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Natural Family Planning
Resources |
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Last updated on February 8, 2013
The quality varies, and listing here does not mean endorsement. The parts in this color are somebody's opinion (mostly ours). If you need help or want a more frank opinion, or have an addition, correction or "book report", hit the Contact button up at the top. Listings are usually alphabetical within the three categories above.
We (the Central NY CCL Chapter) will NOT sell you any of this stuff; please contact the vendors directly. You can order books from stores or on-line by their ISBN number. A lot of these links get moved frequently, so go to their home page and search around on their site.
Books, media, and gadgets
The hearts point out those products
which are particularly useful, in our opinion; the male-female
symbols are just cute separators
"The Billings Method" by Dr. Evelyn Billings
The Billingses got in on the ground floor of NFP in 1953 with the Ovulation Method, which is the most widely practiced form of systematic NFP in the world today, especially in the Third World. You can also learn via on-line correspondence course, but you really need a book handy. There's no moral or theological "stuff" in the book, which is either a crucial failing or a welcome relief, depending on your point of view.
You can watch a video tutorial on the OM, and download blank charts, at The GIFT Foundation.
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The Art of Breastfeeding by the Couple to Couple League $16. Why it's best, how to do it, avoiding problems, weaning, and what happens when your fertility returns. Yes, breastfeeding can give you months of infertility after childbirth, if you follow the guidelines. And you can go right into practicing NFP, when your periods return. How long? See our NFP Primer and Breastfeeding page for basic Lactation Amenorrhea info and real-life experiences. |
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This is the new (2011) edition of the encyclopedia of Sympto-Thermal NFP. It's been completely rewritten, with new, easier to use rules. Slimmed down, colorized, and simplified. Covers most everything from the basics to helps for infertility and PMS, except for the really dysfunctional cases (see FC&N below), including the moral, spiritual and social dimension. This is the manual used in CCL classes, but you can learn NFP just with this book or in conjunction with the Home Study Course which includes everything you need to practice NFP. |
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The Bible and Birth Control by Charles
D. Provan
published by Zimmer Printing, 410 West Main Street,
Monongahela, PA 15063. Available from CCL . Why the Protestants were against
contraception, and passed laws against it. Luther,
Calvin, Wesley, and dozens more quoted here. See
our Theology Page for a
similar short article under "The Christian
Tradition".
" Breastfeeding and Natural Child
Spacing " 4th edition (1999) by Sheila Matgen Kippley,
212 pages (CCL) ISBN 0-926412-20-5
Sheila got a
La Leche League award for this book, which covered the topic
most thoroughly. Out of print, and CCL has replaced it with
"The Art Of Breastfeeding", above. Less than 7 bucks from Amazon. Also available:
the 1973 "classic" edition, for $15, and 2008's
"Breastfeeding and Catholic Motherhood" for $9.
Catholic Sexual
Ethics: A Summmary, Explanation and Defense
. Updated
by Rev. Ronald Lawler O.F.M. Cap., Joseph Boyle Jr., &
William E. May. Our Sunday
Visitor , 2nd
edition, 1998. "EXCELLENT...it
is coherent and extremely thoughful and only costs
$9.95." ----Jean Gaes
"By the way the Catholic ethics book is really
great....was very impressed with the explanation of the
teachings" --Online NFP student
CCL
Home Study Course , $160 plus shipping.
Yes, you can
learn it at home, easily. The content is the same as the CCL
classes, and you can go at your own pace and convenient time
& place, but you have to mail in your questions and
charts. You can also go to any local class sessions for
free, and write/FAX/e-mail/phone any Teaching Couple (or
CCL) with questions. This is a good option even if classes
are nearby, but at a bad time. It includes all you need to
learn & practice NFP: charts,
electronic basal thermometer, book,
and other goodies; plus a year's membership in CCL and their
magazine.
CCL Virtual Class , $150 plus shipping.
