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Introduction to Natural Fertility Management
Natural
Fertility Management encourages you to be involved with, and
understand, your own reproductive functions, rather than attempt to
disrupt or disguise them. This process facilitates self-awareness, and
enables you to be your own expert, empowered in the choices you make
for contraception, sexual expression, relationships, health and
fertility.
By contrast our willingness to medicate away our fertility and our
menstrual cycle has, perhaps, its roots in age old attitudes around
menstruation as a curse, as something that women ‘just have to put up
with’, and that is in some mysterious way dangerous and unwholesome.
Rather than see our fertility and menstrual cycle as essential to care
for, as an intrinsic part of who we are, we have tended to see
menstruation as expendable and fertility as the enemy, while we are at
the contraceptive stages of life - and then hope it will all whoosh
back into place when we want to start a family.
Whilst effective contraception is of course the primary reason women
take oral contraception or use other chemical methods, and faith in
ones contraception does help a woman relax and enjoy her sex life, in
practice we find, that when women are shown how to chart their own
cycles and use this information to effectively avoid conception, they
continually report the positive effect on their relationships, their
self-esteem, their sense of control over their bodies, and often their
shock that this empowering information was not given to them earlier,
when they first needed it.
The more we understand about how our fertility works the more amazing
the whole process and design appears to us. Understanding cyclical
changes, and working with them in a positive way is not only healthier
but also far sexier and a more connected way to approach a
relationship.
The Natural
Fertility Management Contraception Kit™ gives you step by step
instructions that are easy to follow and easy to use. From the second
cycle you will clearly see days that you are not fertile. As each cycle
passes, the number of days that you are confident you are not fertile
grows, until you have as little as 7 days to consider fertile (includes
safety margins). At these times you can use barrier methods or avoid
genital contact during sexual activity or decide to abstain altogether,
the choice is for you make each cycle.
The unique combination of methods taught in The Natural Fertility Management
Contraception Kit™ enable a woman to pinpoint when she is
approaching mid-cycle ovulation, when she has ovulated and has entered
the post-ovulatory infertile phase, and to combine this with the times
she may spontaneously ovulate, her lunar bio-rhythmic cycle. The lunar
biorhythmic cycle is a second, lesser-known cycle, which may coincide
with a woman’s mid-cycle ovulation, or may not. Spontaneous ovulation
at the lunar biorhythmic cycle has explained many an unplanned
conception occurring at a time in a woman’s hormonal cycle when she
thought she was definitely not fertile.
Secondary symptoms are also charted during the learning phase of
Natural Fertility Management to further the process of getting to know
the cycle (cervix position and texture, energy, moods, food cravings,
headaches, libido, etc). Once the learning phase is over, and the
characteristics of her cycle known, a woman may do as little as check
her mucus and be aware of her lunar fertile times to be fully confident
in managing her fertility. These methods may be managed by the woman
alone or actively practiced by a couple together.
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The Mucus Method, also known as the Ovulation Method and the Billings
Method, was developed by Drs Evelyn and John Billings in Melbourne,
Australia, during the 50s and 60s. Since then the method has been
taught to, and used by, millions of women, and couples, in over one
hundred countries. Nine studies performed in a variety of countries
found an average effectiveness rate of 98.35%. (These are for couples
using the Mucus Method and abstaining at fertile times.) Where
unexpected and otherwise unexplained pregnancies occurred most of these
were assumed to be the result of extraordinary long life of sperm (6-8
days) or that a different sexual event was responsible for the
pregnancy than the one reported. We now know that even where a few
super-sperm can live up to 6-7 days these are not enough for
conception. Whilst only one sperm ultimately fertilizes an egg a swarm
is necessary for fertilization to take place. We would suggest that a
spontaneous ovulation occurring at the woman’s lunar fertile time may
have been responsible for these pregnancies, but would need to know the
birth details, and conception times, of these women in order to be
sure.
Observation of variations in the quality and quantity of mucus present
at the mouth of the vagina is not new. Undoubtedly many women have
discovered this for themselves, over millennia. It is known that at
least three African tribal groups (the Taita, Lamba and Luo) have used
the mucus produced by the cervix as a marker of fertility for
generations. An elder of an Australian Aboriginal tribe described how
young girls of his tribe were taken away to a sacred place by the older
women and taught about mucus, amongst other things. (Billings, pg 13)
Medical and scientific reports of variations in mucus and specifically
the characteristics of fertile mucus were appearing from 1855. W.T.
