Natural Family Planning (NFP) has an important role to play in meeting the reproductive needs of couples. NFP is not a method in itself, but rather refers to methods used by couples for planning pregnancies based on identifying the woman's fertile and infertile days and the timing of intercourse to achieve their fertility intentions. The discipline of NFP is abstinence, this is the secret to keeping your married love alive!
What is SDM?
SDM is a simple, modern, fertility awareness-based method of family planning that is 95% effective for women with average cycles.
What is Cyclebeads?
CycleBeads is a visual tool that was developed by the institute for the Reproductive Health of Georgetown University. This device helps women use the Standard Day Method. SDM is safe and enhances a couple's sexual communication and love life. 120 / per piece.
What is Vertical Beads?
Vertical Beads is the Philippines' Church version for the SDM use. It identifies a woman's fertile and infertile days, respecting the natural cycle. 35/per piece.
Introduction:
Communication is crucial in a couple's intention to plan their family the natural way. Open communication between partners enables them to express their love and achieve intimacy without relying on external means or going against their life principles. This is designed for health service providers with a guide on how they can assist couples to effectively communicate with each other in order to successfully practice Natural Family Planning.
BIRTH SPACING:
Birth spacing, which is one of the pillars of the Philippine Family Planning Program, is a joint decision of the couple. To arrive at a decision, they have to openly communicate to express their feelings and aspirations for themselves and for their children and the whole family. *NFP based on responsible parenthood is rooted in the framework that a child is a gift as well as, a responsibility. When parents take their responsibility, they show their love to their children who become a source of joy for themselves and the family. The value framework for the NFP in the context of responsible parenthood starts with the SELF, moves towards SPOUSE, CHILDREN, and COMMUNITY.
RESPONSIBILITY TO ONESELF is expressed
in the attainment and maintenance of:
- Self-worth
- Self-respect
- Healthy lifestyle
- Personal growth
- Spirituality
RESPONSIBILITY TO SPOUSE is demonstrated through:
- Companionship
- Love
- Attention
- Respect
- Fidelity
- Physical intimacy/sex
- Open communication
- Time
- Care of the home
RESPONSIBILITY TO CHILDREN is shown by:
- Provision of basic needs
- Spiritual guidance
- Relationship-building/ social skills
- Love and Care
- Time and Space
- Open communication
- Response to individual needs, and
- Particular stage of development
RESPONSIBILITY TO THE COMMUNITY is seen through :
- Being a responsible/involved citizen
- Contributing to the community
- Modeling for the community
To attain what the couples have set as the family goal, they should work within an agreed value system common to both partners. Couples who value fertility as a gift to one another recognize the need to agree when to time lovemaking either to achieve or prevent pregnancy. A couple's agreement to time lovemaking takes into consideration of other values such as self-discipline, respect for each other, and honesty. This fosters positive communication between the couple. Waiting time during the fertile period is made easier by going back to a mutual decision that is arrived at before the practice of NFP itself. One partner must not just decide on his or her own, but instead, the couple talks about their choice of method. If their decision is to avoid pregnancy at this time, then the discipline of NFP calls for strategies to manage the fertile time. Some suggested strategies from successful NFP users during the fertile days are:
- Engaging in tiring physical activity
- Avoid going to bed and waking up at the same time
- Keep the children in bed with you
- Keep bedroom doors unlocked
- Express love in creative ways
- Avoid seductive clothes, looks, and touches
- Talk about problems and solutions
- Focus on the children as a couple
Lovemaking is the ultimate physical intimacy between couples. It is the time for total self-giving as an expression of love. As such, the act should be meaningful and satisfying to both. Hence mutual consent is needed for sexual harmony. There are ways by which the couple can achieve full meaning and mutual satisfaction in their lovemaking. NFP can keep the couple's love life exciting, mainly because of the waiting time in anticipation of their next lovemaking. Popular advice was given to couples that are not ready for a child is to make frequent use of the infertile days for intercourse, making it into art:
BEFORE LOVEMAKING:
- Ensure mutual consent
- Ensure privacy
- Be special for your partner, focus on his/her needs
- Prepare the room and the bed
- Make the children sleep early
DURING LOVEMAKING:
- Give time for caring touches and foreplay
- Be generous in giving and receiving pleasure
- Exercise muscle control
AFTER LOVEMAKING:
- Thank partner
- Evaluate the lovemaking
- Allow and continue to give caring touches
- Set the next lovemaking availability
Dialogue between the couple should go beyond the initial choice of the method and should be maintained for its continued use. This is part of their self-giving and expression of love in their relationship. For mature couples, FAMILY comes first.
- ° The Institute for Reproductive Health (IRH) of Georgetown University is dedicated to the investigation and advancement of natural family planning (NFP). IRH believes that no single family planning method can meet the needs of all couples. Thus programs need to offer users a wider range of options.
- NFP has an important role to play in meeting the reproductive needs of couples. NFP is not a method in itself, but rather refers to methods used to plan for or prevent a pregnancy based on identifying the woman's fertile and infertile days, and the timing of intercourse to achieve their intentions.
- IRH efforts in developing and testing newer and simpler NFP methods are based on biological scientific facts established through research, such as the probability of pregnancy from intercourse on days relative to ovulation.
WHAT IS SDM?