If you want a
face-to-face class where you can ask questions and get
feedback, but you're not close to a teaching couple, this is
the way to go. Same 3 class format, but you need a computer
and fast internet. See our News
page for more info. You sign up by going the the CCL course registration
page, putting in your zip code, and you'll see the
local classes (if any). Down at the bottom is a "virtual
class" button.
Clear Blue Easy $200 & up (plus replacement indicator strips, about $18/month). Available in many local drug stores. A pee-on-a-stick hormone tester for identifying fertile times, In the USA, it's not approved for avoiding pregnancy (probably because it doesn't work so well by itself), but a similar unit in Europe is sold for that purpose. It doesn't confirm ovulation, and false readings could be a problem, but it's easy to use.
Recent
medical work has shown that this and other hormone testers
(like Persona) can be of use in helping NFP users identify
the fertile time. Some Clinical data from Dr. Michael
Zinaman (Loyola University - Chicago) on the Clearplan Easy
Fertility Monitor:
1. It
provides a 99% accurate detection of the LH surge
2. It will give the majority of women 1-5
days warning of their Peak Fertility through monitoring of E3G
3. It will typically detect 6 days of
High and Peak Fertility
4. From cycle 2 onwards, 80% of
users only needed to do 10 tests per cycle
Extensive
work with the ClearBlue in conjunction with the usual
mucus and BBT charting has been done at Marquette
University, and forms the basis of the Marquette Method
of NFP. If you want to learn more about
the use of the ClearBlue monitor with NFP go to
http://www.marquette.edu/nursing/natural-family-planning/model.shtml
CyclePRO is CCL's first Sympto-Thermal charting tool. $40. Works on Windows, Mac, and on Linux using Wine.
It's not meant to replace learning the method from a book or class, but it does the record-keeping for you and applies the rules.
Superseded by CycleProGo, below.
CycleProGo ($40 a year, $5 a month) is CCL's new cloud-based app for charting. You need to first learn the method so you can properly observe your fertility symptoms; then it does the record-keeping for you and applies the rules. You can also e-mail charts to teachers or CCL Central for review and advice. This is not like other apps which are calendar based and only try to predict ovulation for conception.
Cyclewatch
is a charting app which got 4 stars from ZDnet and uses BBT for ovulation
prediction. It is sold for avoiding pregnancy also, but no
guarantees or claims of accuracy are made. From Wimoweh
Software. $40. For Windows.
Der
persönliche
Zyklus der Frau ("A woman's
personal cycle") in German
Von der
Vorpubertät bis in die Wechseljahre. Josef Rötzer,
MD.
Preis: € 39,88
Taschenbuch - 256 Seiten (1999)
Herder, Freibg.; ISBN: 345126885X
Versandfertig in 2 bis 3 Werktagen.
Dr. Roetzer in Austria is one of the
pioneers of the Sympto-Thermal Method and founded
INER, which teaches NFP in Germany.
"Fertility, Cycles and Nutrition" by Marilyn
M. Shannon
Fourth Edition,
336 pp., 2009 (CCL Press) $25 from the CCL Bookstore
Dewey 612.32
ISBN 0-926412-09-4
An excellent
book for self-treatment of irregular or problem cycles, PMS,
PCOS, infertility, etc. Based on medical studies and
successful treatments. So useful that it's now included in
CCL Course Kits. This 4th edition is expanded and
revised.
Fertility Friend is a place where you can get
chart interpretations and post charts on-line for others to
see. Although mainly for those trying to conceive, it has a
lot of good info on fertility awareness, such as this page telling you how to observe
symptoms in great detail.
" Fertility Monitor"
$95 from NFP Software, Inc. in Clarks Summit, PA. A DOS-based Sympto-Thermal Method
interpreter. According to their data, it conforms well to
CCL and LifeCycle interpretation. Includes a mercury
thermometer (which is probably illegal) and your choice of
3-1/2 or 5-1/4 inch floppy disks, which somebody
somewhere still uses.
