This thorough and informative zine gives a responsible walkthrough of FAM—Fertility Awareness Method. FAM teaches women to use fertility signs as a highly accurate form of birth control (more accurate than condoms when used correctly!). Body Conscious Birth Control is such a great resource about this empowering topic of reclaiming fertility, and is complete with helpful diagrams and drawings, not to mention your own blank fertility chart!
Tune in this week as Sarah Howard interviews experts in women’s health about how we can heal our bodies and help ourselves by tuning in to what’s going on inside.
Many of the guests are sharing a free gift with listeners too!
“For people like me who have been studying menstruation for decades, we’ve never enjoyed this kind of attention before,” says Chris Bobel, associate professor of women’s and gender studies at the University of Massachusetts, Boston and president of the Society for Menstrual Cycle Research. “I wrote a book on menstrual activism five years ago that got no attention. But now it is.”
Is it? Even though Cosmopolitan magazine says it’s “the year the period went public,” we were skeptical. But social media’s been awash with the p-word, and when we checked the number of times the word “menstruation” was mentioned in five national news outlets, it more than tripled from 2010 to 2015, from 47 to 167.
Do non-hormonal birth control choices freak you out because they seem too risky when you could just keep taking the Pill*?
Perhaps the Symto-Thermal Method’s 99.6% perfect-use effectiveness rates make you skeptical. You don’t believe it will work for you and your body.
Trying natural birth control seems irresponsible and you don’t need the added pressure to get it 100% right.
Maybe you have flashbacks to various home remedies you tried in the past that had disastrous results.
I feel you. The fear is totally valid when you are absolutely avoiding pregnancy.
Now I wouldn’t trade the self-knowledge and empowerment FAMs have given me (in addition to effective birth control!) for the hormonal options that kept me in the dark about my body’s awesomeness.
*when I say, “the Pill,” I’m referring to all hormonal birth control types like the Mirena IUD, the ring, patch, shot…etc.
Fertility Awareness Methods (FAMs) of non-hormonal birth control are highly effective because they allow the woman to know with a large degree of certainty whether she is capable of getting pregnant each day of her cycle.
When I first started using FAMs, I felt really alone with the choice. None of my friends were using the method and I think some thought I was nutso for attempting.
But I was determined. I wanted FAMs to work for me so I totally committed to the practice.
FAMs offer a lot more than birth control, they’re more like a lifestyle.
Natural birth control needs you to participate every day.
In the beginning, I was overly vigilant of my fertility signs and what my body was doing each day. I tried to embody what was going on and connect my observations to where I was in my cycle.
Now I take a more relaxed approach to tracking my fertility - without worrying about compromising the method’s effectiveness. Eventually, knowing your cycle of fertility becomes second nature. It’s part of you.
Here are four tips to help you feel more at ease with your transition to Fertility Awareness Methods for effective non-hormonal birth control:
Trust your intuition. Listen to that small voice inside that’s telling you that your body and reproductive health is a safe path for you to explore. This is the voice that will guide and inform you on your journey with natural birth control.
Gather your tools & get curious. Find barrier methods you know how to use correctly (like a condom, spermicide, sponge, VCF) and use them consistently while you are learning your cycle. Practice friendly curiosity with your body and patience with your learning process. FAMs aren’t a quick fix procedure like getting an IUD. It takes time to learn what’s normal for your body.
Stay consistent. As with all new skills, when you’re learning Fertility Awareness, all of the new information can seem overwhelming. It definitely takes effort but it’s worth it when you can know by looking at your waking temperature if you’ve ovulated or you’re about to start your period. Your body is amazing, let it guide you.
Find support where you need it. I read and re-read Taking Charge of your Fertility by Toni Weschler and I consulted with a local FA teacher to make sure I was doing everything correctly These days there are lots of options for classes. And, if you’re finding that the things you were covering up by being on the Pill are coming back, your best best is to find one-on-one help dealing with all the stuff with a health coach who’s specially trained in women’s heath and fertility…psst, that’s me!
Besides being a fantastically effective and reliable method for birth control, the Fertility Awareness Method teaches you more about your body and yourself than anything you can get from your doctor.
I support your journey to find the best method of contraception for you, and I want you to explore your femininity’s full expression without suppression. So if you have any questions about this post…or anything really, click here to talk to me. I love hearing from you!
Fertility is the ability to fully inhabit the moment, to be completely present. That is where life happens – and that is the creative force of the mother. When we can learn how to connect consciously with what is happening in each moment, however painful, allowing and trusting the unfolding of life on life’s terms – rather than controlling and forcing outcomes – we are simply more open, to life.
After 15 years of practicing and mastering FAM, Yewchuk remains passionate about the empowering role it can play in women’s lives.
“I pretty much just never looked back.”
