It can be confusing to understand how to prevent pregnancy without hormonal contraceptive. It seems that there are not that many straight forward guides out there telling what the best way is to prevent conception naturally. This is where scare tactics come into play, saying that Fertility Awareness Based Methods have low effectiveness rates.
This is actually not true. In fact, with typical use, the effectiveness rate of the Fertility Awareness Method can be up to 98%. Some studies show it to be at 93%, but this is still more effective than the pill.
Often, unplanned pregnancies occur when a Fertility Awareness Based Method is used without practice and without help from a professional instructor who understands all of the intricacies of using this method to prevent pregnancy naturally.
Today I am going to give you the guide on how to maximize effectiveness rates and successfully prevent pregnancy without any hormones, implants, or surgeries. All of this, while also learning how to keep a record of your health individual health to get to the root cause of any issues that you may have.
While I do not recommend jumping into this method without an instructor who can come alongside you and look at your individual cycle, I will give you the basics to understand what preventing pregnancy naturally looks like.
You will learn all the steps you need to take in order to prevent pregnancy naturally.
You will also learn the signs that your body uses to tell you that it is in its fertile window.
We will start with the basics first to learn how to prevent pregnancy naturally.
Understanding Anatomy to Prevent Pregnancy Naturally
To understand how to prevent pregnancy naturally, first it is important to understand the reproductive process. In order for pregnancy to occur, ovulation has to occur.
What is Ovulation?
Ovulation occurs when an ovary is released from the ovary and into the fallopian tube. This egg can live between 12 to 24 hours while it awaits fertilization from sperm traveling up to meet it.
In order for pregnancy to occur, ovulation has to occur.
Ovulation occurs through a beautiful cocktail of hormones inside the brain and reproductive system.
First, the brain releases the hormone FSH. This stimulates follicles living inside of the ovaries to produce estrogen.
As the estrogen increases to a certain threshold, it signals the brain to release the hormone LH.
When LH is released, it signals the follicle to release the egg. After this, the follicle (now it is called the corpus luteum) produces progesterone.
Progesterone maintains the uterine lining and creates nutrients for an optimal environment when a fertilized egg implants.
Birds and Bees
After ovulation, sperm will find this egg in the upper third of the fallopian tube as it travels upwards in the perfect conditions to meet it.
Sperm can take these conditions involve high estrogen levels that produce cervical mucus which works to transport sperm easily through the female reproductive tract.
Once the egg is fertilized, it travels down to the uterus. This journey can take between 6 to 10 days. Upon reaching the uterus, the fertilized egg implants on the uterine wall, achieving pregnancy.
How to Get Prevent Pregnancy Naturally
Now that there is understanding of the hormones at play that work together for a woman to become pregnant, let’s begin looking into how to prevent pregnancy naturally, so that there is no confusion about when you are or are not fertile.
Understanding the Fertile Window to Prevent Pregnancy Naturally
What is the fertile window, you may ask? I am here to clear up any confusion. Did you know that the body cannot get pregnant all cycle long? This is a big myth. This is why I chose to not use hormonal birth control.
In fact, it is only possible for the body to become pregnant one day a cycle. You heard that right. From the time ovulation occurs, sperm only has 12 to 24 hours to reach the egg before the egg dissipates.
However, a woman is fertile more than this one day. In fact, research shows that she has a fertility window that lasts about 6 days of each cycle.
Why is this if an egg can only last for 24 hours without becoming fertilized?
A woman is fertile for 6 days because sperm can live for 5 days inside of a woman’s reproductive system if the conditions are right. When a woman’s body creates these conditions for sperm to thrive, she is in her fertile window.
This means that if she has intercourse 5 days before ovulation, and her body is creating the proper conditions, the sperm from this encounter can survive till 5 days later when ovulation occurs and then fertilize the egg.
Pretty amazing, right? Even more amazing is the fact that the body provides biomarkers that can tell a woman when this fertile window is, as well as what day she has the highest chance of becoming pregnant.
Learning how to identify these biomarkers can help you to prevent pregnancy naturally, with an effectiveness rate of 98%. Let’s look at what these biomarkers are.
What is a Biomarker and How It Can Help You Prevent Pregnancy Naturally
A biomarker can be defined as a physical trait that indicates the state of the body. So biomarkers of fertility can be defined as the different physical traits which define when the body is in its fertile window.
Recognizing these biomarkers can help you to prevent pregnancy naturally because they will allow you to time intercourse for when your body is in the optimal conditions for conception.
What Biomarkers Can Help You Prevent Pregnancy Naturally
Cervical Fluid to Prevent Pregnancy Naturally
Also known as cervical mucus, this substance is closely tied to ovulation. Cervical fluid occurs when small pockets within the cervix, called cervical crypts, respond to high levels of progesterone by creating a thick substance. This thick substance limits sperm motility.
