The Fertile Window

The Fertile Window Has Moved!

2011-07-20T10:26:00.001-04:00

Please visit our new blog at:

Shhh...CycleBeads Android App Coming Soon!

2011-06-28T10:08:00.006-04:00

We've been a bit quiet lately in part because we've been hard at work getting the CycleBeads Android app ready for launch! You can get it in the Android Market now: CycleBeads Android App

The official launch is coming soon!

The CycleBeads Android app, like iCycleBeads the iPhone version, is based on the Standard Days Method, a scientifically based natural family planning option that helps women plan or prevent pregnancy. It is easy to use and scientifically proven to be more than 95% effective. The app features alerts which will let a woman know if she is on a fertile or non-fertile day, when she is likely to get her next period, and if she has had a cycle that is outside the range for using this family planning method.

CycleBeads App Color Key

CycleBeads View on Android App

CycleBeads is Not the Rhythm Method - Part II

2011-04-29T13:47:00.003-04:00

Well we've said it before, but CycleBeads and the Standard Days Method of family planning are not the rhythm method! There is a lot of information in the earlier CycleBeads is Not the Rhythm Method post, but sometimes a picture is worth a 1000 words...

Why Do We Need to Invest in Girls?

2011-04-21T14:59:00.002-04:00

Investing in girls has a profound effect on societies. Educating girls and helping them delay marriage and pregnancy until they are ready, results in fewer and healthier babies, a higher quality of life for themselves and their families, and significantly impacts future generations. A program called The Girl Effect is promoting this information through powerful and inspiring messages like those in the video below.

The solution may not be as easy as the video makes it seem, but it is a fact that young women and girls can be agents of change in their communities wherever they live - whether it's a remote village in the mountains of Peru or the concrete jungle of New York City.

Some of the interesting facts that this program highlights:

When a girl in the developing world receives seven or more years of education, she marries four years later and has 2.2 fewer children. (United Nations Population Fund, State of World Population 1990.)

An extra year of primary school boosts girls’ eventual wages by 10 to 20%. An extra year of secondary school by 15 to 25%. (George Psacharopoulos and Harry Anthony Patrinos, “Returns to Investment in Education: A Further Update,” Policy Research Working Paper 2881[Washington, D.C.: World Bank, 2002].)

Research in developing countries has shown a consistent relationship between better infant and child health and higher levels of schooling among mothers. (George T. Bicego and J. Ties Boerma, “Maternal Education and Child Survival: A Comparative Study of Survey Data from 17 Countries,” Social Science and Medicine 36 (9) [May 1993]: 1207–27.)

When women and girls earn income, they reinvest 90% of it into their families, as compared to only 30 to 40% for a man. (Chris Fortson, “Women’s Rights Vital for Developing World,” Yale News Daily 2003.)

Educating young girls and helping them delay marriage and families until they are ready, is critical if we want them to change themselves, their families, their communities, and their nations. To find out more about how to support this cause visit The Girl Effect website where you can find information on how to donate, more facts, and guides for how individuals and international reproductive health programs can support this initiative.

Making Family Planning Available to Everyone, Everywhere

2011-03-24T09:44:00.001-04:00

iCycleBeads: Family Planning iPhone Application Now Available in Spanish

March 24, 2011 WASHINGTON, D.C. – Cycle Technologies, announced today that iCycleBeads™, the first iPhone application that enables a woman to plan or prevent pregnancy easily and effectively, entirely through information provided by her iPhone device, is now available in Spanish.

“There are more than 35 million people in the U.S. and 400 million people worldwide for whom Spanish is the primary language,” said Leslie Heyer, President of Cycle Technologies. “It makes sense for this valuable family planning tool to be accessible to Spanish speakers. We plan to make iCycleBeads available in additional languages and through other smart phone devices in the near future so that eventually this birth control option can be used by anyone with a smart phone, anywhere.”

The Spanish language version of iCycleBeads will be presented at the Symposium for mHealth Strategy in Latin America in Lima, Peru March 25-26.

iCycleBeads is based on the Standard Days Method®, a family planning method that:

· Was developed through extensive analysis of reproductive physiology data, tested in large-scale clinical trials, and proven more than 95% effective at preventing pregnancy.

