rhythm method and natural birth control

[oread]

I'm about halfway through my first pregnancy but I'm already thinking about what to do for birth control after the baby is born. We do want another child but I would rather not get pregnant right away.
I have had really bad experiences with hormonal birth control and IUDs scare me so I would really prefer a natural method. However, I am a little skeptical how well the rhythm method will work for me because it sounds like a lot of work and the year and a half after I went off the pill and before I got pregnant my cycle was super erratic and I could never figure out when, or if, I was ovulating.

Does anyone have any advice, experience, or recommendations on natural family planning? I think it will at least be worth a try for me because it won't be a huge deal if I get pregnant again, but I would prefer to take my time if possible.

 

[lucy_x]

my gran said it worked for 7 years for her, and she used it to time getting pregnant with her children.

If your skeptical why not use OPK's aswel? You can get them cheap enough on ebay and atleast then you could keep on track of when/if you ovulate?
Are you planning on BFing? Dont take my word for it, But i beleive that can be very good contraception (so much so we are TTC with no luck!)

 

[somedaymama]

The book Taking Charge of Your Fertility has some good information on natural birth control. They call it the Fertility Awareness Method (FAM) though, and they say that their method is more effective than the rhythm method.

I am breastfeeding so I'm not sure how well FAM/natural family planning will work since I haven't gotten AF back and probably won't for a while, so I am using in conjunction with a diaphragm. ...or I will once I actually pick my diaphragm up from the pharmacy. I didn't want to go back to using hormonal methods either.

If your skeptical why not use OPK's aswel? You can get them cheap enough on ebay and atleast then you could keep on track of when/if you ovulate?
Are you planning on BFing? Dont take my word for it, But i beleive that can be very good contraception (so much so we are TTC with no luck!)

Just be aware that sperm can live in you for a few days, so by the time you get a positive OPK, it may be too late. My midwife says that exclusively breastfeeding is pretty good protection for the first 6 months, until solids are introduced and feedings are spaced.

 

[Aunty E]

We used it for a few months before we tried for this one, but I have extremely regular cycles. I wouldn't trust it otherwise. Personally I'm going for the mirena coil, as I've exhausted the various pill options, I don't fancy the injection or the implant and we both loathe barrier methods.

 

[modo]

I am using persona because all hormonal contraception makes me depressed. Its not perfect but it does its job

 

[mumnbean]

We used rhythm method, but withdrawal for fertile days. It works for us, for both preventing and trying. 12 years so far, and counting and my cycle can be a bit irregular at times. I now only loosely follow my cycle as it becomes a habit to be aware of where you are up to... But I did start a calendar when I first started and when we started ttc.

Like you though am not too fussed if we get pregnant, and we are talking about tic again soon anyway.

 

[Kaites]

We were doing the fertility awareness method before Emma came along and it was really effective 'til one month we got preoccupied with buying a house while heading off on vacation and I didn't keep track properly and then oops, Emma was on her way I guess what I'm saying is that like most birth control methods, the effectiveness is somewhat user dependent, lol

 

[MidnightSun]

Have you tried a pill called Yasmin hun?

I only ask as I have been on every pill known to man since the age of 13 (due to horrendous periods) and this was the only one that really agreed with me and let me feel like 'me' x

 

[oread]

I haven't tried Yasmin but I'd be really hesitant to try another hormonal bc. I was on Ortho-TriCyclin for like 5 years before I had problems so I tried Ortho TriLo and the Nuva Ring and they all made me into a totally crazy emotional wreck. When I talked to different doctors about it everyone basically told me that I was full of crap and that the pill doesn't have that effect on people, so it really made me think that none of them know what they are talking about. After I finally went off birth control I started having a ton of cysts and my period never went back to normal. That wasn't necessarily caused by the pill but I never had any of those problems before. Since I'm being so careful to do things "natural" and I avoid putting unnecessary chemicals in my body I'm really trying to avoid messing around with my hormones and body chemistry in such a big way.

 

[MidnightSun]

Ah hun you have been through the mill haven't you.

I understand completely what you're saying ... I only suggestd Yasmin as it is said to have happy effect on people, so you therefore don't suffer from PMT etc....

And unlike the dreaded Cereazette it didn't make my hair fall out or give me acne!

I have heard a lot of people use the Boots Persona for contraception - gives you a green or red light and I think it can detect the early dip in Oestrogen that happens a few days before your LH surge, so it should be quite effective. I know that sperm can live for several days, but if this detects th Oestrogen drop you should be fine.

 

[lynnikins]

we are just using barrier methods at the moment caus i wasnt getting on with the pill at all and since im still BF then that does provide some ( not complete ) protection as well lol i want my cycles to get back to regular but dont want to go for an implant or IUD or anything caus we do want to be able to try right away when we decide to lol not have to wait till the hormones are out of my system

 

[Kess]

The rhythm method is very old fashioned, and just relies on counting days and assuming your cycle conforms to the norm. More modern natural methods often include checking your mucus and basal body temperature every day to chart when your ovulation is expected - they take a little more effort to learn, but are much more reliable. Google Natural Family Planning to find books and/or classes.