Cervical crypts respond to estrogen by creating a stretchy, egg-white substance that is lubricating and nourishing to sperm. This stretchy, liquid substance allows sperm to migrate freely up to the fallopian tubes, and survive for up to five days in a safe environment.
When a woman is in her fertile window, she will notice cervical fluid appear and become more stretchy and like egg whites as she approaches ovulation.
After ovulation, cervical fluid will dry up completely, or appear as a dryer substance than during the fertile window.
Cervical fluid can be observed through sight, touch, consistency, and observing a feeling of wetness or dryness throughout the day.
I would argue that this is the most reliable biomarker to follow in the fertility awareness method, as it will align well with ovulation, and can also be a key biomarker in showing any hormonal issues that may exist.
How to Use Cervical Fluid in Order to Prevent Pregnancy Naturally
Having an understanding of how increasingly wet cervical fluid correlates with ovulation can be extremely helpful in preventing pregnancy naturally.
A woman’s fertile window is marked by her point of change. This point of change occurs when she first observes cervical mucus each cycle. This fertile day continues until the evening of day 4 following the peak day.
The peak day of fertility will be on the day that cervical mucus is the most like egg whites. Other ways of describing it would be clear, slippery, wet, and stretchy.
It is the most estrogenic type of cervical mucus, and is most closely tied with ovulation. Ovulation will occur on either side of 3 days of this peak day, which is why a woman is considered fertile until day for following her most fertile observations.
It is vital to avoid genital contact during any point in the fertile period as this will prevent conception from occurring, as sperm can live up to five days in the female reproductive tract when there is cervical fluid to nourish it.
If she experiences anything other than dryness during other parts of her cycle, these must also be considered fertile with a count of 3 days following, unless otherwise indicated by an instructor. This is just one of the many reasons Fertility Awareness Instructors can be so valuable when first learning this method.
Timing intercourse with this sign that the body gives can optimize the chances of preventing pregnancy.
Women can choose to abstain during this fertile time of their cycles or use a barrier method. However, it must be noted that with the use of a barrier method during the fertile time of the cycle, the effectiveness rate of this method will drop slightly.
Many women however do choose to use barrier methods during their fertile phase and are very successful at preventing pregnancy.
It is also important to note that a woman with shorter cycles may begin her fertile period during menses, so it is important to pay close attention during this time of the cycle.
Tracking this is the best way to optimize preventing pregnancy naturally.
If you want to learn how to track cervical fluid in your cycle through charting, please contact me here.
LH Testing to Prevent Pregnancy Naturally
I absolutely love LH testing. I would not solely rely on this method, but it is very helpful in hinting at how soon ovulation will be, and leads to higher success in preventing pregnancy naturally when paired with tracking cervical fluid.
The luteinizing hormone will have a surge 24 to 36 hours before ovulation. This means that when a woman has a positive LH test strip, she will likely ovulate in the next 2 days.
How to Use LH Testing in Order to Prevent Pregnancy Naturally
LH testing in order to prevent pregnancy naturally involves coinciding this testing with cervical mucus. This would make sense since the appearance of cervical fluid is the number one indicator that a woman is in her fertile window.
So, to use LH testing in order to prevent pregnancy naturally, simply begin testing on the day that you see your first sign of fertile cervical mucus. Testing should be done in the morning, during the second urination of the day for proper concentration levels.
An LH test is positive when the second line is as dark or darker than the control line. If the second line is lighter than the control line, it is negative.
Continue testing until you get a positive result, and then discontinue testing.
Understanding when the LH surge occurs will indicate that ovulation will most likely occur in 24-36 hours. This can help to pinpoint that ovulation has occurred so that a woman can better understand when she exits her fertile window.
Timing intercourse with a positive LH reading and good cervical mucus conditions is a great way to optimize chances of preventing pregnancy naturally
Here are the LH Test strips that I use:
Want to learn specific Family Planning rules for a 98% effectiveness rate? Click the link below!
Fertility Awareness Method: The Complete Guide with 4 Biomarkers
Recap on How to Prevent Pregnancy Naturally with the Fertility Awareness Method
The fertility awareness method is an excellent tool to have at your disposal when the desire is to achieve pregnancy. It can help you to prevent pregnancy naturally, but do not despair if it seems difficult to understand at first.
Using the Fertility Awareness Method involves a learning curve, and can often be more successful when used alongside an instructor.
In fact, for pregnancy prevention I would strongly strongly strongly recommend working with an instructor. Your chances of an accidental pregnancy are very likely if you try this without first learning the method in great detail. You can learn more about working with me, a trained professional, here.
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Want to learn more about the beauty of fertility? Check out this post below:
Fertility: Why it is Vital to Women’s Health and Not Just Conceiving
