26 Mar 2007

Modified Rhythm Method Shown to Be as Effective as the Pill

pregnant bellyAny reliable birth control option that doesn’t require pumping your body with synthetic hormones resulting in a permanently grotty mood, lowered libido and health problems later on, gets a big thumbs up from me. For those couples who use condoms all the time as a hormone free method but who wish for more physical intimacy, this method could be the holy grail — condom free fun for two weeks each month.

The World Health Organization reports that on average, women practicing periodic abstinence for a year have a one in four chance of becoming pregnant.

A new German study, however, has found that, when practiced correctly, a method of periodic abstinence known as the sympto-thermal method (STM) leads to an unintended pregnancy rate of only 0.6 percent annually. This rate is comparable with that of unintended pregnancies in women who use birth control pills, the most popular method of contraception in the U.S. More…

Go Ask Alice! Natural Birth Control
Getting started on the STM (includes charts you can print out and use)

Comments

  • Ms. Wakame
    March 29, 2007 Reply

    What made me interested in this method is that its different from the age old rhythm method which relies solely on the fertile days of the cycle, but also includes the core body temperature and cervical secretions as additional cues.

  • Cait
    March 28, 2007 Reply

    Well, the old joke is “What do you call people who use the rhythm method?” Answer: Parents. But, I knew someone who couldn’t take pills or use patches, and she used the rhythm method. It worked. But you have to be scrupulous about it. You also need to have some regularity about your periods for it to be viable.

    • Niläts
      September 6, 2022 Reply

      Not anymore

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