3 Things You Might Not Know About Avoiding Pregnancy with Fertility Awareness

It's possible.

Yes, you can avoid pregnancy without taking the pill, getting the shot, having the IUD, etc. It’s called Fertility Awareness! By observing your cervical mucus and writing your observations down (#menstrualcyclecharting) you determine which days are potentially fertile (all cervical mucus is fertile) and infertile (pay attention to the rules of the specific Fertility Awareness Based Method you choose to follow).

There IS a learning curve involved, but many women navigate this short 2-3 cycle period very well. I assume that when you learned to drive a car, your parents didn’t just put you in front of the wheel and told you “drive across the county”. No, you had to read a driver’s guide of sorts first and pass the test. Maybe you drove in an empty parking lot or your grandparents’ farm. So, as you’re learning the rules of Fertility Awareness, use other means of protection (condoms, diaphragm, withdrawal, alternative sex, ...) until you’re confident in identifying a fertile and and infertile day.

It’s effective.

That’s right, the sympto-thermal method of fertility awareness is up to 99.6% effective to avoid pregnancy. It’s possible to attain this effectiveness rate either learning by yourself from a book or from a certified instructor. The learning curve will be shorter when learning from an instructor, but you still CAN do it on your own.

It’s affordable.

Depending on where you live in the world, your birth control method might be completely covered by your insurance, maybe you have a copay, or maybe you have to pay everything out of pocket.

When I inquired about getting the copper IUD inserted, after hearing of a friend in Germany who paid a couple 100 dollars to get it inserted, I was floored when the lady at the OB/GYN’s office told me it would cost about $1,000 to have it placed, and if I didn’t like it and wanted it out sooner than the 5 years it would cost about at least half of that to remove it. Thanks but no thanks. I continued with my birth control pills for about a year after that before I switched to Fertility Awareness!

The cost of learning FA will depend as well. If you’re good with learning from a book, then maybe $20-$25. Pen and paper cost next to nothing and many FA apps are also free. You could choose to learn from an intern who is just starting out and typically charges a lower rate while having the support of her educational tribe (I can hook you up!! I’m booked out at my intern rate, but several of my fellow interns are taking on clients). You can also look for a group program or online self study program that are typically lower priced (Lisa Hendrickson Jack currently offers those), or you can learn 1-1 from a certified instructor and get the personalized support to chart your cycles (if you’d like to work with me, I still have a few spots open for my 1-1 coaching!).

This is knowledge you’ll have for life. If you know how to ride a bike, you can never truly “unlearn” it (I can attest to that). When I took a break from charting during and the first couple of months after pregnancy, it was no transition at all to jump right back in a few months postpartum.

What are your roadblocks to learning Fertility Awareness? What’s holding you back from using Fertility Awareness to avoid pregnancy?

Share with us in the comments or shoot me an email 💜