· Is the fastest growing natural family planning option available having been used by +2.5 million women worldwide in more than 50 countries using the visual tool CycleBeads®.

· Was developed by the Institute for Reproductive Health at Georgetown University.

The information is provided on a virtual representation of CycleBeads or a calendar. The user will also receive customizable alerts for the first and last days of her “fertile window” (the days when she is able to get pregnant), when she can expect to get her next period, and to remind her to enter her cycle data.

“iCycleBeads allows a woman to both plan and prevent pregnancy easily and effectively without in-depth tracking of complicated data, a counselor to review information, or requiring additional tools to help her use it,” said Ms. Heyer. “This is modern, natural birth control that is both easy to use and highly effective.”

iCycleBeads is designed for the majority of women who have cycles between 26 and 32 days long. It helps a woman track her cycle and clearly identify her fertile window as days 8 through 19 of her cycle. These 12 days take into account the life span of the ovum, the viable life of sperm, as well as the variation in the actual timing of ovulation from one cycle to the next.

iCycleBeads is protected by patent. It is now available at the iPhone Apple store and is compatible with the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. A portion of all proceeds are donated to expanding family planning options around the world.

###

Additional information available at: www.CycleBeads.com & www.CycleTechnologies.com. See the iCycleBeads app in the iTunes store. See video demonstrations and additional pictures of iCycleBeads. Follow CycleBeads on: Facebook & Twitter

Why We Need Planned Parenthood & Title X Programs in the U.S.

2011-03-09T11:30:00.005-05:00

The U.S. Congress's attempts to cut the deficit by reducing the already minimal funding to Planned Parenthood and Title X programs has us all concerned. Would you save money on your house by not fixing a major leak in your roof? It might save you a few dollars today, but would cost you a lot of money in the very near future.

The U.S. Senate is likely to act today on a decision by the House last month to bar Planned Parenthood and Title X health centers from receiving any federal funding. That would deeply cut into the health services provided by these programs including birth control, cancer screenings, HIV and STD testing and counseling, pregnancy diagnosis and counseling, and more. These programs are the only federally funded health programs that work with low income individuals and families in the U.S. It should be noted that while these programs do provide abortions, federal funds are not used for this procedure.

Here are some facts that might give our leaders some pause:

Title X & Planned Parenthood Programs Save Money
For every public dollar invested in family planning, $3.74 is saved in Medicaid-related costs. That’s savings to both federal and state governments. Where did this figure come from? Read the report from the Guttmacher Institute here: Contraceptive Needs and Services: National and State Data, 2008.

Title X & Planned Parenthood Programs Offer Many Critical Health Services
In 2009 alone, Title X providers performed 2.2 million Pap tests, 2.3 million breast exams, and over 6 million tests for sexually transmitted infections, including nearly a million HIV tests. Planned Parenthood health centers offer on an annual basis nearly 1 million lifesaving screenings for cervical cancer, 830,000 breast exams, contraception to nearly 2.5 million patients, 4 million tests and treatments for sexually transmitted infections, and education programs for nearly 1.2 million individuals, among other important preventive services. Want more details? See the report provided by Planned Parenthood here: Protect Women's Health Protect Planned Parenthood

A Majority of Americans Do Not Support Proposals to Cut Costs to Health Care
The Center for American Progress highlighted a January 2011 CBS/New York Times survey which found that Americans oppose cuts for health care and education as a means of reducing the deficit by a margin of 67% to 27%.

Little Impact on the Deficit
We will leave it to others to debate exactly what should be cut, but when your deficit is $14 trillion, and you main focus is the $317 million that was spent on these programs in 2010, it seems like a drop in the bucket. Let's see:

$14,000,000,000,000 - $300,000,000 =

$13,999,700,000 Deficit Remaining*

* This does not take into account the costs associated with the increase in care that would be required to deal with the undiagnosed medical needs, unhealthy pregnancies, and unplanned pregnancies that would result from these programs being cut.