Smith (The Pathology and Treatment of Leucorrhoea, Churchill, London,
1855) stated that conception was most likely to occur when the mucus
was ‘in its most fluid condition’ and J.M.Sims (British Medical
Journal, 2: 465-92, 1868) pointed out the importance of the mucus when
he first described the post-coital test for sperm health, saying that
it should be carried out when the mucus becomes ‘clear and translucent
and about the consistency of white of egg’. M.Huhner (Sterility in
Male-Female and its Treatment, Redman Co., New York, 1913,) confirmed
the desirability of a particular type of mucus for the Huhner’s test
(fertile mucus for his sperm-mucus compatibility test). J.Seguy and
H.Simmonet (Gynec.et Obstet., 28:657, 1933) performed experiments
involving laparotomy, where the ovary is viewed directly, and confirmed
the time of ovulation and accurately related this to the fertile-type
mucus and to the peak of the hormone, oestrogen. (Billings, pg 17)
The mucus produced by the cervical crypts is controlled by the level of
hormones present, with different areas in the crypts being responsible
for producing different types of mucus at different stages of the cycle.
Most of the time, during her cycle, a woman is not fertile and this is
precisely reflected in her non-fertile mucus, which forms a barrier to
sperm. As a woman approaches ovulation the quality and quantity of
mucus changes. ‘Fertile’ mucus is able to support and assist sperm.
Most women have been somewhat aware of the changes in their mucus since
puberty and with precise instruction these changes can be learnt and
easily recognised, and this knowledge can then be put to great
practical use.
Change in the cervical mucus is the only observable symptom that
precedes ovulation and, therefore, gives reliable warning of
approaching fertility.
It is important for each woman to chart and get to know the
characteristics of her own mucus changes. Whilst there are common and
expected patterns each woman will have her own specific experience and
way of describing and recognising her mucus changes. The primary
changes are in amount, colour and texture of mucus and in the external
sensation of the vulva.
Although it is cervical mucus that we are concerned with it is best
checked at the mouth of the vagina rather than at the cervix, as the
walls of the vagina are always moist and this may confuse the mucus
reading.
Mucus is best checked when you visit the toilet, before urination.
Collect some mucus between your thumb and forefinger, gently separate
the thumb and forefinger to assess the qualities of the mucus. During
the learning phase the most fertile observation of the day is charted
with other symptoms (approaching ovulation mucus can change in quality
quite quickly so regular observations need to be made, and recorded
daily).
Once thoroughly familiar with the Mucus Method most women find simply
checking the mucus is sufficient to know exactly where they are in
their cycle and whether they are fertile or not.
Detailed explanations of types of mucus, how to check, a typical cycle,
careful guidelines for while you are learning the method, safety
margins, conditions under which the cervix, and mucus production, may
be compromised (eg: the pill, cone biopsy etc), other conditions under
which mucus reading may be compromised (eg: infections, lubricants etc)
are in Natural Fertility by
Francesca Naish, and easy step-by-step instructions are given in The Natural Fertility Management
Contraception Kit™ (remember Natural
Fertility is included in The
NFM Kit™).
Bennett, Jane A Blessing Not a Curse,
Sally Milner Publishing, Sydney, Australia, 2002
Billings, Dr Evelyn and Westmore, Ann The
Billings Method – Controlling fertility without drugs or devices,
Anne O’Donovan, Melbourne Australia 1980
Naish, Francesca Natural Fertility,
Sally Milner Publishing, Bowral, NSW, Australia. 1991 [this edition
2004].
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Fluctuations in a woman’s
body-at-rest (basal) temperature throughout the menstrual cycle were
recognised as early as 1868 but not linked to ovulation until the late
1920s. The suggestion that this could be used, as a means of timing
intercourse to avoid conception, was first made by Dr.John Ferin in
1947. (Siedlecky and Wyndham, Pg 58)
At the time of ovulation there is a sharp increase in progesterone
production and this causes a rise in a woman’s basal temperature, by up
to 0.5° Celsius or 1° Fahrenheit. This rise is sustained until
just before or during menstruation. By recording her basal temperature
everyday a woman can see very clearly when she ovulates. Taking the
temperature upon waking and still in bed is ideal.