Good News
about Sex & Marriage , Answers to Your
Honest Questions about Catholic Teaching Christopher West, Servant
Publications, Ann Arbor, Michigan :
(marriage@archden.org)
Available
from CCL
among other places, a highly regarded, easy reading book.
Chris is also available for talks and seminars on the book,
based on Pope JP II's Theology of the Body. If he's in
town don't miss him! The Gift Foundation
has his CD's, cheap or free, and all good.
"Above all it has an incredibly
POSITIVE spin on it -- not a bunch of "don'ts" but an
explanation that, if taken to heart, would yield great joy, I
think." --Erin
"I was so excited when I listened
to the tape, the message is positive and exciting....I feel
that I have much more joy in following the Church's teaching
now that I understand it more fully. Everyone, listen to
this tape and read the book!! --Dawn.
Hormone Heresy: Estrogen's Deadly Truth Interested in how hormones work, and why you should not fool with them? The drug companies do not want you to read this long article from Nexus Magazine, which came out before the recent panic about HRT. Still, millions of women are on stronger doses of the same hormones for contraception!
Kuhar is another on-line vitamin & mineral shop, but this one caters especially to the infertile, carrying Optivite and other similar formulations for optimizing fertility and stimulating ovulation. They also have a lot of good nutrition information on-line.
Love and Fertility,
by Mercedes Wilson.
Fourth edition, 2008, paperback, About $30 from FAF See "Nature's
Method" CD below.
About
the 2nd edition, Donna in Livonia* said: " This is an
excellent book to learn the foundation of "The Ovulation
Method" (AKA Billings). Very good illustrations. The beginning
student definitely needs to supplement this basic information
with other resources (classes, other books, etc.) to apply
this knowledge to her specific situation. This book is written
is very simple language (even a junior high student could
comprehend it, IMO)" *( Livonia
isn't a country, it's west of Detroit)
Love
One Another , John Marshall. London: Sheed
& Ward, 1995, £8.95. A
British book from an early BBT pioneer which explores the
psychological effects of NFP in an unbiased way (says the
blurb). Sounds like a good read for the unchurched. He
was a member of the 1963 papal commission that voted for the
Catholic Church to change its teaching on contraception;
but, after studying the issue in depth, changed his mind.
The Missing
Cornerstone: Reasons why couples choose NFP
"In a society where instant gratification and
materialism are idolized, love is often misconceived as merely
getting what you want when you want it. The
contraceptive mentality transfers that misconception into
married love, betraying the true meaning of sexuality and
poisoning the heart of the family. In recent years, many
married couples who used contraception have been waking up to
this, and finding a healthy, effective alternative to
responsible parenthood in Natural Family Planning. This volume
gathers the testimonies of 44 such couples. Each couple
has traveled a unique path, but they have all discovered the
same wonderful reality: true joy in marriage and family
life comes not from getting, but from giving, from undertaking
the adventure of authentic, generous love. "
$12 from
Circle Press, USA or Canada 888-881-0729
or 203-230-0729, cif@familink.com
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"Nature's Method"
interactive CD-ROM on Ovulation Method, with Charting
Coach software, $10 from Family of the Americas
Foundation. For Windows or Mac. Sounds like a pretty cheap way of learning the OM, and getting charting software besides. |
"The New No Pill,
No-Risk Birth Control." by Nona Aguilar. NY: Rawson
Associates, 1986. ISBN#
0-89256-299-4 and 0-89256-300-1 $17 (pbk)
This book
teaches a simple STM. Nona got
interested in NFP after doing research on the marriage
building effect of NFP. She's a fascinating speaker on
this topic, too. The book, well, it was new 20 years ago,
but there are better ones now.
Open
Embrace: A Protestant Couple Rethinks Contraception by
Sam and Bethany Torodes, Wm. Eerdmans Publishing. 2002, 148
pages. When you can find it, about
$15. Check out this long excerpt
which
they let us have, that's really the meat of the whole book
(the rest is potatoes). The book's not too long, yet packs a
whole lot of good explanation of how to make a great Christian
marriage.