Investing in common sense, proven, effective prevention and primary health care is smart policy, politics, and the right thing to do. Cutting these programs not only hurts low income individuals and families, but it hurts society and the economy. Furthermore, it wouldn't even begin to address the issue of reducing the national debt.

Back to the metaphor about repairing the leaky roof on your house - the interest in cutting these programs makes you think that some people shouldn't be homeowners.

Why is Social Media Important to Us?

2011-02-24T20:02:00.000-05:00

Social media like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Blogs is important to CycleBeads because it allows for a worldwide connection. Our community spans the globe, from California to the Congo and from Indiana to India. Being in touch directly with our community helps us innovate, address concerns, and respond to questions.

With the transparency and flexibility of social media, we can share what we represent, provide the latest updates on CycleBeads, and up to the minute contraception and fertility news. Not to mention, we get to hear from you!

So, if you aren't already following CycleBeads on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, check us out. You might consider following The Fertile Window Blog too!

Opportunity to Download iCycleBeads for Free - An iPhone app for easy and effective pregnancy prevention or conception.

2011-02-03T13:41:00.006-05:00

Cycle Technologies is giving away free downloads of iCycleBeads™ as part of a promotion to help spread the word about this unique iPhone app. iCycleBeads is the only iPhone app based on the Standard Days Method® of family planning and is one of the top rated Health & Wellness apps in the iTunes store. iCycleBeads enables a woman to plan or prevent pregnancy easily and effectively, entirely through her iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad. See iCycleBeads in the iTunes store here.

To enter:

1) Join the CycleBeads Facebook page here.

2) Repost the message below on your Facebook wall:

iPhone+Birth Control= iCycleBeads! The only app allowing you to plan or prevent pregnancy easily & effectively. "Like" CycleBeads, repost on your wall by Feb 15(...let us know you reposted!) & be entered to win a Free iCycleBeads app! http://tinyurl.com/4p6fuow

3) Let CycleBeads know you entered by either posting on the contest announcement on Facebook or sending an email to info@cyclebeads.com

You'll then be entered to win a free download! Winners will be announced on February 16th, 2011 on the CycleBeads Facebook page.

The CycleBeads Pregnancy Kit Helps Women Get Pregnant

2011-01-27T15:56:00.005-05:00

The CycleBeads® Pregnancy Kit

While most women use CycleBeads® to avoid a pregnancy, many women say that they are using them to help them achieve a pregnancy. With this in mind, Cycle Technologies created The CycleBeads® Pregnancy Kit to help women as they start this adventure. The kit is available through the website http://www.cyclebeads.com/.

The idea behind the CycleBeads Pregnancy Kit is that for most women, getting pregnant should not be a stressful process. Some basic information can help most women achieve a healthy pregnancy more quickly and easily. The kit can also help a woman determine if she is having trouble getting pregnant and therefore needs to track other fertility signs more closely and/or share this information with her doctor.

The CycleBeads Pregnancy Kit includes a set of deluxe or classic CycleBeads®, a fertility journal, a two month supply of folic acid, and a lavender scented soy candle, all packed in a discreet, tailored bag. See below for more information on each of the items or visit http://www.cyclebeads.com/.

Item 1: Deluxe CycleBeads help a woman track her cycle and identify her fertile window.

Deluxe CycleBeads is a color-coded string of beads that looks like a necklace, but is actually a visual tool that helps a woman track her cycle and identify which days she is most likely to become pregnant. The tool is based on the Standard Days Method® of family planning, and has been extensively researched as a way to help women plan or prevent pregnancy. Deluxe CycleBeads are hand-strung of man made cat’s eye beads and come in three beautiful colors – aqua, mauve, and copper. Classic CycleBeads are made of polypropylene plastic and the white beads glow in the dark. See more at http://www.cyclebeads.com/

Item 2: A fertility journal to track key information.

Item 2: An inside look at the fertility journal.

The fertility journal is specially designed to help a woman track important information such as when she starts her periods, when she has intercourse, whether or not she has taken her folic acid supplement, and any other information that she thinks may be relevant. The journal is a useful resource that a woman can share with her doctor; it can help her determine the actual conception date more accurately, or identify fertility issues early if she does not become pregnant within 6 months of trying to conceive. The journal is customizable so that a woman can begin using it at any time to track her information; it includes a year’s worth of pages divided into 52 weeks. It’s printed on 100% recycled paper.

