Natural Birth Control / Persona - Any advice?

Lunar_Eclipse

I have used and would recommend both (either/or, not together). Persona pre-children and a natural method since.

Persona worked well, but basically taught me how to recognise my fertile period, hence the natural method after completing our family of two children. I do not take my temperature or record anything. We are simply very careful during my ovulation week, building in a safety net that I am happy with. Hubbie is fine with it; he doesn't want any more children so acts appropriately for my cycle.

We have used this natural method for almost 9 years now and Persona for two years before that. I think it is almost 100% effective is used correctly. But you need to watch for the signs and know that you will not lose focus in the heat of the moment!

homeaway

Wilma33 wrote: »

Hi

I'm a long time user of MSE but I am using a new user ID as my colleagues know my normal one and I don't really want them to stumble upon this thread

I'm considering using natural birth control (in conjunction with condoms) and I could do with some advice from anyone who does this. As far as I can see there are two options:

1) I could buy a book and a thermometer! From googling, "Taking Charge of Your Fertility" by Toni Weschler seems highly recommended. I'm quite an organised person so don't have any issues with taking my temperature every morning, recording dates, etc.



2) I could buy something like Persona or Clearblue Fertility Monitor. This option seems quite expensive (this is where the MSE bit comes in!). I would cost about £80 initially then £10 a month from what I can work out :eek: Are there any MSE ways to get the pee sticks?

Does anyone know which option is more effective? Ultimately that's more important than the money side of things!

Any advice generally from anyone with any experience of either option would be great :T

Thanks in advance.

Just wrote a massive post and it has been munched.:mad:

I have been using the natural method for years and it really works. I bought the book by toni weschler that you mentioned and it is a mine of information even if you dont use the natural birth control method. It really taught me so much about my body. You can go to the ovusoft .com website and download a trial chart for 14 days. The site has a forum where women are using this method as birth control. After years of writing on charts i bought the software around six months ago and have found it good.

You have to be diligent, i would advise buying a basal thermometer as they go to two decimal places and are more accurate. It makes it easier to see the thermal shift that occurs after ovulation, basically before ovulation your temperature is lower and after ovulation it rises and stays high until AF shows up. You have to take your temp at the same time every morning BEFORE you do ANYTHING , put on the floor next to the bed note it down and then write on your chart later. If you sleep in one morning write it down on your chart. You also have to note your cm as the closer you get to ovulation the more eggwhite your cm becomes, it starts off after AF as sticky then goes to lotiony and then becomes wet or eggwhite. The wetter the cm the more the sperm can swim and be nourished by it. For contraceptive purposes any cm before ovulation has to be considered fertile.

A note on the persona it measures levels of a hormone that we produce before ovulation (cant remember what it is)but it cannot confirm that ovulation has taken place, only a temperature rise can confirm this, so you could think that you had ovulated but in fact you had not if you were using the persona.

In any cycle the number of days before ovulation can change but the number of days after ovulation does not change very much ( this is called the luteal phase). For example it you normally ovulate on day 14 but this month you moved house on day 13 your body said stuff this ,it is not a good time to make a baby, i will delay for a few days so you finally ovulate on day 18 and your normal luteal phase is 12 days then your cycle will be 18 plus 13 making 31 day cycle instead of 26 14+12. so if you are stressed around ovulation this is what makes your cycle longer and not the stress when AF is due !
sorry for the ramble but hope this helps you decide.

Lalaladybird

What do you call a couple who use the rhythm method.....mum and dad!

Wilma33

patchwork_cat wrote: »

Are you planning on only using condoms on fertile days or all teh time and abstinence on fertile days?

My plan was abstinence on fertile days and condoms on "safe" days. I realise this probably appears a bit OTT, but I really don't want to get pregnant!

Thank you SO much for all your help Lots for me to think about

patchwork_cat

Is this a permanent thing or do you want children in the future?

Wilma33

patchwork_cat wrote: »

Is this a permanent thing or do you want children in the future?

Hi, I want children in the future, but not now

Gingham_Ribbon

Wilma33 wrote: »

My plan was abstinence on fertile days and condoms on "safe" days. I realise this probably appears a bit OTT, but I really don't want to get pregnant!

Thank you SO much for all your help Lots for me to think about

Wilma, I used to 'double up' on fertile times, using a diaphragm all month and condoms too for a few days. I used both persona and I was trained in using natural methods by an advisor at a catholic church. (They do it free for anyone who wants to learn, not just catholics.)

I found the persona prohibitively expensive in the end and i was never convinced that it was enough. I liked knowing my body and having the confidence to know when I was going to ovulate. Neither method is good if your periods aren't Very regular though.

You're right to want to be careful. Too many people think that condoms are enough but they're only about 97% effective, so not enough if you definitely don't want to get pregnant.

homeaway

Tiggergirl wrote: »

I have used the clearblue fertility monitor in combination with charting temps and cervical changes to conceive rather than to prevent.

A couple of the months, the monitor missed my ov, despite my other methods giving me obvious signs. It gives 3 levels of fertility - low, high and peak - if it never detects a peak it will tell you your fertility is high for days and days afterwards.

The other thing to think about is that temping will only tell you after you have ovulated, so is only suitable for prevention if you are fairly regular - i.e past charts should give an indication of future in that case.

If you are charting I can recommend the fertility friend website - as well as storing all your chart info it has online lessons on how to spot fertile signs etc.

Hi,
You are right in that by charting you will have your temperature rise after ovulation but it is not true that it is only suitable for prevention if you are fairly regular. If you use this method you have to assume that all cervical fluid from sticky to wet is fertile so you use another barrier method during these days, after ovulation your cervical fluid quickly dries up and your temperature rises. You are safe on the 3rd dry evening in conjuction with your temperature rise. You cant base yourself on previous cycles to prevent pregnancy as the risks are too high. Every cycle is different and you have to use the information that your body gives you for that cycle to determine if you are in your fertile phase or not. For conception that is a different story. You can have a 26 day cycle and a 34 day cycle and use this method and not get pregnant but only if you stick to the rules.

Kaida

I use the LadyComp - not very mse, but as reliable as the pill and really really easy. It also saves a lot of money on condoms I guess, but I mainly use it because I love knowing my cycle, and I find intimacy much more... intimate! without condoms. You take your temperature with the attached thermometer first thing in the morning (it has an alarm so you always take it at the same time each day, on weekends I half wake up, take my temp and then go back to sleep). It works out everything for you and shows a red, amber or green light. You can get "reconditioned" ones for cheaper, where their memory has been wiped and a new thermometer attached. They can also be upgraded to a BabyComp when you are ready to try for a baby.

SailorSam

http://www.oprah.com/slideshow/relationships/sex/slideshow1_ss_sex/7

I've not read all this, it's not something i'm interesred in, but came across it and remembered your thread.