10 Reasons You Should Consider Using Fertility Awareness Method (FAM)
POSTED BY
Chelsey Geisz
READ TIME
8 Minutes
Fertility Awareness Method (FAM) is an natural birth control method that helps women avoid or achieve pregnancy by understanding how their bodies work.
Are you wondering whether FAM could be right for you? Keep reading to learn the top ten reasons thousands of women are choosing FAM over conventional birth control methods.
1. FAM has zero side effects.
Because FAM is completely non-invasive, it has zero side effects. NONE. Ever. No matter what.
Using FAM, you’ll never need to wonder if your birth control is behind your weight gain, brain fog, or chronic migraines. You won’t lose sleep worrying if your contraceptive might impact your ability to conceive in the future.
Unlike anything else on the market, FAM allows you to prevent pregnancy without asking you to roll the dice with health and fertility concerns down the road.1
2. FAM is an effective form of birth control.
When used correctly, FAM can be even more effective than the Pill in preventing pregnancy.
According to the FDA, about nine women out of 100 get pregnant in their first year using the Pill, the patch, and vaginal contraceptive rings. 18-21 out of 100 women will get pregnant in a year if they rely only on condoms alone.2 These are typical use statistics, which means they’re realistic for normal women who may use the contraceptive methods inconsistently.
FAM efficacy varies across methods, but when used correctly, about one woman out of 100 gets pregnant in her first year using a cervical mucus or sympto-thermal method. Typical (inconsistent or incorrect) use increases the pregnancy rate to 2.2 percent for sympto-thermal methods, 7 percent for Marquette, 10.5 percent for Billings, and 4.2 percent for the Creighton Method.3
What does this mean? Well, if you learn how to use FAM correctly and consistently, you’ll have a lower chance of getting pregnant than the average hormonal birth control user.
3. FAM costs almost nothing.
Depending on your insurance plan and preferred method of birth control, the costs of drugs, devices, and doctor’s visits can still make conventional birth control a burdensome expense.
Unfortunately, these costs can contribute to inconsistent and/or incorrect use of contraceptives. About one-third of women admit that at some point in their life they’ve tried to save money by using their birth control method inconsistently.4
In contrast, the only costs associated with FAM are paper, a pen, and LH strips (if they’re part of the method you use).
If you’re serious about achieving or avoiding pregnancy, you’re also encouraged to meet with a certified fertility awareness educator. However, if money is a prohibiting factor, many are willing to offer their services on a sliding scale.
Once you’ve received proper FAM instruction, you have access to free birth control for the rest of your life—regardless of changes in politics and insurance policies.
4. FAM can help you identify underlying health concerns.
Thanks to the stressors and toxins of daily life, many women are unknowingly affected by hormonal imbalances that impact their physical, mental, and emotional health.
Possible symptoms of imbalance include weight gain/trouble losing weight, fatigue, pelvic pain during sex or your period, infertility, PMS symptoms, and irregular periods.5
Tragically, studies have found that nearly 47 percent of women experience the symptoms of hormonal imbalances. 72 percent suffer through these difficulties without realizing why—only to discover the hormonal root of their problems much later on.6
Because hormonal imbalances almost always show up in a woman’s cycle pattern, FAM allows women to catch and treat hormonal imbalances early—so they don’t have to spend years of life wondering why they feel so fatigued and apathetic.
5. FAM can be immediately reversed if you decide to get pregnant.
Does coming off hormonal birth control affect your ability to get pregnant? Well, the jury’s still out. Over 90 percent of women experience the return of their period within three months of stopping hormonal birth control. In one study, 80 percent achieved pregnancy within one year of getting off the Pill.7
While researchers tend to present these statistics as hopeful, this issue comes down to your personal preference. So, you tell me—once you decide you’d like to get pregnant, do you want to wait multiple months before you can even start trying to conceive?
Furthermore, some studies suggest that women who conceive immediately after coming off the Pill are more like to give birth prematurely. The results are still inconclusive, but this has caused some fertility specialists to recommend women wait six months after coming off birth control before they try to get pregnant.8
If you don’t like the idea of waiting half a year before trying to conceive, FAM might be the right choice for you. Because FAM doesn’t change your body chemistry with drugs or devices, you can decide to reverse your fertility goals at any point in time—no waiting, doctor’s visits, or hassle required.