"The Protestant Reformers...were fierce foes of contraception. But over the last seven decades, many of their spiritual descendants succumbed to modernist sexual heresies. The Torodes chart a path back to faithfulness, trust, and the fullness of Christian love."--Allan Carlson
"....wisdom from the Bible and the Christian past to
challenge conventional views on contraception. Sweetly written
and solidly argued, this is a head-clearing, heart-warming
read." —J.I. Packer
Update: the Torodes
since decided that NFP was too hard and
went back to contraception; they converted to Eastern Orthodoxy; then
they got divorced. It's complicated...
Optivite is a vitamin supplement tailored to
maximizing fertility and treating PMS, luteal phase
problems, and some other cycle problems (NOT all of
them). Recommended by Marilyn Shannon (read FC&N )
and other nutritional experts, and gets lots of good buzz in
the infertility and NFP news/chat groups. This
isn't for everyone (the formulation is different from
vitamins for the average population), but for those
suffering from PMS or infertility due to certain
deficiencies or imbalances, it can be a big help. There are
plenty of "Magic cure-all guaranteed infertility cures" on
the web, but the key item is you need to learn NFP so you
can see what your problems are, then read FC&N so you
know what needs to be tried.
Read
about
it and get some from the manufacturer, Optimox.
Also,
from Kuhar , CVS,
Amazon, AnyOTC.com, your local
discount drug store (maybe).
180's for around $20.
Persona Fertility tester, a gadget for measuring hormone levels and thus detecting ovulation. No other symptoms are measured. Not approved by US's FDA. In the UK, costs £65 plus £10 a month for detector sticks. They aren't real open about how this thing really works, but they claim a 94% method effectiveness, which is a lot worse than the STM (they've been sued in the UK), but it's a no-brainer.
A Preachable Message from
BOMA. Pastors! Get this book if you don't know what to
say (or why) about NFP and contraception. Testimonies from 32
priests, sample homilies, a list of scripture citations over
the liturgical year, lots of ideas. Flocks, get this for your
shepherd, maybe you'll hear that most rare of all locutions, a
sermon on improving marriage through NFP.
$9.95 from BOMA USA or
CCL
Prophet and Priests, The Hidden Face of the Birth
Control Movement by Ann Farmer, $17 from
Amazon. The description says, "This compelling
study of the origins, development and activities of the
birth control movement will prove an eye-opener to those who
think of it as a force for good." In case you're wondering,
NFP is not contraception and is way different from the goals
of the "Birth Control Movement". Also see "Margaret
Sanger: Father of Modern Society" by Elasah Drogin,
another eye-opener.
"Sex and the Marriage Covenant" by
John Kippley of NFP International. Second edition, 2005. Ignatius Press, $12.
Theology
and morality in depth. GREAT depth. A must for every
serious theologian. John's been working on this for 40
years.
"Sexual Wisdom" by Richard Wetzel, MD; Ann Arbor: Proctor Publications, 333 pages,1998 is a non-denominational chastity and ethics book that received praise from Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Mormon, and other community leaders. It's available from One More Soul for FREE with a small shipping charge. No, really, FREE!
"Taking Charge of
Your Fertility" by Toni Weschler, MPH. Quill,
2001 0060937645
, 496 pages, $23.95.
" .....it really gives you a good understanding of WHY a womans body does what it does. It is not judgmental or agenda based, other than promoting the methods as extremely safe and effective. There isn't much moral/sociological stuff but it does have a chapter on FAM in the age of AIDS. It is an easy read and has an appropriate level of information for the average reader.... I personally found this book to be very comprehensive and engrossing." --- Cathy C.
