Birth control methods

How to naturally avoid pregnancy

Mary Smith
By Mary Smith. Updated: January 16, 2017
How to naturally avoid pregnancy

Although contraceptives are the best option for many women to avoid unwanted pregnancies, there are some who, for health reasons or on principle, simply cannot take the hormones that they contain. But the desire to control their maternity leads them to seek out other alternatives. So, here at OneHowTo.com we give you all the options to naturally avoid pregnancy without the need for any contraceptive pills.

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Steps to follow:
1

There are several reasons for not taking contraceptives, but most of the women who avoid them, avoid them because the hormones they contain can generate health problems such as intolerances, malaise, cyst formation, etc. Given this situation, many couples choose to use a condom as their only method, while other women also prefer natural alternatives to prevent pregnancy and here we explain what they are.

2

If you decide to opt for natural methods of contraception, it is important to understand how ovulation works within your body, and to understand the precise dates when you have your periods and how many days usually elapse between them. This way you can determine if you are more or less on time. These things should be carried out exactly, otherwise you run a huge risk of becoming pregnant against your wishes.

3

The rhythm method, also known as the Ogino-Knaus method, is an observation of the menstrual cycle to determine what your fertile or "risk days" are. In the beginning you should monitor your periods for at least six months, noting the date and time of each period and the time between one period and another.

With this data you do the following calculation: take away 18 days from the longest period of time and then 11 days from the shortest period of time between two periods. Imagine that the longest time between a period was 30 days and the shortest was 28 days. Your calculation would look like this:

30-18= 12

28-11= 17

If the day your period stops is day 1, between days 12 and 17 of your cycle you may be ovulating. You must take these dates as high risk and avoid sex during them.

4

The basal body temperature method is another alternative. Upon waking up, you must measure your body temperature daily and keep a track of it. After ovulating, your body temperature increases to make way for menstruation. The idea of this method is to keep a track for at least a few months, and then apply the Dohering rule, which we use to identify which was the earliest day in all of your cycles that your temperature increased and take away 7 days. The resulting number of days indicates the date when ovulation starts.

It is important to note that you must measure the temperature for at least 3 minutes. If you sleep less than four hours, you're sick or stressed your temperature can vary.

How to naturally avoid pregnancy - Step 4
5

The ovulation or Billings method is used to monitor the cervical mucus of women, which changes during the period of greatest fertility. This is when the mucus becomes viscous, heavy and takes a similar appearance of egg white. When the woman identifies this part of the cycle, she must abstain from sex.

During non-fertile days, cervical mucus goes virtually unnoticed as a woman has a dryer vagina or a flow that is rather sticky and dry.

6

To practice natural contraception it is necessary to take into account the following considerations:

  • The effectiveness of these natural methods is not guaranteed as in the case of hormonal contraceptives or condoms, so if your body reacts well to contraceptives and nothing prevents you from taking the hormones, the recommendation is that you take them and also use condoms to prevent STDs.
  • You must have a regular and stable menstrual cycle, otherwise you won't be able to determine which your fertile days are.
  • You must understand perfectly the functioning of your body and the methods described above.
  • You must have the time and discipline to carry on with daily control of your body and monitoring its changes depending on the method you chooses.
  • You must understand that since our body reacts to psychological, climatic and physical changes, it is not always easy to predict our fertile days.
  • These methods have a lower efficacy compared to condoms and hormonal contraceptives.
  • The lack of condom use means you run the risk of contracting STDs.
  • You and your partner must be willing to take the risks involved when using such natural methods, specifically regarding their effectiveness.
7

Before performing any of the natural methods to prevent pregnancy, we recommend consulting your gynaecologist and clearing up all your doubts.

If you want to read similar articles to How to naturally avoid pregnancy, we recommend you visit our Sentimental relationships category.

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