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Natural family planning

What the packet says

What is it?

How it works

Natural family planning is a method of contraception that works by being able to identify the signs and symptoms of fertility during the menstrual cycle so you can avoid pregnancy. It works by identifying and recording the symptoms of fertility (such as the presence of cervical mucus and raised body temperature) and avoiding sex or using protecting during these periods.

How does this compare?

Frequency

  • During intercourse
  • Daily
  • Monthly
  • 1 - 3 Months
  • 1 - 3 Years
  • 3 - 5 Years
  • Permanent

    • Similar to

    Clinical effectiveness

    99

    %

    What does this mean?

    Contains hormones

    No

    What does this mean?

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    What you said

    Side effects

    Show more

    After effects

    Moods

    Periods

    Body weight

    Sex drive

    Reviewer data

    Time taken

    Age of Reviewers

    Reviewers had children

    Reviewers currently using

    Detailed information

    How to get started

    • If you’re interested in learning to use natural family planning, make sure you’re taught by a qualified fertility awareness teacher. Find an NHS fertility awareness clinic in your local area. You need to receive good instructions and support.
    • Your awareness teacher will be able to show you how to regularly monitor the length of your menstrual cycle, body temperature and cervical mucus in order to give you a more accurate picture of what you’re likely to be most fertile. You can use fertility charts and other fertility monitoring devices like computerised thermometers and dipstick hormone tests to record your measurements.

    How to stop

    • Stopping using the natural planning is easy, you just stop abstaining from sex when you are fertile.
    • These methods have little to no after effects, but check out our survey results to learn about anything women have experienced.

    Things that can go wrong

    • Ultimately, you may have sex accidentally without protection when you are fertile and that could lead to pregnancy. It’s not an exact science and can take several months to learn natural planning effectively; lots of factors (illness, lifestyle, stress or travel) may make fertility indicators harder to interpret.
    • Using hormonal emergency contraception will upset your normal hormone pattern and alter your fertility indicators. After using hormonal emergency contraception you should not rely on your natural family planning indicators for two complete menstrual cycles. This allows time for your cycle to return to normal and for your natural family planning indicators to be reliable.

    Reviews

    3/5
    29/09/2020
    Natural family planning
    I used natural family planning for 1 year after coming off my implant. As a nurse working night shifts at times i strugg...

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    4/5
    26/09/2020
    Natural family planning
    I was sceptical but now I Love NFP and recommend it to everybody to give it a try. I felt more like myself right after I...

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    5/5
    12/09/2020
    Natural family planning
    I started coming off hormonal birth control for nearly a month now before I was on the implant but that caused me to gai...

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    5/5
    19/07/2020
    Natural family planning
    I started charting my cycles right before I got engaged to my husband due to irregularities in my cycle and symptoms of ...

    Read more...

    5/5
    03/03/2020
    Natural family planning
    I don’t put any hormones in my body❤️

    Read more...

    5/5
    13/02/2020
    Natural family planning
    Being using The Billings Ovulation Method for 26 years so far. Planned our family with plenty of spacing in between. I w...

    Read more...

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