| Alternatives to hormonal methods include barrier methods, such as male or female condoms, the contraceptive sponge, the diaphragm, Lea's Shield, and FemCap. These methods have somewhat less effectiveness than hormonal methods, but do offer significant protection against unintended pregnancy. Behavioral methods, such as withdrawal, outercourse, and fertility awareness-based methods, such as the fertility monitor you describe, offer somewhat less protection than barrier methods for typical users.
Most fertility monitors available through the Internet have not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for contraceptive use. While they may be helpful for planning a pregnancy by identifying when a woman is likely to ovulate, they may be less helpful in preventing pregnancy. One reason is that sperm can live in a woman's reproductive tract for up to six days. So it is possible for a woman to become pregnant from vaginal intercourse up to six days before she ovulates.
If you decide to use a fertility monitor to prevent pregnancy, you should consult someone who has experience teaching or practicing fertility awareness-based methods of contraception (FAMs). An experienced counselor can help you learn to use other FAMs in conjunction with a fertility monitor to determine more accurately when to abstain from vaginal intercourse or use a barrier method.
For FAMs to be most successful, abstinence or barrier methods are used for many days during the woman's cycle. For example, couples who want to reduce the risk of pregnancy with the "Standard Days Method," avoid unprotected intercourse from Days 8 to 19 of the woman's cycle. (Day 1 is the first day of a woman's period.) This 12-day "fertile window" takes into account the six days before ovulation in which pregnancy can occur from vaginal intercourse and allows for a slight margin of error that may occur in predicting ovulation. The "Standard Days Method" can work for women who have cycles between 26 and 32 days.
The only reversible method of prescription birth control that offers the effectiveness of hormonal methods without hormones is the ParaGard copper T, an intrauterine contraceptive, (formerly called an IUD — intrauterine device), which can be left in place for up to 12 years. IUCs are more than 99 percent effective and are, in fact, the most popular reversible contraceptives worldwide.
Women and men who know they will never want more children than they already have may also choose methods that are intended to be permanent — vasectomy for men, tubal ligation for women. These surgical methods are difficult to reverse, so the couples who choose them must be sure that they don't want children in the future.
Eighty-five percent of women of reproductive age who use no contraceptives during vaginal intercourse become pregnant each year. The only guarantee against pregnancy is not having vaginal intercourse — continuous abstinence. Other contraceptive methods can greatly reduce the risk of pregnancy during vaginal intercourse.
No method of birth control is right for everyone. Although hormonal methods of birth control are safe and highly effective for most women, many women cannot use them. And some women do not want to use them.
Your contraceptive needs may change throughout your life. To decide which method to use now, you need to know
- How well will it fit into your lifestyle?
- How convenient will it be?
- How effective will it be?
- How safe will it be?
- How affordable will it be?
- How reversible will it be?
- Will it protect against sexually transmitted infections?
Considering all these different needs can help you decide.
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