Natural Family Planning (NFP)

Reliability
Variable. Depends on the method, or methods used and whether other contraception is used some of the time.
May be up to 98% effective.

How it works
It depends on the individual knowing the fertile and infertile times of the menstrual cycle - that is when a woman is likely to have released an egg which a sperm could fertilise.The method relies on finding out when an egg is released and avoiding sex around this time. This may be done by taking rectal temperature and looking at changes in the cervix mucus.

Possible Side Effects

• Restriction of sexual intercourse to certain days of the months, unless a barrier method is used at other times.
• No protection against sexually transmitted diseases.

Advantages / Benefits

• No hormones are needed
• No other artificial means of preventing conception are used.

Suitability

• Only for those with regular cycles
• For family spacing
• For religious reasons
• Not for young people
• Not for those with multiple partners

Who can provide it?
To be effective, the method should be learned from a trained NFP teacher.

Contact Family Planning Service or GP for details.
Persona is an alternative. It is a small-computerised monitor, which measures changes in hormone levels in the urine and predicts fertile and infertile days. It is claimed to be 94% effective.