6. FAM can help you get pregnant.
One important study revealed that women who could identify their fertile window were 77 percent more likely to conceive than those who just had regular intercourse.9 Therefore, you’d think that identifying the time of ovulation should be a top priority for women trying to get pregnant, right?
Unfortunately, researchers have found that only 13 percent of women hoping to conceive can accurately estimate the day ovulation occurs. And only about half know how to determine their fertile window!10
Attempting to conceive can be very stressful, and one in five couples try for over a year before getting pregnant. If you’d like to maximize your chances of conceiving promptly, FAM is the perfect choice for you. All methods that use cervical mucus and/or LH testing will teach you how identify your fertile window so that you can have sex on the days you’re most likely to get pregnant – increasing your likelihood of conception by 77 percent.
7. FAM increases body awareness and helps you understand yourself.
According to a study conducted by the World Health Organization, only three in 100 women worldwide can identify their time of ovulation.11 Considering it takes less than an hour to teach a woman of any education level how to track her cervical mucus observations, this number is staggering. How is it possible that so many women are operating in the dark as they try to achieve or avoid pregnancy and navigate hormonal wellbeing?
When women don’t understand how our bodies work, we’re left vulnerable to false narratives about health, fertility, and contraceptive use. Learning the fundamentals of female anatomy and fertility awareness can be extremely empowering for women at any stage in their reproductive journey.
Furthermore, researchers have found that 95 percent of women practicing fertility awareness say it has helped them know their bodies better.12 After all, your hormones affect how you think, feel, and act (this is equally true for men, by the way), so it only makes sense that women who understand their hormonal cycle would better understand themselves.
Commit to charting your own cycle for a few months, and you’ll be amazed to see what patterns emerge.
8. FAM helps you become an active participant in your own healthcare.
How many times has your doctor recommended you go on birth control? If you’re like most of us, you’ve probably encountered a doctor who’s very eager to get you on the Pill—regardless of whether you’re even sexually active.
Why is this? With all the medical advancements of the last century, why has hormonal birth control become the cure-all for women’s health concerns?
Well, hormonal birth control works by inhibiting the launch of FSH, which is the hormone responsible for kick-starting your cycle each month. Without the FSH launch, your cycle never begins. This means that any hormonal imbalances that have been manifesting throughout your cycle (like bad PMS, painful cramps, acne, etc.) will be temporarily masked because your cycle never gets a chance to start.
The good news? Your symptoms might disappear for a little while.
The bad news? They’ll likely come back with a vengeance as soon as you get off the Pill.
For this reason, hormonal contraceptives are the ultimate Band-Aid solution. However, women who are serious about getting hormonal imbalances diagnosed and treated are often hard-pressed to find a doctor who will take them seriously.
FEMM, the fertility awareness method I teach, places significant emphasis on helping women identify healthy and unhealthy cycle patterns, which empowers them to self-advocate when it’s time to see the doctor. Armed with months’ worth of cycle observations and a solid understanding of female reproductive health, FEMM users are fully empowered to be active, informed participants in their own healthcare.
9. FAM helps build healthy relationships.
When people first learn about FAM, they tend to assume that the natural boundaries enforced by their bodies will be sexually limiting. However, most couples find that the opposite is true—in one study, 74 percent of married couples indicated that natural family planning had improved their relationship. 12
In another study, 63 percent of men and 53 percent of women felt that natural family planning had actually improved their sex life.13
Although it may sound counter-intuitive, FAM’s sexual boundaries can help couples improve their relationship by establishing stronger communication, forging deeper intimacy, and finding new ways to express their love.
Another perk of FAM? It doesn’t suppress your sex drive. Although women taking hormonal contraceptives are available for intercourse at any time, many experience diminished libido due to the reduced levels of testosterone in the body. As a FAM user, you don’t need to worry about any drugs artificially reducing your desire.
10. FAM is radically pro-woman.
Unlike the Pill, the patch, the IUD, or the ring, FAM allows both partners to equally share responsibility for preventing pregnancy. While conventional methods require women to shoulder 100 percent of the physical, emotional, and financial costs of birth control, FAM is the only truly equitable method of contraception available for couples today.