A classic temperature graph may look like this:
[graph1.jpg]
By taking her temperature a woman can confirm when she has ovulated and
has entered the post-ovulatory infertile phase. During the first few
cycles of learning the Natural Fertility Management methods temperature
charts provide very clear information that supports learning the
characteristics of mucus. Once a woman has a clear understanding of her
mucus patterns it is not necessary to continue with temperature
charting, however it remains a useful skill for times when mucus may be
masked by infection or at times of change.
Of course, there are many variations on the ‘classic graph’ above. Some
considerations when charting the temperature are:
- adjusting for early or late rising
- adjusting for disturbed sleep
- adjusting for other factors which affect
temperature, including rapid time zone changes, alcohol and other
drugs, stress and ill-health
- signs of hormonal imbalance: insufficient
progesterone
- signs of anovular cycles
- signs of pregnancy.
Chapter 5 ‘Basal Body Temperature
Changes’ in Natural Fertility
gives full instructions in how to adjust for these variations to
clearly read the charts and offers information on treatments for
hormonal imbalance.
Naish, Francesca Natural Fertility,
Sally Milner Publishing, Bowral, NSW, Australia. 1991 [this edition
2004].
Siedlecky, Stehania and Wyndham, Diana Populate and Perish Allen and
Unwin, Sydney,1990.
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The Lunar Bio-rhythmic
Cycle
The Lunar Bio-rhythmic Cycle begins
at birth and peaks each lunar month when the sun-moon angle is the same
as at a person’s birth, approximately every 29.5 days. Interestingly,
the average length menstrual cycle is 29.5 days. In this way the lunar
biorhythmic cycle reflects the rhythms of human fertility.
The original research into the lunar cycle, and its relationship to
fertility, was carried out by Dr Eugen Jonas in Czechoslovakia in the
1950s and 60s. He undertook several studies involving thousands
of women.
Practicing in Czechoslovakia, a Catholic country, Dr Jonas became very
concerned for his female patients who were using the rhythm method to
try to plan their families. Despite wide safety margins, this method
was notoriously unsuccessful. Abortion became legally available in
nearby Hungary and Dr Jonas became very concerned about the
lose-either-way situation of these women – another baby when they had
more than enough, or seeking an abortion when this would inevitably
pose an intense, and stressful, moral dilemma for them.
After much study of conception dates occurring well outside expected
mid-cycle ovulation, Dr Jonas, looking for clues, was reading some
writings of ancient astrologers of Babylon and Assyria, and had an
epiphany when these words leapt off the page:
WOMAN IS FERTILE DURING A CERTAIN PHASE OF THE MOON
He eventually discovered on which phase of the moon a woman may be
fertile:
THE TIME OF A WOMAN’S FERTILITY DEPENDS ON THE RECURRENCE OF THE ANGLE
BETWEEN THE SUN AND THE MOON THAT OCCURRED AT THE WOMAN’S BIRTH
It became apparent that the lunar cycle is the blue print for the
hormonal cycle – women who are reproductively and generally healthy,
whose cycle is average and regular and who are not altering their cycle
adversely through stress, travel or drugs – are statistically more
likely to have their mid-cycle ovulation at their lunar peak than at
any another time.
For many women their mid-cycle ovulation is not synchronised with their
lunar cycle, nevertheless, they may spontaneously ovulate when the
sun-moon angle is the same as at their birth, no matter where they are
in their hormonal cycle.
In fact, many conceptions can only be explained in terms of a
spontaneous ovulation at the lunar angle return.
Dr Jonas continued to collect data for another two years, and then in
1958 Dr Kurt Rechnitz, a professor in Gynaecology in Budapest, tested
the combination of abstinence at the lunar phase return with the rhythm
method and verified Jonas’ findings.
After 10 more years of accumulating data and popularity, the Astra
Clinic, a centre for planned parenthood, was opened in Nitra,
Czechoslovakia, with Jonas as Director, and two further studies were
undertaken, with similar results.
The first found that:
THE NORMAL SUCCESS RATE OF THE RHYTHM METHOD (BETWEEN 30 AND 85
PERCENT) JUMPED TO APPROXIMATELY 98 PERCENT WHEN COMBINED WITH
ABSTINENCE AT LUNAR FERTILE TIMES
The second study, in 1970, found that of 1,252 women combining
abstinence at their lunar fertile days and at mid-cycle, as calculated
by the rhythm method for a year, only 28 became pregnant, giving a
success rate of 97.7%. Of those who became pregnant, most reported
irregular cycles, notoriously problematic when using the rhythm method.
