A natural family planning method is as effective as the contraceptive pill, German research suggests.
The symptothermal method (STM) assesses fertility levels during the monthly cycle by measuring body temperature, and observing cervical secretions.
UK experts said natural family planning was effective - provided it was taught properly and carried out correctly.
A University of Heidelberg team assessed STM in a study of 900 women.
The lowest pregnancy rate was found among women who abstained from sex during their most fertile period, as defined by STM.
Among those who used a barrier method during this time, such as a condom, the pregnancy rate rose to 0.6 pregnancies per 100 women per year.
Why do I get the feeling that this study will not be embraced by the Planned Parenthood crowd in the US? I mean how could they possibly give up their favorite stick with which to beat the Vatican? How could you possibly admit for all these years the Catholic Church had a point? Will they really have to ditch their entire back catalog of rhythm method jokes? Should they really have been handing out rhythm method pamphlets instead of condoms?
How disheartening for them.
I find it odd in this day and age of lefty embrace of "Organic" this and "All Natural" that, that there is basically no chance that the most natural family planning method out there won't be ignored in favor of some pill. Most women I've talked to about the pill (not that many I'll admit) have hated it. They have felt it messed up their bodies somehow. I suppose it is the same with most medical treatments, some tolerate it better than others. Also, of course, there are questions about the long term health effects of the pill to take into account as well.
Maybe there is another option?
4 comments:
"I mean how could they possibly give up their favorite stick with which to beat the Vatican?"
Hah, indeed. You're right that there's absolutely no chance that this will be widely accepted, but it is growing in acceptance here in my neck of the woods. The anti-Catholic bigotry and the sex on demand culture will prevent that from being a more widespread phenomenon, I fear. It's a shame that more people can't see that misogyny is a more apt criticism of our secular culture (which depersonalizes sex and objectifies women) than of the Catholic Church.
Key phrase:
provided it was taught properly and carried out correctly.
Refer to the KISS principle. Simple and easy, this isn't. And convenient only applies in terms of cost (free!). :-)
http://www.irh.org/resources-SymptothermalMethod.htm
Tully: Yeah, people gotta know what they are doing. Same thing goes for something as simple as a breast self-exam...do it the wrong way and you are simply wasting your time.
C Stanley: You want me to go on a rant here???? :-) God knows there is a big reason for MEN to like women being on the pill. It makes them available (consequence free) ALL the time, while the natural way has "Keep you Hands off me" periods.
Listen to me...I must be some sort of feminist.
IC,
Exactly my point about misogyny of the 'feminist way'. Heaven forbid that women should ask men to abstain at times when all they have to do is take a little pill- sheesh, why would they object to altering their hormones in order to be more available, for Pete's sake??
Tully,
Other then the discipline part it really is quite easy. If I can be forgiven for what is a bit graphic, the cervical mucus alone can be used rather than the temperature method. For most women it is quite easy to determine the periods of fertility that way (which also helps in planning conception when the couple wants to do that). Anyone who's ever been around dairy cows knows the value of cervical mucus in detecting fertility :-)
An amusing aside: when I spoke to an OB-GYN about this he laughed as he told me that I'd be shocked at the number of women who show up for exams when they notice a particularly heavy mucus discharge on an occasional month and think that something is wrong. It seems that no one bothers to teach young girls that they even have cervical mucus secretions, so when it's noticeable some women panic. Seems like with all the time and money being spent on sex ed courses in our schools, we might find an opportunity to mention this little fact to educate girls about their physiology.
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