Item 3: A two month supply of folic acid to help ensure a healthy pregnancy.

The recommended daily intake of folic acid for women of childbearing age is at least 400 mcg, and for pregnant women it increases to 800 mcg. Taking folic acid for at least one month before conception has been proven to reduce neural tube defects by up to 70% according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Included in the conception kit is a supplement from FoodScience® of Vermont which has 800 mcg of folic acid per serving, 60 servings, and is gluten free, yeast free, and vegetarian. An all around great supplement to get a woman started towards having a healthy pregnancy.

Item 4: An aromatherapy candle for relaxation included in the kit.

A lavender scented travel candle is included to help set the mood and be a reminder that this journey is supposed to be fun! Many believe that lavender is an aphrodisiac and promotes relaxation. All we know is that it smells really good. The candle is all natural and made of soy wax.

The contents come in a discreet, tailored bag.

The CycleBeads Pregnancy Kit is made in the USA and whenever possible, uses recycled paper and packaging. A portion of proceeds supports research to expand family planning options around the world and to help people make informed choices about their reproductive health. Additional proceeds are donated to The Girls Project, an empowerment program for young women. Visit http://www.cyclebeads.com/ for more info.

Unplanned Pregnancies & the Effectiveness of Birth Control Methods

2011-01-10T14:29:00.019-05:00

An interesting discussion in the Economist under the title "Crazy, sexy, stupid" looks at abortion, adoption, and birth control use. It explores some of the issues that explain why the abortion rate in the U.S. is 3x higher than the abortion rates in many other countries. However it does not discuss a key issue that results in unplanned pregnancies worldwide - the effectiveness and failure rates of different birth control options. Many people are surprised to find out that even commonly used, and highly touted hormonal methods are less effective than they may think.

Unplanned pregnancies in the U.S. and elsewhere can be reduced further by giving accurate information, making birth control accessible, encouraging correct use, and helping people find birth control methods that work best for them before they become sexually active. However, sexually active people should be aware that no method of birth control is perfect and there is always a risk of an unplanned pregnancy.

To look at the effectiveness issue further, we've re-posted an article written earlier on this topic:

Originally Posted: July 19, 2010. See original here.
Birth Control Effectiveness: How Risky is Your Birth Control?

Many people are surprised to find out that their chosen method of birth control is not quite as effective as they may think. They'll ask, "If the Pill is 99.9% effective, how come I got pregnant?" When talking about birth control effectiveness, there are two rates to consider: Perfect Use and Typical Use.

Perfect Use effectiveness is the effectiveness of a method when it is used correctly and consistently all of the time. Typical Use effectiveness takes into account how the average person uses the birth control method in the real world. Perfect Use effectiveness is almost always higher than Typical Use effectiveness, but different birth control options can vary significantly between Perfect Use and Typical Use rates.

User-directed birth control methods tend to have more variation between their Perfect Use and Typical Use effectiveness rates than surgical and doctor-directed methods like a tubal ligation, vasectomy, IUD or an injectable, all of which are 97-99% effective in Perfect Use as well as Typical Use.

The chart below compares the rates for common, user-directed family planning options:

Of course we have to point out that CycleBeads compare quite favorably both in Perfect Use and in Typical Use to other user-directed family planning options. This is due to the fact that they were designed to be both highly effective and easy to use; therefore, people tend to use them correctly. We'll take a closer look at CycleBeads effectiveness compared to other fertility awareness-based options in a later post.

So what does this chart mean? It means that in a given year, 8 out of 100 sexually active women using the Pill can expect to get pregnant; 12 out of 100 women using CycleBeads can expect to get pregnant; 15 out of 100 women using condoms can expect to get pregnant; 16 out of 100 women using diaphragms can expect to get pregnant; and 85 out of 100 women using nothing can expect to get pregnant.

In other words, if you are having sex, you are at risk of getting pregnant. Abstinence is the only 100% effective method in preventing both pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. All other birth control options carry some risk of failure.