Toni Weschler's rules under FAM (Fertility Awareness Method) are the same as her NFP rules, except that a barrier method such as condoms or diaphram is used instead of abstaining during potentially fertile times. Obviously, this would not be as reliable as NFP, nor would it be acceptable to those who use NFP for religious reasons.
FAM is
marginally better than contraceptives so it appeals to a
wide range of folks to which NFP would be a total shock. A
safe gift for that friend of yours who's mortally allergic
to any whiff of "religion" and couldn't abide the CCL
book.
TCOYF
Fertility Software $39.95.
info@lifecyclesoft.com
You input all your
observations and it does the work for you. This follows
Toni Weschler's rules. We've heard from folks who
have used LifeCycle's previous app and think it's
helped them learn NFP faster. And some who think it's overly
complicated and time-consuming to keep all your charts on a
computer. It does work, and is approved by the FDA.
Runs on Windows, should work on Linux using Wine. There's
also an online subscription charting service, and lots of
forums.
Vitex,a herbal treatment for
PMS, excessive bleeding and short luteal phases. Available at
many random places, just search for Vitex.
" At NWFS, where we teach the sympto-thermal
method, we've been referring some women to a natural
alternative popular and well documented in Europe, it's
called Vitex (from the "chaste tree") and it works at the
level of the pituitary. Dr. Josef Roetzer [NFP pioneer]
informed us of this approach. It works slowly, but in
many women reduced PMS, promotes a stronger luteal phase,
and reduces excesses bleeding. It is available at many
health food stores." You may find it referred to as
Chasteberry extract, its generic name. It also may
take 6 months or more to work, according to people we know
who have used it. Available at many drug stores; a nice
selection of liquid and tablets is at Emerson Ecologics.
The pills are only 8 cents apiece and you start off
with three a day, tapering down to one.
The Way Home
by Mary Pride, Crossway Books, Westchester, IL 60153 is a 1985 book on contraception,
anti-feminism, and homeschooling from an
Evangelical/Quiverfull point of view. Her story
is kind of interesting, especially the part where John
Kippley of CCL changed her mind about NFP.
Women's Health after Abortion
by Elizabeth Ring-Cassidy
& Ian Gentles
Even the on-line bulletized summary of
this book is an eye-opener. Do you get into debates
with so-called "Pro-Choice" people? Write letters to newspaper
editors? If you have a friend who is convinced Planned
Parenthood tells the truth, get this book. $20, CDN$25 from
the Deveber
Institute .
"Your Fertility
Signals" by Merryl Winstein. 1995. Smooth Stone Press, P.O. Box
19875, St.
Louis MO 63144. $15. ISBN
0-9619401-0-7 (also
available in German)
A short,
simple to understand book on the STM; not overly
thorough. Cute line drawings.
NFP Teaching Organizations
There are several different organizations of trained NFP teachers. The methods taught, depth of class material, moral principles, and teacher training may vary, so ask first. There is no USA national "accreditation" for NFP teachers, so check credentials. There are area programs (e.g., Catholic Dioceses) and many solo teachers, but these below are the larger organizations, mostly worldwide, with a few regional programs listed later.Individual teacher directory
NFP Only and Pro-Life doctors
Local programs
American Academy of Fertility
Care Professionals Creighton Method
organization which trains teachers.
AAPLOG
(American Academy of Pro-Life Obstetricians &
Gynecologists) Pro-Life Ob-GYN directory
Couple to Couple League (CCL)
PO Box 111184
Cincinnati OH 45211
(513) 471-2000 Orders ONLY: (800) 745-8252 ccli@ccli.org
This is the
largest US NFP organization, with over 500 CCL
volunteer Teaching Couples, mostly in the USA. The TC Finder
has most of them arranged by state, country, or area
code.
Membership
($35/yr) gets you their big magazine
full of the latest biological, moral, and political info and
personal views. CCL also supports mother-baby and family
bonding, and pro-life, Catholic, Christian, religious, and
general moral values. Plus short pamphlets to books
and videos on marriage, chastity, and family.
