Natural family planning methods

This column received a good number of inquiries on the Standard Days Method (SDM). Some of them came from husbands who want their wives to use a natural family planning method that is safe and tested effective – if consistently followed. I think the SDM is the simplest, easiest method to follow, and should be approved by the Catholic Church, and therefore should be disseminated to parishioners all over the country. Considering too the withdrawal of supplies of artificial modern methods by traditional funding agencies, SDM has come at the right time.

But why is SDM better than the other methods? This columnist asked Dr. Ricardo Gonzales, medical researcher at the Social Acceptance Project-Family Planning, to explain the differences between the family planning methods.

According to Dr. Gonzales, it does not take a lot to plan a family. It only requires the couple to understand their family planning needs. A couple who knows what they need can choose from among the various family planning methods that best suit them. For those who do not want to use the artificial modern methods, they have a choice from among the Natural Family Planning Methods (NFPM) or the Fertility Awareness Methods.

The fertility awareness method, says Dr. Gonzales, is "a scientific way of knowing the fertile and infertile phases of the woman’s menstrual cycle with abstinence from sexual contact if pregnancy is to be avoided." This method includes the Standard Days Method (SDM), the Cervical Mucus, and Basal Body Temperature (BBT).

In the SDM, the woman uses cycle beads, much like the rosary but for its color, says the doctor. The cycle beads consists of a string of 32 beads. The first bead, colored red, represents the first day of menstruation, followed by six brown beads representing infertile periods, followed by 12 white beads representing the fertile period, and finally followed by 13 brown beads representing again the infertile period. A rubber ring is continuously moved from bead to bead everyday in the cycle of the woman, representing the different phases and days of the menstrual cycle. If the rubber ring falls on the white bead, couples abstain from sexual contact to avoid pregnancy.

Of the fertility awareness methods, Dr. Gonzales believes DSM to be "the simplest and most convenient to practice since it only requires moving a rubber ring on a cycle bead everyday. When correctly and consistently used, the effectiveness of the SDM is 0.05 pregnancy per 100 women."

The cervical mucus method requires a lot of consistent patience on the part of the woman. It allows the woman to identify the start and end of her fertile period. The woman checks everyday for any cervical secretions either at the opening of her vagina or see secretions on her finger, underpants or tissue paper. If the secretion is slippery, and can be stretched, the couple should avoid sexual contact until the fourth day after this period. If there is no secretion, the woman probably cannot become pregnant and may have unprotected sexual contact. "If consistently used, effectiveness of the cervical mucus is one pregnancy in every 33 women," says Dr. Gonzales. " However, among Filipino women, the practice of sticking a finger inside a vagina everyday might be difficult to develop."

Basal Body Temperature (BBT) on the other hand is used to identify the end of the fertile period. This method requires the woman to take her body temperature in the same way, either orally, rectally or vaginally at the same time each morning before she gets out of bed. She must record her temperature on a special graph, says Dr. Gonzales. The woman‚s temperature rises 2 to 5 degrees Centigrade around the time of ovulation. The couple should avoid sex or use a barrier method from the first day of menstrual bleeding until after the woman‚s temperature has risen above her ovulation temperature and stayed up for three full days to avoid pregnancy. When sexual contact only takes place after ovulation and before the next menstrual period, effectiveness of this method is one pregnancy per 100 women."

Dr. Gonzales writes that a combination of the above methods may be practiced to improve effectiveness of the individual methods. Here’s how:

"Cervical secretions plus BBT will help identify the start and the end of the fertile time. The woman will still need to observe her cervical secretion and take her temperature daily as above described. The couple should start avoiding sex when the woman senses cervical secretions until both the fourth day after the peak crvical secretions and the third full day after the rise in temperature (BBT). Consistent us of both methods correctly will have an effectiveness of one pregnancy for every 50 women."

Dr. Gonzales cautions that although it seems easy to practice the above natural way of family planning, the couple will need to 1) Learn to recognize fertility signs; 2) Understand that they need to avoid sex or use alternative temporary methods during the fertile time of the woman; 3) Use special charts to record body changes, expanded scale BBT thermometers, calendars and other record books for such purpose, and 4) Possess determination to overcome difficulties, cooperation and patience for the partner."

So, it’s up to you to choose which method to follow. But I am plugging for the SDM – although I am at that age where I no longer fear having an unwanted child. If SDM had existed when my friends and I were in our reproductive phase, with the understanding and cooperation of our sexual partners, we would not have relied too much on artificial contraceptives donated by some agency. It’s a shame.

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