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(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- If you use it correctly, natural family planning can be just as effective as taking the birth control pill to avoid unplanned pregnancies.
New research from Germany shows the symptothermal method (STM) of natural family planning (NFP) lets couples accurately find the time a woman is fertile by measuring her temperature and observing cervical secretion. Then, if the couples either abstain from sex or use a barrier method during the fertile period, the rate of unplanned pregnancies was 0.4 percent and 0.6 percent per year, respectively.
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Results reveal of the 900 women in the study, including those who had unprotected sex during their fertile period, 1.8 percent became unintentionally pregnant. In the study, 322 participants used only STM and 509 used STM with occasional barriers during the time they were fertile.
"The women or couples who want to learn the method have to buy a book, or attend an NFP course, or get some teaching by a qualified NFP teacher," reports Professor Petra Frank-Hermann, from the University of Heidelberg in Germany. "Learning STM is usually no problem. There are precise rules that work. However, in contrast to the oral contraceptive pill or other family planning methods, STM needs more engagement and time to learn it."
Researchers report for a contraceptive method to be rated as highly efficient as an oral contraceptive there needs to be less than one pregnancy per 100 women per year when it is used correctly. The pregnancy rate for women who used the STM method correctly in this study, 0.4 percent, is the equivalent to one pregnancy per 250 women per year.
This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, which offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, click on: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.
SOURCE: Human Reproduction, published online Feb. 21, 2007
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