Creighton: see
Pope Paul VI Institute below, or AAFCP above
Family of the Americas
Foundation 
Box 1170 Dunkirk MD 20754
familyplanning@yahoo.com
(800) 443-3395 or (301) 627-3346
They have NFP
books in 21 languages that teach the Ovulation Method, and a
nice OM effectiveness table listing a number of studies. And
the nice Nature's Method CD with Charting Coach software,
listed above.
FertilityCare
Centres of America has Creighton model teachers
worldwide.
This is at heart a right to life organization, and staunchly Catholic and anti-contraception (because it leads to abortion). Has some good morality-based pamphlets on NFP, but doesn't teach it.
The Institute for Reproductive Health of Georgetown University Medical Center has info on the Standard Days Method and Two Day Method. These are simplified methods mainly intended for third world countries. The SDM is based on Calendar Rhythm but requires regularity (26-32 days) and 12 days of abstinence. It's counted on beads so you don't have to have a calendar. The TDM is like the OM but cuts a day off the dryup.
Maternal
Life International teaches third-worlders NFP through a
patented bead system of counting similar to the Standard Day
Method. These are the actual beads, which they sent us and
we scanned in.
326 S. Jackson St.
Butte
MT 59701
406-782-1719
6214 Rose Lake Ave.
San Diego CA 92119 (800) 40-FITCH
Natural Family Planning International is Catholic theology based, but aims to bring the STM to the world. There are a lot of good essays on morality here, and a free, downloadable 85 page, fairly comprehensive manual on how to practice NFP: CCL's "old" Sympto-Thermal method, with the multiple rules.
Northwest
Family
Services has Sympto-Thermal Method
client and educator program. Portland, OR, on-line and
correspondence courses, $110 and up.
One More
Soul directory of NFP teachers and NFP-only
doctors, plus plenty of theological articles
Pope Paul VI Institute
6901 Mercy Road
Omaha, NE
68106-2604 402-390-9175
This is the
accrediting agent for practitioners (teachers) of the
Creighton Model, a variation of the Ovulation (Billings)
method.
Dr. Tom Hilgers, the Director, wrote a
lot of good theological stuff to browse on their website. Their NaProTech system incorporates NFP
into reproductive
medical practice. If you have
problems with your reproductive system, this is the place to
go.
Serena
151 Holland Ave.
Ottawa ONT K1Y0Y2
(613)
728-6536 (également en
français: "Planification Naturelle des Naissances" )
A large NFP
provider in Canada, where they have been teaching the
SymptoThermal Method since the fifties. Check the phone book,
or call 888-3SERENA (888-373-7362) in Canada.
WOOMB
(World Organization Ovulation
Method Billings) is the Australia-based worldwide HQ for the
Billings Ovulation Method, probably the world's largest and
oldest (1953) provider of NFP instruction. Check
out the animations of cycle variations, cervix and others.
Their website navigation can be confusing, but you can learn
the Billings method there.
Some Local Organizations
AMERICAS
THE EAST
Catholic Family Centre (Ovulation Method)
Sarayama 4-27, Minami-ku
Fumuoka City 815
EUROPE
Natürliche
Familienplanung
Diozese Augsburg
NFP, Kappelberg 1
86150 Augsburg
Tel. 0821/3152-282
E-Mail: nfp-augsburg@gmx.de
Institute
for
Natural Family Planning a large German NFP organization.
You can download STM
charts in different
formats. They're in Celsius and German, which will
confuse your kids or nosy people if they see them on the
dresser.
England
CCL of the
United Kingdom has a big
website near Sherwood Forest, and teachers all over
Fertility Awareness
& NFP Service UK
An STM
provider in the British Isles, they have a bunch of info on
NFP, including titles of research, and downloadable STM
charts (under "miscellaneous").
België, Vlaanderen, Nederland :
NFP
Europe
Informatie over natuurlijke geboorteregeling.