Nowadays, Natural Fertility Management combines the lunar dates with
the more scientific and precise sympto-thermal methods, which
eliminates the problem of irregular cycles and therefore enjoys an even
greater success rate.
Women who are aware of their hormonal cycle and their lunar angle
return are more likely to have their hormonal and lunar cycles
synchronised.
The step-by-step process of The
Natural Fertility Management Contraception Kit™ helps you to
achieve this as you learn to chart your hormonal cycle and by preparing
for you your personal lunar calculations.
What is spontaneous
ovulation?
Fertile women have a capacity to ovulate spontaneously at times outside
their mid-cycle ovulation.
Harold Saxon Burr and his student Leonard Ravitz at Yale in the 1930s
found when using electrical impulse to detect ovulation that 70% of the
women they tested sometimes ovulated outside the expected ovulation
time. William Masters and Virginia Johnson, whilst researching human
sexual responses in the 70s, found that women can ovulate out of cycle
after orgasm. (Cats and rabbits, who have no regular ovulation cycle,
ovulate spontaneously, releasing an egg “on demand” after sexual
activity – explaining their high rate of reproduction.)
Other studies confirmed that spontaneous ovulation often occurs with
sexual stimulation, at times in the cycle other than the mid-cycle
ovulation, but were not able to show why spontaneous ovulation should
occur sometimes and not at other times. Recent Canadian research using
ultrasound scans found bursts of follicular activity occurring more
than once in the pre-ovulatory phase of the cycle.
If the potential for spontaneous ovulation were truly random then
pinpointing mid-cycle fertility as a method of fertility management
would not be useful for contraceptive purposes, however, as we have
seen, the discovery of the lunar cycle has given us the template upon
which we can predict, with great accuracy, when spontaneous ovulation
may occur and when it will not.
Managing spontaneous
ovulation by observing the Lunar Bio-rhythmic Cycle
In 1975 Francesca Naish pioneered the combination of the use of the
lunar cycle with the sympto-thermal methods (mucus and temperature), to
create a very effective and flexible system of natural contraception -
Natural Fertility Management.
In over three decades of gathering clinical data Naish and her
colleagues, have corroborated the findings of Dr Jonas – that
spontaneous ovulation (that is ovulation occurring outside the
mid-cycle ovulation) can occur at a woman’s lunar angle return, usually
accompanied by sexual stimulation.
Clinical evidence of the lunar relationship with human fertility
includes:
- many women with regular, average length cycles,
already ovulate at their lunar peak fertile time, especially those who
are healthy and living a balanced life, in tune with natural rhythms
(for example, through charting), and are relatively stress-free
- many women who begin using the The Natural
Fertility Management Contraception Kit™ quite quickly find their
mid-cycle ovulation and their lunar cycle synchronise. (They may have
one long cycle to then match up, or gradually shift over a few cycles.)
- many women whose cycles are not synchronised
see signs of ovarian activity or a possible spontaneous ovulation at
their lunar peak. This is most often triggered by sexual stimulation.
Some women report that it happens every cycle regardless and some women
by other stressors. Symptoms normally found at mid-cycle - mucus
changes, temperature changes and ovulation pain are often seen at the
lunar fertile time
- many reports of unplanned conceptions occurring
at the lunar fertile peak, when this is not synchronised with mid-cycle
ovulation (prior to using the The Natural Fertility Management
Contraception Kit™). FREE retrospective calculations are
available if you think this may have been you.
- many instances of the lunar peak coinciding
with the period – which is the second most common time for the lunar
peak after mid-cycle. It also seems to be the second most fertile
combination with many conceptions occuring. In one case, an orthodox
Jewish couple were trying to conceive unsuccessfully for several years,
avoiding sex at menstruation, according to tradition. When they came to
see Francesca Naish she found that the woman’s lunar peak was occuring
during her period. After several more unsuccessful months, they finally
decided to try at the woman’s lunar peak, during her period, and
conceived first time. Of course, conception can also occur during
menstruation if a woman has very short cycles and hormonal ovulation is
occuring at this time. This was not the case with this woman – her
period came regularly at day 28 to 30
- instances of long anticipated conception
finally occurring when the mid-cycle and lunar fertile peak coincide.
It often seems to be extra fertile when both cycles coincide. In
one example a couple had been trying to conceive for four years, they
had a history of miscarriage and the husband had achromosomal problem.
