Menu

What is the Fertility Awarenss Method?

Fertility Awareness is a system that allows you to identify accurately the days of your cycle that are fertile by charting 2 or 3 primary fertility signs. These signs are: basal body temperature (taken upon waking up every morning), cervical fluid (aka cervical mucus) and cervix (this is optional). You can use this knowledge either to avoid pregnancy, by not having unprotected intercourse on the days that you are fertile, or, use it to achieve pregnancy by focusing on those same days when you are trying to conceive. This method can be used safely while breastfeeding and can help you predict when your fertility will return after childbirth

FAM is completely natural, therefore there are no dangerous or unpleasant side effects. It is unobtrusive and does not interfere with love-making. Most couples find that practicing FAM enhances their relationship by fostering communication and intimacy.

Who should learn the method?

FAM is absolutely unique in that it can be used throughout your life, from your first period to menopause. The method is beneficial for women of all ages and backgrounds, including teenagers, single women, pre-menopausal women, women dealing with infertility issues, and women who are breastfeeding.

Women can attend the workshop either by themselves or with their partner/husband. I really encourage men to learn about FAM as well, because this method works best if both partners understand and internalize the principles. FAM is unique in that it ultimately places the responsability of contraception, or conception, on both partners.

Why hasn't my doctor told me about FAM?

There are many reasons why FAM is still largely unheard of. But the main reason is that there is no money to be made with FAM. Once you have learned the method, there are really no further costs (unless you also occasionally use a barrier method such as condoms). Compare this to the massive profits made by pharmaceutical companies that produce artificial birth control - there are no sales people talking to your doctor about FAM, no ads in magazines, etc. It is simply not lucrative

Some doctors with patients that are having a hard time getting pregnant will sometimes advise them to begin charting their temperature. Sadly, the information that most doctors have about charting is very limited and often antiquated; they often advise their clients to use the rhythm charting method (also known as the calendar method), which is a method that uses past cycles to predict future fertility. That method is not reliable as a woman's fertility can vary widely from month to month; gauging one's fertility daily is the only way to be truly accurate. Learning FAM properly can easily take 6 to 10 hours, and no doctor has that much time to spend with their patients to explain how to chart. Thereferore, most of them don't bother and assume the method isn't effective.

Finally, we live in a culture that is repressed about genuine openess regarding sexuality. We are not encouraged to know much about our bodies or to share that knowledge with others. Most of us did not have an open dialogue with our parents while growing up and learned much of what we know from school and television (which is usually far from being accurate, unbiased information). We put all our trust in doctors instead of in ourselves. Most students are amazed at what they learn during the FAM workshop and cannot believe that they were not taught this essential and empowering information before. Knowing our bodies is essential and FAM is the door to your self-reliance.