It is up to the user to determine what level of risk is acceptable to him or her. But when deciding on a contraceptive method, the most important consideration is choosing a method with which a person is comfortable and which he or she will use correctly and consistently. If a person can't use their chosen method correctly and consistently it will simply not be as effective for them or they will discontinue using it. Therefore, in addition to effectiveness, other factors must be considered: potential side effects, likelihood of continuation, accessibility, how a particular method incorporates into a user's lifestyle, etc.

Survey: Birth Control Use

2011-01-04T09:05:00.011-05:00

Can Health Clinics Address a Need with Fertility Awareness-Based Family Planning?

2010-12-20T16:49:00.011-05:00

It’s pretty common knowledge these days that there are high rates of both contraceptive discontinuation and unintended pregnancies in the U.S. Could increasing the availability of fertility awareness-based family planning options at family planning clinics help address these issues by meeting the needs of women looking to prevent pregnancy without hormones?

The Institute for Reproductive Health (IRH) at Georgetown University is working with partners in California and Massachusetts to seek answers to this question. IRH, the Center for Health Training, and John Snow Inc. have been working with selected clinics to integrate CycleBeads®, an easy to use, highly effective fertility awareness-based family planning option, into their offerings. The experience is being evaluated to determine whether including CycleBeads in the method mix is beneficial, from the perspective of both providers and clients. This work is funded under a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Population Affairs.

Right now, the study is still following up with clients. However, preliminary results from the needs assessment and evaluation have been positive and were presented last month at the American Public Health Association’s annual meeting in Denver. Thus far, the experience has shown that:

There is a perceived need for a method like CycleBeads in the communities served by the clinics. As one community member said, “I always wanted to do the calendar thing (to track my menstrual cycles) but never knew how.”

After being trained and offering CycleBeads for a period of time, all providers and counselors found it easy to teach the method and felt that the clinic should continue to offer it.

Of the 30 CycleBeads users interviewed so far, what these women liked most about the method was that it was easy to use and had no side effects. They also enjoyed being able to track their cycles.

Barriers to method use include the fact that some women who wish to use the method are not eligible to do so because they have cycles out of the 26-32-day range, or can’t negotiate sex with their partner.

Lise Ching, Center Manager of one of the participating clinics, feels good about their experience offering CycleBeads so far. She states, “Planned Parenthood Mar Monte’s Modesto Health Center is proud to include the Standard Days Method using CycleBeads as part of the array of birth control options for our patients. We feel strongly that increasing provider and staff member knowledge about this method has allowed us to inform our patients about this wonderful, natural method. We’ve had a number of patients say that they’ve been looking for something that’s easy to use and contains no hormones. We’ve also found that providing this method has opened up our Center to women who may not have ever thought to access Planned Parenthood before. Through their interest in CycleBeads, we’ve been able to link these women to additional services such as breast and cervical cancer screening.”

So far, this experience suggests that it is feasible and beneficial to offer a fertility awareness-based family planning option like CycleBeads in U.S. clinics. Like all birth control options, CycleBeads is not appropriate for all clients, but was chosen by some looking for a non-hormonal option. More evaluation results will be required before conclusions can be drawn about continuation, correct use, and satisfaction among CycleBeads users.

In the meantime, CycleBeads can be obtained at the following participating clinics:

In Massachusetts:

Health Quarters
19 Broadway
Beverly, MA 01915
978.922.4490
www.healthq.org

Health Quarters
101 Amesbury Street, Suite 202
Lawrence, MA 01840
978.681.5258
www.healthq.org

In California:

Planned Parenthood Mar Monte
Modesto Health Center
1431 McHenry Avenue, Suite 100
Modesto, CA 95350
209-579-2300

Marin Community Clinics
6100 Redwood Boulevard
Novato, CA 94945
415-448-1500
www.marinclinic.org

Marin Community Clinics
3110 Kerner Boulevard
San Rafael, CA 94901
415-448-1500
www.marinclinic.org

Source of data: Lavoie K, Jennings V., Marshall R, et al. Strategic Approach to Contraceptive Introduction: Offering CycleBeads/SDM in Title X Clinics. Poster presented at APHA in Denver, November 2010.

iCycleBeads Video Demo

2010-12-09T08:40:00.009-05:00

Check out this video to see how iCycleBeads™ works. iCycleBeads is a new iPhone app that enables a woman to plan or prevent pregnancy effectively and easily. To download the app, see it in the iTunes store here.