- SDM is a simple fertility awareness-based method. - It helps a woman know her fertile days by counting the days of her cycle. - It identifies days 8-19 of the cycle as fertile. - It helps a couple avoid unplanned pregnancy by knowing when to abstain. - It can also be used to achieve a pregnancy.
WHY A NEW NFP METHOD?
- There is a big demand for simple natural methods of family planning. - There is low use of existing natural methods. - There is a high use of some kind of periodic abstinence and withdrawal. - There is low understanding of fertility. - SDM has all the advantages of natural methods: ° no side effects ° no costly or imported commodities needed ° promotes couple communication ° involves both husband and wife
WHAT ARE THE SCIENTIFIC BASES OF SDM?
- Biological factors that determine a woman's fertile period: ° timing of ovulation ° maximum life span of the sperm cell, 5 days inside the woman's reproductive tract on fertile days ° life span of the egg cell, 24 hours - Probability of pregnancy during the fertile period is high. - Intercourse on other days of the cycle outside the fertile period is essentially zero. - For the average woman, this fertile period falls completely within days 8 to 19 of the cycle. - By average woman, we mean a woman whose cycles meet the criteria of 26 days varying up to 32 days.
DEVELOPMENT AND TESTING OF THE METHOD
Concept of SDM validated thru theoretical analysis and computer simulation of over 7,600 cycles provided by the World Health Organization from it's ovulation method trials. SDM was found socially acceptable in pilo studies done in 3 countries for 6 months using protocols and counselling guidelines developed by IRH. High effectiveness rate of 95.25% resulted from clinical trials in 3 countries where women were followed-up for 13 cycles.
WHAT IS THE NECKLACE?
- A mnemonic tool (aid to memory) - A necklace of color-coded beads with a movable rubber marker to help the woman track her cycle days. - Helps her remember whether the days are fertile or infertile. - An effective tool
- for the woman to learn her fertility ° for the couple to communicate on fertility management
- a teaching tool for the worker in counselling her client - The necklace is NOT SDM. LEARNINGS IRH would like to share the following learnings from the NFP work it has been involved in through the years: ° Involving men is key to successful use and many men do support the use of SDM.
- Correct use increases over time.
- Health providers, program managers, and health officials see SDM as easy/feasible to offer.
- Program managers are recognizing the need to generate resources to make the method sustainable.
- Women appreciate the knowledge they gain about their fertility and they find the knowledge empowering in negotiating their love-making.
- Satisfied users are the best promoters. SDM Natural And Moral?
By Mitos S. Rivera, IRH
In the testing and development of simplified natural methods, now being implemented effectively by IRH with international, national and local partners
Male Fertility Facts - From puberty onwards, a man is able to get a woman pregnant each time he engages in sexual intercourse. The male contribution in the conception of a child is the sperm cell. Sperm production is signified by a boy’s first wet dream.
Female Fertility Facts - From puberty up to menopause, a woman has menstrual cycles with fertile and infertile periods within each cycle. Female fertility is determined by the release of a mature egg cell which is her contribution in the conception of a child. An egg cell can be fertilized by a sperm cell for only 24 hours from the time it is released from the ovary to the fallopian tube. During a woman’s fertile days, cervical mucus can keep the sperm cells alive from three to five days.
Natural Family Planning (NFP) has an important role to play in meeting the reproductive needs of couples. NFP is not a method in itself, but rather refers to methods used by couples for planning pregnancies based on identifying the woman's fertile and infertile days and the timing of intercourse to achieve their fertility intentions. The discipline of NFP is abstinence, this is the secret to keeping your married love alive!
BOM - the most important sign of ovulation is the appearance and the sensation of cervical mucus and the sensation of wetness in the vulva.
The Billings Ovulation or cervical mucus method involves the daily observation and recording of changes in the cervical mucus both in appearance and sensation throughout the menstrual cycle.
Effectiveness: 97%
BBT - A rise in the woman’s resting body temperature signifies that ovulation has occurred. From thereon, the body temperature remains at this elevated level until the next menstruation. The Basal Body Temperature method involves the daily taking and recording of temperature with the use of a digital thermometer first thing in the morning upon waking up.
Effectiveness: 99%
SYMPTO-THERMAL - is a combination of the technology of Mucus observation and temperature taking. Mucus changes signifies the onset of the fertile days before ovulation and infertile days after ovulation are signified by whichever sign comes later: three days after the wetness period, or the third day of temperature rise. The symptom-thermal method involves both mucus observation and temperature-taking.
Effectiveness: 98%
SDM - The Standard Days Method identifies Cycle Days eight to nineteen (8-19) as the average woman’s fertile days. Average meaning that her menstrual cycles are anything that stays in the range of twenty-six to thirty-two (26-32) days, or her menstruation comes about a month apart. SDM involves knowing the first day of menstruation which is also the first day of a woman’s cycle.
Effectiveness: 95%
TDM - A simplified mucus-based method involving knowing and recording of observations of any secretion experienced by the woman throughout her cycle for two days: today and yesterday.
Effectiveness: 96%
LAM - Lactational Amenorrhea Method is for women who meet the 3 conditions: fully breastfeeding, no menses since childbirth and the baby is less than six months.
Effectiveness: 99.5%
A Teaching and Learning Tool for NFP methods - For Heaven’s Sake, Know your Cycle!
- Self-assessment
- Instructions
- Monitoring
- Feedback
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