What is the Fertility Awareness Method?
The Fertility Awareness Method (FAM) is a system of observations and recordings of your body’s natural indicators of fertility (ovulation) across your menstrual cycle. FAM uses the observable signs of cervical mucus and waking body temperature (with the optional sign of cervical position) to recognize how fertile you are each day. You can chart these signs in a simple way to help achieve pregnancy, avoid pregnancy, and monitor your reproductive health.
Did you know that your body tells you when you are close to ovulation?
Isn’t this just the Rhythm Method?
FAM is not the Rhythm Method. The Rhythm Method is based on calendar calculations of past cycles to predict future cycles and does not take into account your unique physiology or the variability of your particular pattern of fertility (i.e. cycles are not all 28 days, women don’t all ovulate on day 14, and things like stress, illness, and hormonal imbalance can affect fertility).
There’s no way to know if you are fertile or infertile just by looking at a calendar!
So how does it work anyway?
This is where FAM excels, because you will be trained to observe and interpret your unique signs of fertility, allowing you to make conscious decisions about having sex based on your actual chances of getting pregnant that day. You can also use this information to monitor and manage your health naturally and holistically.
Isn’t it amazing that you can know how fertile you are each day just by watching your body?
Does this really prevent pregnancy? How can you know when you’re ovulating?
FAM is a great way to prevent pregnancy without the use of hormones or devices, and is done by keeping track of and interpreting your unique signs of fertility. Your body produces cervical mucus as you approach ovulation, so learning to observe and interpret this allows you to know when you can get pregnant and when you can’t. This method is based on years of research and has been shown to be 99.6% effective at preventing pregnancy (that number is based on a study of more than 17,500 menstrual cycles!).
FAM is as effective as hormonal contraception at preventing pregnancy!
How can FAM help me achieve pregnancy?
FAM can help you if you are trying to get pregnant, by allowing you to know when sex will lead to a better chance of conception. Practicing FAM also allows you to overcome some of the common causes of infertility, and gives you a tool to take to your doctor which helps improve care when dealing with difficulties around your reproductive health.
Knowing when you are close to ovulation will increase your chances of getting pregnant!
Will this work for me even if I have irregular cycles? Or if I’m breastfeeding?
Yes, any woman with any kind of cycle can use FAM because it does not make predictions and is based on your own body’s unique signs of fertility. You will learn to observe and chart your unique menstrual cycle, and regardless of how long or irregular it is, by following the FAM rules you can accurately prevent or achieve pregnancy.
FAM works with irregular cycles because it’s based on your unique pattern of fertility!
What if I don’t want to have kids? Can I still get something out to this?
The fact is that our bodies were designed to reproduce, so by understanding your fertility you will have a better understanding of your overall health whether or not you want kids (now or ever). As well, using FAM allows you to monitor and manage your health naturally, and can help with health concerns like PMS, thyroid problems, allergies, endometriosis, polycystic ovarian syndrome, and many more!
Understanding your fertility allows you to understand and improve your overall health!
How can you help me? Can’t I just use an app?
As a Holistic Reproductive Health Practitioner (HRHP), I am trained in the Justisse Method of Fertility Awareness and can provide you with training personalized to your life and your body.
The reason that working with a trained teacher is better than just using an app is that no app can know when you are fertile better than you, and I will help you learn the skills to understand your body with confidence. Working with a personalized program will help build confidence in the early days when you are still learning this skill, and can also help those of you who do not have a textbook perfect cycle (which is quite a few of us!).
I believe that understanding how the female reproductive body works (“body literacy”) is important for all women to help demystify our bodies and empower couples and women like you to make decisions based on a full understanding of the menstrual cycle and how your body works.
Learn the Fertility Awareness Method and you will have body literacy for life!
Ready to get started? Have more questions for me? Check out my programs available or contact me and we can arrange a FREE 20 minute consultation!