After paying thorough attention to their general and reproductive
health they finally conceived successfully when both cycles came into
synchronicity
- fraternal (non-identical) twins are
occasionally conceived, one at mid-cycle and one at a later lunar
fertile peak, showing very different levels of maturity (one
‘postmature, and one moderately premature). Dr Jonas also found several
cases of second conception occuring several weeks into the pregnancy
- The Aquarian Research Foundation of
Pennsylvania, found that when a woman using the Pill correctly
conceives then the conception almost always occurs at her lunar fertile
time
- at Astra in Czechoslovakia many women conceived
who had only attempted conception at their lunar fertile times, often
after years of infertility (and very often when their lunar and
hormonal cycles were not synchronised).
How
can I synchronise my cycles?
To use the Natural Fertility Management methods for contraception it is
useful for a woman to synchronise her hormonal and lunar cycles, if
they aren’t already synchronised.
The timing of a woman’s hormonal cycle is highly suggestible. The
timing of ovulation is controlled by the “menstrual clock” in the
hypothalamus, which can be affected by other cycles in a woman’s
environment. Women who live or work together often menstruate together
(influencing each other chemically via pheromones) and women in
communities where there is cultural or religious belief and practice
around menstruating at a new or full moon will most often menstruate at
the prescribed time. Similarly, when women become aware of their
personal lunar cycle this can then become the dominant influence on her
cycle.
This is best achieved by several, conscious and subconscious, practices
(all explained in
The Natural
Fertility Management Contraception Kit™:
- marking the lunar fertile days in on the
sympto-thermal chart
- putting the moon chart on the wall with the
peak days coloured in
- listening to the Contraception CD that includes
suggestions that ovulation will occur at the lunar peak
- using visualisation and affirmations at any
time.
If synchronisation does not occur
(e.g. if cycle is irregular), then the lunar peak will often come at a
separate time in the cycle (and will sometimes occur at mid-cycle). If
this is the case, spontaneous ovulation is possible at this time, no
matter where it falls in a woman’s hormonal cycle.
To use the Natural Fertility Management methods successfully for
contraception it is not necessary for the hormonal and lunar cycles to
be synchronised. Synchronised cycles are certainly appealing as there
are fewer overall fertile days to consider (as the fertile days of both
cycles double up). Many women find that sometimes their cycles are
synchronised and sometimes they are not. It is important to always
maintain awareness of both cycles whether they are synchronised or
not. In other words if the lunar peak and mid-cycle occur at
separate times, it is most important that both times are considered
potentially fertile.
Your Personal Lunar Calculations are prepared for you, relative to the
date, time and place of your birth, and will give you the beginning and
end of the four-day interval each lunar month. This includes the your
lunar angle return and safety margins for sperm and egg life. For
accuracy and effectiveness this needs to be calculated each lunar month
as the time between one lunar angle return and the next varies with
changes in the distance between the Sun, Moon and Earth.
How do I order my
Personal Lunar Calculations?
There is an Order Card for your Personal Lunar Calculations in the back
of the Contraception Workbook of The
NFM Contraception Kit™. When you get your kit, fill in the card,
post it off, and the Calculations and Moon Calendars for six years will
be sent back to you before you begin charting your second cycle.
When charting your second cycle you will be shown how to combine the
mucus and temperature charting with the lunar biorhythmic cycle.
To fill in the Order Card you will be asked for your contact and postal
details (these remain completely private and are only used to provide
you with your Lunar Calculations), and your time, date and place of
birth.
Please note: there is no separate charge for the Personal Lunar
Calculations; this is included in the charge for The NFM Contraception Kit™.
What if I don’t know
my time of birth?
If your time of birth is unknown we will calculate your lunar fertile
times for 12 noon. The four day lunar fertile period includes 12 hour
safety margins at either end so there will be no compromise of the
effectiveness of this method as the safety margins are sufficient no
matter what the actual time you were born.
Often it is possible to get an approximate birth time by:
- checking with the hospital
- jogging the memories of family members with
questions like “Was it night or day, morning or afternoon, after work,
after dinner, or before breakfast?” etc.
Unknown day, month or year of birth
does present problems that we are currently unable to overcome, so
hopefully you have these pertinent details!
Naish, Francesca Natural Fertility,
Sally Milner Publishing, Bowral, NSW, Australia. 1991 [this edition
2004].
Naish, Francesca The Lunar Cycle,
Prism Press, Dorset, UK, 1989.
Rosenblum, Art The Natural Birth
Control Book, Aquarian Research Foundation, Philadelphia, US,
1982.
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