Introducing iCycleBeads!

2010-12-02T09:00:00.014-05:00

We are excited to have launched our new iPhone app - iCycleBeads! It is the first app of it's kind - an effective and easy way to plan or prevent pregnancy using your iPhone, and it's the only app in the world based on the Standard Days Method® . Read the press release below.

iCycleBeads: 21st Century Family Planning

December 2, 2010 WASHINGTON, D.C. – Cycle Technologies has launched iCycleBeads™, the first iPhone application that enables a woman to plan or prevent pregnancy easily and effectively, entirely through information provided by the application. iCycleBeads is based on the Standard Days Method®, a family planning method developed by the Institute for Reproductive Health at Georgetown University. The method, based on extensive analysis of data from studies of reproductive physiology and tested in large scale clinical trials, is more than 95% effective at preventing pregnancy.

To use iCycleBeads a woman enters into the “app” the starting date of her most recent period. At the touch of a button, the app shows her where she is in her cycle and whether she is on a day when pregnancy is likely or not. The information is provided on a calendar or a virtual representation of CycleBeads®, a popular family planning tool that consists of a color-coded string of beads and has been used by millions of women worldwide.

A red box or circle marks the first day of a woman’s period, brown represents days of her cycle when pregnancy is unlikely, and white represents days when pregnancy is likely.

The user will also receive alerts that notify her when she is in her fertile window, when she is on a day when pregnancy is unlikely, and when she is likely to get her period. An alert will also prompt her to enter her cycle data if she forgets.

If a woman wants to avoid pregnancy, she should avoid unprotected intercourse during the fertile days. If she wants to become pregnant, these are the days to target.

"This is family planning for the 21^st century,“ said Leslie Heyer, president of Cycle Technologies. “This method is ideally suited for this type of format. While it is based on sophisticated methodology, a user simply needs to note each time she gets her period and the app will let her know if she is on a day when she could get pregnant. iCycleBeads allows a woman to both plan and prevent pregnancy easily and effectively without in-depth tracking of complicated data, a counselor to review information, or requiring additional tools to help her use it.”

iCycleBeads is designed for women who have cycles between 26 and 32 days long, which is the majority of women. It helps a woman track her cycle and clearly identify her fertile window as days eight through 19 of her cycle. These 12 days take into account the life span of a woman's egg (about 24 hours) and the viable life of sperm (about five days) as well as the variation in the actual timing of ovulation from one cycle to the next.

iCycleBeads is protected by patent. It is now available at the iPhone Apple store and is compatible with the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.

Communicating a Woman's Cycle to Her Male Partner Yields Big Benefits

2010-11-24T17:00:00.001-05:00

We’ve been investigating how a woman’s cycle affects male-female relationships and have found that when a woman is accurately informed about what is going on with her body and can clearly communicate it to her partner, it enhances the relationship overall. Sounds easy enough, but what is a good way to accomplish this?

Fertility-awareness methods of family planning provide lots of information about the menstrual cycle and can be a great way for a woman to learn about her cycle. But, simply talking to her partner isn't ideal when explaining a complicated subject. It's too easy for one or both parties to get confused, miss key information, forget, or simply get it wrong.

When it comes to explaining a woman’s cycle and identifying the days when she is likely and unlikely to become pregnant, a visual representation is very useful. Family planning professionals and health care providers state that CycleBeads in particular are a great hands-on, visual tool for communicating much of that information.

One might think men would be reluctant to learn about a woman’s cycle in detail, but it has been shown that when men are invited to be involved, the CycleBeads tool is appealing to them. As one CycleBeads user said,

“My husband really understands my cycle now and he wants to be the one to move the ring every day. He likes knowing exactly which day we’re on and whether I’m at risk of getting pregnant. He can also see ahead of time when I’m going to be PMS’ing!”