Poland There are hundreds of NFP teachers in Poland. Call any Catholic church.
Not-So-Good StuffThe items below are of questionable utility in practicing NFP, but people ask about them, so here they are. Some might work OK for getting pregnant, but a lot of things can help you get pregnant. Like, time and luck. Some have real possibilities for future NFP use, but much development work and many effectiveness studies remain to be done. |
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Two simple to use, computerized temperature recording gadgets. However, they apparently use only the temperature sign, so it seems that long periods of abstinence in phase 1 would be required for effective pregnancy postponement. The failure rate is claimed to be 0.7%, typical of temp only NFP in Phase 3. For pregnancy achievement, the temperature just tells you that you're too late, so this would seem pointless and frustrating, although previous cycle history helps (that's Calendar Rhythm). Other problems with them are the cost: £422 ($666) for the Lady, £592 ($935) for the Baby. That would buy a lot of thermometers and chart paper (or a laptop and some good NFP software). You have to send them back in 3 years for battery replacement. |
Bioself Fertility
Tester €240 ($320) . A Swiss gadget, does calendar-temperature
indications of fertile times. It records a years' worth of
temps, then predicts when you're fertile. It doesn't
test hormones or mucus, so it should be used with the usual
symptom chart. So, why not just use a ten dollar thermometer
instead? You can download temps to your local Bioself
Center (which is in Switzerland).
OvaCue Electrolyte
Tester, $385 A gadget that
measures the resistivity (electrical conductivity) of saliva
and/or cervical mucus, which changes near ovulation. Like
the other mucus-sampling gadgets, this is probably better
for achieving conception than avoiding it effectively
(research is continuing). Seems expensive, but it does have
stainless steel probes. Then again, you could just learn to
understand your cervical mucus.
OvWatch straps on your wrist and measures your perspiration electrolytes. Works similar to the OvaCue above, for high fertility indication. $140, plus $40 a month for sensor strips.
The
discontinued Ova-Therm Sophia Fertility Computer saved 210 temp
recordings and predicted fertility. $60; PC interface
$55. This was
popular in Japan with a million sold, but not so good for
avoiding pregnancy. Femta is an
Ogino-Knaus Calendar Rhythm application. $28; free demo works
for two months. Don't expect high
effectiveness from this or any Rhythm method, but they are
simple. And, you need a good 6 cycles of data to use O-K
Rhythm (which was developed in 1930).
Microscopes for viewing
ferning patterns in saliva or cervical mucus have been sold for
a number of years. Changes in electrolytes (salts) during
your cycle cause crystallization patterns in your fluids. Studies
by
NFP organizations and medical
researchers have not shown them to be consistent
enough to be used to avoid conception. See our NFP Primer for some info on them.
If you have a 35 - 100X microscope handy, try it out
to see if it works for you, but chart your other symptoms
too. There used to be several brands but they seemed to have thinned out. They included: Cycle Check ($70) ; Donna Fertility Tester, $60 ; PC-2000; the Lady-free Biotester; OVU-TRAC; The LENS $29.95 800-723-0400 or 800-345-3371; Maybe?Mom (pictured) is $150 ; Ovu-Tec or Ovu-Tech ($40) and Woman's Window. About the only one left is the Ovu-Test ($25). Their website explains the theory pretty well.
Natural Conception Control, promoted by Dr. Eugen Jonas long ago, is mentioned in our primer. But not favorably.
Rhythm Calendars:
On the web, there are plenty of places to
get an estimate of ovulation, based on your previous cycles
(which are assumed to be regular). They come and go, so
instead of giving you links to them, you can go find them
yourself if you desire. The free on-line Ovulation Calendar.net does as
well as any of them, plus you can type in your luteal phase if
you know it; and there's short descriptions of "real" NFP
methods, and a downloadable .PDF chart which can be used to
record all symptoms. If you
really want to try Rhythm use the Standard Days method
instead. It's just as simple but much more accurate.
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