Hi there...never feel badly asking a question! Unless, of course, you regret the length of this answer! There are several methods of planning to achieve or avoid a pregnancy that are natural: that is, work with the knowledge of your body's and your partner's reproductive systems, without chemicals or barriers. The oldest or first method used the length of a woman's cycles over a period of at least 6 months to predict the time span within which she would likely ovulate in the next cycle. Sperm life was factored into this and the couple could calculate the days of the woman's cycle when they could consider themselves fertile (and time or avoid intercourse depending on their desire for a child that cycle.) During the first and last 60 cycles of a woman's reproductive life, her cycles can be extremely variable. During the middle years, a woman's cycles can often be quite regular. However, emotion, stress and illness can all cause sudden variability in individual cycles. Modern methods of natural family planning use signs of fertility observable in each cycle: changes in the vaginal mucus and in the cervix indicate that ovulation is approaching. The sustained rise in basal body temperature confirms that ovulation has taken place. If the goal is to achieve a pregnancy or to space out children, try one of the modern methods such as the Sympto-Thermal Method as taught by SERENA in Canada and the Couple to Couple League in the U.S.
