Recommended Alternatives to IUDs
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Alternatives to IUDs and other hormonal methods of birth control that not only help prevent pregnancy but also enhance a woman’s understanding of her body & her cycles..... which leads to healthier living, increased confidence and greater connection.
With FAM you can learn how to know when you have ovulated and are no longer fertile for that month until you bleed; so there is a 10 or more day window in every month when you can use no protection and have no chance of getting pregnant. That's the time that is really easy & fun.
FAM (Fertility Awareness Methods)
-Ovulation Method
-Cervical Mucus Method
-Cycle Charting
-Billings Method
Barrier Methods
-Condoms
-Diaphragm
-Cervical cap
For the days before you ovulate at the beginning of your cycle , it is less clearcut but low risk, especially if your cycles are very regular. There is always the chance of an early or off ovulation so using a diaphragm or cervical cap (or condoms if not allergic) during those times might be a good option?
Then, for the days that you know you are fertile (a little over a week each month), what is most recommended is to have strong agreements with your partner to not have intercourse but be sexual in other ways, or else use barrier methods VERY CAREFULLY. An accident during this time has a very high potential of resulting in pregnancy.
FAM is also not just for birth control as it keeps you in touch with what is going on in your body in any case. Knowing when you are and are not fertile is an added benefit. Good luck!!
PS The Billings Method of FAM is the one where you learn to know whey you have ovulated by checking your mucus. A woman named Franchesca Duvall teaches it here in California but I think she can do it online as well.
LEARN MORE:
Taking Charge of Your Fertility
by Toni Weschler
A must read for anyone interested in learning more about our bodies and our fertility.
Hannah Ransom’s program at Holistic Hormonal Health. She has a free online school plus another more involved paid one that seems very worth it. Her page is:
