Natural Birth Control

barriers such as condoms or diaphragms, medications like the birth control pills or spermicides. But they may not be 100 percent effective. They are slow and steady techniques that need to be practiced over and again, from time to time.

Natural birth control methods can be fairly effective at preventing pregnancy if used correctly and effectively. Depending on the method you choose and how properly you use it, you can prevent pregnancy 75 to 98 percent of the times. You can also practice two or more natural birth control methods at the same time for best results.

Withdrawal Method

In this method, the man withdraws his penis from the woman's vagina before he ejaculates. The idea is to prevent sperm from reaching and fertilizing an egg at the right time. Withdrawal doesn't always work because the man must have enough control to pull out at the right time, which is a difficult thing to do while lovemaking. It is not a reliable method. It is only 60 to 80 percent successful at preventing pregnancy.

Calendar Method

In Calender method, Couples abstain from sex during the week when they believe the woman is ovulating. This technique works best when a woman's menstrual cycle is regular, or when she knows her body so well that she knows when she is ovulating.

However, the calendar method is mostly effective when combined with the temperature and mucus methods.

The temperature method

The temperature method is a way to pinpoint the exact day you ovulate so you can avoid sex a few days before and after that. For this method to work, you must take your basal body temperature (temperature when your first wake up) every morning with a highly accurate "basal" thermometer, Your basal body temperature (BBT) ranges from 97.2 to about 97.7 degrees before ovulation. If your temperature stays elevated for at least two days, you'll know that ovulation has occurred and you're fertile , So you should steer clear of sex during this time. This method isn't reliable when your temperature is already high because of illness. Too little sleep can also effect your body temperature.But when combined with the mucus method, the temperature method is an accurate way of assessing fertility. If you use these two methods correctly and consistently, the success rate can be as high as 98 percent.

The mucus method

This method involves noticing changes in the amount and texture of your vaginal discharge, the mucus that forms around your cervix. Those changes reflect the rising level of estrogen in your body. You may have no discharge at all for the first few days after your period. Then you may notice a cloudy, tacky mucus as your estrogen starts to rise. When the discharge increases in volume and becomes clear and odorous like raw egg white, you'll know that ovulation is near. A return to either tacky, cloudy mucus or no discharge means that ovulation has passed.

You should avoid intercourse all together from the day you first notice the discharge until four days after it's gone back to normal or disappeared. A vaginal infection or the use of douches or medication can produce changes in your mucus and disturb the pattern. When used correctly and consistently in association with the temperature method, the mucus method can be 98 percent effective at preventing pregnancy.

Are natural birth control methods a good choice

Natural birth control methods are not the best choice because they require a lot of time and energy to be effective, and you may probably be short on both. Also, these methods work best on women with regular periods and it takes some time for your period to become regular again , if you have given birth recently. They also have fairly low effectiveness rates .

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