introduction
the basic principles of fertility are:
- A man produces millions of sperm at each act of intercourse
- whereas a woman produces normally only one egg (ovum) per cycle which has a fertilisable life of about 12 hours maximum
- For several days before ovulation (release of the egg), a woman’s body produces a special secretion (cervical mucus) which flows into the vagina in order to transport and keep sperm alive until the egg is released
- In this unique mucus, sperm can live for 3 - 6 days before ovulation. Without it they cannot survive!
- Once the egg is released, the special mucus disappears quickly
- So in theory, the fertile days in a woman’s cycle are the special mucus days leading up to ovulation, and a couple of days after its disappearance (allowing for lifespan of the ovum)
- All the rest of the days of the cycle are infertile
The purpose of natural family planning (nfp) is to teach couples how to recognise these “few days of fertility” in a woman’s cycle, so that couples can time intercourse appropriately to plan their families. They can plan and space the births of their children simply by education and charting the fertility signs - with no health risks or side effects incurred from invasive procedures.
For those trying to avoid pregnancy, it has an efficiency rate of 98%,
provided the couple are well taught and apply the rules correctly.
(Ref. G.Freundl Adv. Contraception 1993, European Multi-centre Study of NFP)
for couples trying to have a baby:
- it accurately defines the fertile phase of each cycle thereby increasing their chance of conception
- charting the cycle can help detect problems and symptoms that need further investigation
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© 2008 Natural Family Planning Teachers’ Association