DH and I used the LadyComp for years with no problems, which is a cycle computer. It's as reliable as the pill in tests. It's not that much bigger that a CD, though obviously quite a bit thicker! and it has a thermometer attached. You take your temp every morning before getting out of bed and it shows you a yellow, red or green light. Green means go for it, you're infertile, red is fertile (flashed on O day), and yellow is "I don't have enough info to be sure" - treat yellow days as red days; I know of several people who have yellow day babies! Yellow days decrease in number as the computer learns your cycle, and you wind up with mostly green days. You press a button when you're menstruating too.

I don't think I will be using it until my periods return, though. I get pregnant if DH so much as looks at me sideways on a vaguely fertile day, and although I trust the LadyComp completely in normal circumstances, I'd worry that it wouldn't catch that first O before the first period in time and I'd be pregnant again. For someone for whom that wouldn't be so bad, or who takes more to get pregnant, then it might be fine, or I might be being overly cautious. It's a shame because DH and I both HATE condoms, and I won't mess around with my body chemistry to use hormonal methods, so I'm not sure what we'll do.

 

[Janidog]

I am using persona because all hormonal contraception makes me depressed. Its not perfect but it does its job

This is the one im using but i keep forgetting to wee on the sticks

 

[Cassiesam]

Breast feeding is an extremely effective method of birth control provided certain rules are adhered to. These involved:

Exclusive nursing - no top ups, no water, not bottles, no dummies, and baby is fed on demand.
You haven't had a post natal visit from AF yet and
Lo feeds at least four hourly during the day and at least six hourly during the night

If you tick all those boxes then breastfeeding is an effective method of birth control.

I'm using natural family planning right now. I get very distinctive ovulation pain which makes it much easier. I'm usually only bothered by AF for three days so we dtd unprotected until cd 8. I almost always ovulate on CD15. Once I know I've ovulated, I give myself two clear days and then we relax until AF. This has worked for us for about a year. I'm extremely fertile (got pregnant with a mirena coil), so it must be working

 

[Janidog]

The rhythm method is very old fashioned, and just relies on counting days and assuming your cycle conforms to the norm. More modern natural methods often include checking your mucus and basal body temperature every day to chart when your ovulation is expected - they take a little more effort to learn, but are much more reliable. Google Natural Family Planning to find books and/or classes.

DH and I used the LadyComp for years with no problems, which is a cycle computer. It's as reliable as the pill in tests. It's not that much bigger that a CD, though obviously quite a bit thicker! and it has a thermometer attached. You take your temp every morning before getting out of bed and it shows you a yellow, red or green light. Green means go for it, you're infertile, red is fertile (flashed on O day), and yellow is "I don't have enough info to be sure" - treat yellow days as red days; I know of several people who have yellow day babies! Yellow days decrease in number as the computer learns your cycle, and you wind up with mostly green days. You press a button when you're menstruating too.

I don't think I will be using it until my periods return, though. I get pregnant if DH so much as looks at me sideways on a vaguely fertile day, and although I trust the LadyComp completely in normal circumstances, I'd worry that it wouldn't catch that first O before the first period in time and I'd be pregnant again. For someone for whom that wouldn't be so bad, or who takes more to get pregnant, then it might be fine, or I might be being overly cautious. It's a shame because DH and I both HATE condoms, and I won't mess around with my body chemistry to use hormonal methods, so I'm not sure what we'll do.

I think once you have had your LO, you can't really rely on taking your temperature due to the waking up through the nights. Unless of course you have a really good baby who sleeps right through from day one

 

[Kess]

The rhythm method is very old fashioned, and just relies on counting days and assuming your cycle conforms to the norm. More modern natural methods often include checking your mucus and basal body temperature every day to chart when your ovulation is expected - they take a little more effort to learn, but are much more reliable. Google Natural Family Planning to find books and/or classes.

DH and I used the LadyComp for years with no problems, which is a cycle computer. It's as reliable as the pill in tests. It's not that much bigger that a CD, though obviously quite a bit thicker! and it has a thermometer attached. You take your temp every morning before getting out of bed and it shows you a yellow, red or green light. Green means go for it, you're infertile, red is fertile (flashed on O day), and yellow is "I don't have enough info to be sure" - treat yellow days as red days; I know of several people who have yellow day babies! Yellow days decrease in number as the computer learns your cycle, and you wind up with mostly green days. You press a button when you're menstruating too.

I don't think I will be using it until my periods return, though. I get pregnant if DH so much as looks at me sideways on a vaguely fertile day, and although I trust the LadyComp completely in normal circumstances, I'd worry that it wouldn't catch that first O before the first period in time and I'd be pregnant again. For someone for whom that wouldn't be so bad, or who takes more to get pregnant, then it might be fine, or I might be being overly cautious. It's a shame because DH and I both HATE condoms, and I won't mess around with my body chemistry to use hormonal methods, so I'm not sure what we'll do.

I think once you have had your LO, you can't really rely on taking your temperature due to the waking up through the nights. Unless of course you have a really good baby who sleeps right through from day one

That's also true. I can't remember how long you have to have slept before your temp is once again your BBT... As I said, I won't use it until my periods return anyway, which will likely coincide with longer gaps between feeds, if what I read holds true for me.