods of family planning. Best Practice & Research Clinical Obstetrics & Gynaecology, 66, 68-82. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpobgyn.2019.12.003
Wilcox, A. J., Dunson, D., & Baird, D. D. (2000). The timing of the “fertile window” in the menstrual cycle: Day specific estimates from a prospective study. BMJ : British Medical Journal, 321(7271), 1259–1262.