Our society has grown accustomed to women bearing the full burden of birth control, but does this responsibility empower us or just wear us down?
If your male partner is unconvinced by this argument, you can tell him that several male birth control methods are currently under development. These medications prevent pregnancy by decreasing testosterone levels and lowering sperm count.14 Side effects include acne, depression, mood disorders, and erectile dysfunction—but surely that’s better than you risking cervical cancer or a stroke, right?
If men can’t tolerate these potential side effects, then why should you have to accept the even longer and deadlier list that comes with conventional birth control?
In addition to helping couples share responsibility for their fertility goals, FAM embraces the functions of your female body as healthy and important—rather than viewing them as a frustrating burden that you’d be better off repressing with drugs and injections.
While conventional birth control may be the right decision for some, is it truly empowering to embrace methods of contraception that demand women shoulder the full burden of pregnancy prevention alone?
I don’t think so, and that’s why I use FAM.
If you’re interested in learning more or getting started with FAM, check out the options below to continue your journey.
Want to learn more and/or start using FAM? Click here to download the FREE FAM Starter Kit.
Serious about achieving or preventing pregnancy? Click here to learn how mastering FAM can help you reach your fertility goals.
Curious if FAM is for you? This assessment can help you determine if FAM is the right fit for your personality and lifestyle.
1. Llamas, Michelle. “Birth Control – Types, Side Effects, Cost & Effectiveness.” Drugwatch.com, DrugWatch, www.drugwatch.com/health/birth-control/.
2. Commissioner, Office of the. “FDA Birth Control Chart.” U.S. Food and Drug Administration, FDA, June 2021, www.fda.gov/consumers/free-publications-women/birth-control-chart.
3. Migeon, Gerard | Dec. “The Truth about the Effectiveness of Fertility Awareness Methods.” Natural Womanhood, 31 May 2021, naturalwomanhood.org/who-tells-truth-effectiveness-fertility-awareness-methods/.
4. “The High Costs of Birth Control.” Center for American Progress, 17 Feb. 2012, www.americanprogress.org/issues/women/news/2012/02/15/11054/the-high-costs-of-birth-control/.
5. “11 Unexpected Signs of Hormonal Imbalance.” Northwell Health, 27 Nov. 2018, www.northwell.edu/obstetrics-and-gynecology/fertility/expert-insights/11-unexpected-signs-of-hormonal-imbalance/
6. Halaand, Marie. “Nearly Half of Women Have Been Affected by a Hormonal Imbalance.” New York Post, New York Post, 22 Feb. 2019.
7. Kent, Athol. “Pregnancy rates after oral contraceptive use.” Reviews in obstetrics & gynecology vol. 2,4 (2009): 246.
8. Jardim, Nicole. “Get off the Birth Control Pill the Right Way.” Nicole Jardim, 12 Nov. 2020, nicolejardim.com/come-birth-control-pill-right-way/.
9. Zinaman M, Johnson S, Ellis J, Ledger W. Accuracy of perception of ovulation day in women trying to conceive. Curr Med Res Opin. 2012 May; 28(5).
10. “Fertility Problems: Assessment and Treatment: Guidance.” NICE, National Institute for Health and Care Specialists, www.nice.org.uk/guidance/CG156.
11. “Family Planning/Contraception Methods.” World Health Organization, World Health Organization.
12. VandeVusse et al, “Couples’ Views of the Effects of Natural Family Planning on Marital Dynamics,” Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 2004, Volume 35, No. 2
13. Use of Natural Family Planning (NFP) and Its Effect on Couple Relationships and Sexual Satisfaction: A Multi-Country Survey of NFP Users from US and Europe; Matthias Unseld, Elisabeth Rötzer, Roman Weigl, Eva K. Masel, Michael D. Manhart3* Frontiers in Public Health, 13 March 2017https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2017.00042
14. ‘The Pill’ for Guys: Male Birth Control Option Passes Safety Tests: UT Southwestern – MedBlog, utswmed.org/medblog/pill-guys-male-birth-control-option-passes-safety-tests/.
HI, FRIEND!
I'm Chelsey.
I believe that you were fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of God, and therefore, your body reveals divine truth. My calling is to help you step into the full, electric power of your female design to discover who God created you to be.
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