Oblivious said:
Well, that does depend on what source you look at, and frankly common sense would tell you not to be surprised that the failure rate for people who aren't using it right would be higher than the failure rate for people not using the Pill right. What I mean is, missing the Pill one day would fall in the category of not using it right, which means a woman "might" possibly ovulate, although the chances are still low. Since NFP/FAM do not prevent ovulation, using the method wrong means you are more likely to have sex while you are ovulating, which of course makes the failure rate higher.
So, you could say that's a downside to NFP...that if you use it wrong it's more likely to cause pregnancy than if you use miss your Pill once or twice. But, if not conceiving is that big of a deal to you, then you should use whatever your birth control method is responsibly, and you won't have to worry about those "worst case" failure rates.
That's great that this method has worked "so far" for many of you.
And it's great that the Pill has worked "so far" for many of you.
But I don't like a calendar dictating to me when I can be intimate with my husband, and on top of that the failure rate is way too high for me to even consider it.
I addressed the failure rate above, but as far as the calendar thing goes, that's personal preference, although my husband and I used FAM, which says it's okay to use a barrier method during your fertile phase.
Every method of birth control has its ups and downs, and like I said, choosing is a personal decision. But my husband and I are satisfied with our decision because hormonal birth control had many side effects on me that basically made me miserable. Not only that, but the whole time we were on the Pill I felt a little uneasy about the controversy about whether hormonal birth control works as an abortifacient. Although no research that I've seen has convinced me "for sure" that it is, just the fact that it might very well be was bothering my conscience. There were just many things in our situation that made us so much happier using FAM.
Edited to add: I'm not trying to be argumentative here or act like NFP/FAM is "best" or "right for everyone." My point is just that these methods aren't as bad as many people think, and that there are good and bad things about every birth control method.
Well I think I agree with the others in saying that NFP does not work...I believe maybe for some of the couples it does but not for most....I think what my fiance and I are going to do is to try birth control for the first few months then go on to try other options but most books say you have to know your body like for a year....I did not even know we should start planning this type of stuff until we were 7 months to the wedding...
Either I'm confused, or you are (I'm willing to concede the former's pretty likely). A standard cycle is 'start of period' -> (14 days) -> ovulation -> (14 days) -> 'start of period' (isn't it?). Unless you have a 35-day cycle or a very short luteal phase, shouldn't you be abstaining a week after your period ends? Most people say, too, that when trying to conceive you should have sex from 2 days before ovulation, to 3 days after ovulation.
REALLY hating my reproductive capabilities at the moment...
