What is Fertility Awareness Method?

If you're looking for a hormone-free way to monitor your fertility and overall health, a Fertility Awareness Method (FAM) could be your solution. FAM is a science-backed, cycle tracking approach that can be used as a natural method of contraception, without relying on synthetic hormones.

What is FAM?

Fertility Awareness Method works by recognising hormonal signals from the body to determine when you're fertile and when you're not. By paying attention to your body's signs, like cervical mucus and basal body temperature (BBT) you can pinpoint your “fertile window.” This time is defined by how long sperm can survive in cervical mucus and how long an egg remains viable for fertilisation.

Having this knowledge allows you to make conscious choices about intimacy in line with your personal reproductive goals. If your aim is to prevent pregnancy, avoiding unprotected sex during your fertile days is essential. If you’re trying to conceive, identifying these days can optimise your chances of success. FAM enables you to make informed decisions about your health, which includes your choices about sex and intimacy.

Bottom line?

If you want to make FAM work for you as an alternative to hormonal contraception, you’ll need to make a daily habit of tracking hormonal changes throughout the cycle to identify ovulation.

Recognising your body’s signs of fertility with confidence is the overarching “goal” of FAM and to achieve this, you’ll need to be actively engaged in understanding your cycle. Unlike hormonal contraceptives or barrier methods, FAM requires an ongoing commitment - yes, that means daily - to observing and interpreting your “biomarkers” each cycle. 

If you have a partner(s), and preventing pregnancy is your goal, it's worth making it a team effort, all involved can learn how FAM works and apply its rules consistently for it to be effective. 

Afterall, why should the overall responsibility of avoiding unwanted pregnancy always land on the woman? It shouldn’t.

How does Fertility Awareness Method work? 

FAM involves noticing and tracking key signs of fertility to understand where you are in your cycle. By recognising and identifying certain changes, you can position yourself along the hormonal pattern that is unique to your body.

1. Cervical mucus: Throughout your cycle, cervical mucus changes in sensation and appearance. Observing these changes can indicate when you’re fertile and when you’re not. During the fertile phase of your cycle, cervical mucus generally becomes thinner, wetter and more abundant. Most importantly, the sensation of the mucus changes. You may experience your fertile cervical mucus as clear, watery, slippery or stretchy or any combination of these. You can use this information to determine when your fertile window begins and therefore when pregnancy may be possible.

   
   

2. Basal Body Temperature (BBT): Your basal body temperature is your body’s lowest resting temperature, which can be measured first thing upon waking (before drinking water or getting up to wee). After ovulation, hormonal shifts cause a slight but noticeable rise in resting body temperature, signaling the end of the fertile window. You can use this information to confirm that you have ovulated, knowing it won’t happen again until the next cycle.

   
   

3. Cycle phases: By tracking the length and symptoms of your menstrual cycle over time, you can begin to understand your individual cycle phases - follicular and luteal - and how you personally experience them.

   
   
   
   

Who is Fertility Awareness Method for?

FAM is for anyone with a menstrual cycle who wants to learn how to monitor ovulation and make informed decisions about intimacy in line with reproductive goals. If planning or avoiding pregnancy isn’t your goal, you can still understand your cycle through menstrual cycle awareness practices - tracking cyclical experiences and patterns such as mood, sleep, digestion, libido etc. You can choose to track whatever it is that you're interested in observing about yourself. Cycle tracking helps you gain valuable insight into your unique hormonal ebb and flow.

Why FAM?

Tracking ovulation is a pretty great reason in itself, as this is a key indicator of overall health. Here are some of the other benefits to learning FAM:

• Body literacy & awareness: If, like me, you received a limited education about having a menstrual cycle (and a female body!) then FAM at least gives you a basic understanding of what’s going on each cycle and how to read your body’s signs. 

  
  

• Hormone health: FAM helps you tune into potential hormone-related issues like irregular cycles, anovulation (no ovulation) or PMS / PMDD and take informed action about it. Cycle tracking builds a picture of your hormonal patterns, information, helping you to become an informed participant in your own health. Using this information, you can speak to your doctor with confidence about your experience and symptoms.

  
  

• Natural approach: For those looking to avoid pregnancy, FAM offers a natural alternative to hormonal birth control. When we produce hormones naturally, we receive a vast array of health benefits for the entire body. Synthetic hormones suppress these natural benefits - overtime, this can have consequences for our health.

  
  

• Peace of mind: Confidently knowing your cycle patterns means fewer surprises - it takes the randomness out of cyclical changes and instead helps you to prepare for them. Think PMS, hanger, fatigue, sudden tears...you know what I'm talking about.

  
  

• It’s low cost or entirely free if you choose to self-teach. There are plenty of resources available to help you learn FAM but I do recommend carefully researching which method feels best for you (there are lots of different methods out there) and start by working with a certified FAM educator. This is a relatively small financial investment that will provide you with lifetime knowledge and benefits. 

Ready to start tracking your cycle?

Learning FAM can feel overwhelming at first, but it doesn’t have to be! With any new habit it’s best to start slow and simple. This makes the habit more manageable and likely to become sustainable. Begin by focusing on the primary indicator of fertility -  cervical mucus! Start noticing what you feel as you go about your day, and note it down.

The best part? You don’t have to wait, you can start paying attention right now.