Quote:
Originally Posted by lostgirl
"You know what they call people who use the rhythm method.....
Parents"
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Actually, what I was talking about is different from the rhythm method. Basically the rhythm method is calendar-based. There is a more modern version called the Standard Days Method -- Wikipedia has a good article on it -- but that's not what I'm talking about either.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lostgirl
You can be fertile at anytime during your cycle. What you have charted are just your most fertile days.
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This is actually not true. You are fertile from about three days before ovulation until about 24 hours after ovulation. The trick is in figuring out when ovulation occurs, because you can't rely on the assumption that it's day 14. It may vary from woman to woman and cycle to cycle...
What I do is monitor (a) my basal body temperature and (b) what my cervix is doing. I'll spare you guys the gory bodily-fluid details; the temperature is the main thing. When a woman ovulates, her basal body temperature goes up and stays up for the rest of the cycle. After three days of sustained higher temperatures, she's considered to be in the post-ovulatory infertile phase; the egg is only viable for about 24 hours after ovulation, and you only ovulate once per cycle. This is all thoroughly researched and documented out there. (There is a pre-ovulatory infertile phase as well, but that is a little more complicated to determine and a little riskier.)
Reputable sources put the method failure rate at about 2%. The "typical use" failure rate is higher, but that includes when people misunderstand the rules, make mistakes in charting, or throw caution to the winds and have sex on fertile days. I am fanatical about not getting pregnant, seriously detail-oriented, and of questionable fertility anyway -- due to age and other factors -- so believe me, I will not be becoming a parent. If in doubt, I don't risk it.
It was fairly well mind-blowing to realize at the age of 39 that I'm only fertile for a few days each cycle. Add a few days' buffer zone on either side of that, and I still have a decent-sized window where I can have sex without fear of pregnancy. It's too bad I didn't know this when I was younger.
Various well-intentioned people want us to believe we're fertile ALL THE TIME so we won't take chances and wind up with an unintended pregnancy. But it's just not true. Your body tells you when it's fertile, if you know what signs to look for.