This presents an opportunity for a male partner to be involved with birth control, instead of making it solely a woman’s responsibility. When he is aware of his partner’s cycle, he is more understanding of whether it is a good time to have intercourse or not. Furthermore, studies show that couples who use CycleBeads are far more likely to use condoms in conjunction with CycleBeads than with other family planning options. Condom use is a communication challenge with which many couples struggle; CycleBeads appear to bring condoms into relationships in a less stressful way.

Sex is not always easy to talk about, even in a committed relationship, where the couple may otherwise feel comfortable. But studies have shown that when using CycleBeads for communicating with the male partner, men feel more confident about taking some of the responsibilities in the sexual relationship and they feel closer to their partner. Some men even described the feeling as “liberating.”

Now those are big benefits!

Sources:

1) Surveys with CycleBeads users conducted by Cycle Technologies, 2007

2) Surveys with healthcare providers conducted by Cycle Technologies, 2010

3) "Improving Family Planning Services for Women and Their Partners: A Couple-Focused Approached," Institute for Reproductive Health, 2009.: http://www.irh.org/sites/default/files/OPA%20Couple%20Study%20IRH%20final%20report%202009.pdf

4) Standard Days Method Research: Male Involvement and Couple Communication, Institute for Reproductive Health, 2005-2008.: http://www.irh.org/?q=SDM_male_couple

The Menstrual Cycle: Do Men Really Want to Know?

2010-11-18T18:00:00.001-05:00

In our last post, "Can a Woman's Cycle Affect Her Relationships with Men?" we looked at how a woman's cycle impacts her most intimate relationships. It's clear that a woman's menstrual cycle does affect her male partner. But are men really interested in understanding how a woman’s cycle works? What do they already know? And at the end of the day, does a guy’s knowledge of the menstrual cycle affect a couple’s relationship?

We had to do some digging to come up with answers.

MEN WANT TO KNOW
After reviewing surveys and conducting our own interviews, we have been pleasantly surprised to learn that many men believe they should be knowledgeable about a woman’s cycle regardless of what family planning option they use. They believe such knowledge would lead to better communication with their female partner and to a more “harmonious” relationship. We were surprised to hear this. One man we interviewed said, “It is very important. Men should know about the whole cycle.”

"OTHER MEN" DON'T WANT TO KNOW
But it turns out men also think that “other men” are generally not interested in learning about a woman’s cycle and do not usually take the time to do so. “Most men probably think it’s not their problem,” was a frequent response. “A guy figures, if he’s got condoms, he doesn’t need [to know] anything else,” said another interviewee. Of course its interesting that most of the respondents said that they themselves were interested, it was just “other men” who wouldn’t be. Indeed, whether they are interested in learning about it or not, studies show that men usually have incomplete and inaccurate knowledge about a woman’s menstrual cycle.

NEGATIVE ATTITUDES
A lot of men also have a negative attitude about the menstrual cycle. Women are probably partially to blame for this as most men learn about women’s cycles from their girlfriends and wives. There may be a tendency in those conversations to complain and focus on menstruation and the negatives. One respondent summed up in a single word, a common attitude among men when they hear "menstrual cycle"... “Eww.”

MEN WANT PEACE…AND SEX
So why do men want to know about women’s cycles? Two reasons - peace and sex. On the peace front, men feel that if they understand their partners' cycles, they’ll be able to better cope with some of the emotional turmoil that they associate (accurately or not) with the menstrual cycle. One man quipped “men need a support group for dealing with their partner’s PMS and learning strategies for working around the woman’s irritability…or at least to know when to leave the house!”. As for sex being a reason that men wanted to know about women’s cycles, one male respondent put it most succinctly, “Her Period = No Sex”.

FANTASY VS. REALITY
A dubious solution, and perhaps a fantastical one, is to eliminate the cycle all together. In a recent interview with The Sexist Blog, a young woman described her boyfriend’s glee when she explained to him that she takes her birth control pills continuously without the normal 4th week break. He told her, “I was thinking you were just magical … a cool chick with no period drama that has sex all month long.”

Of course, most men do not have “magical” partners and the reality is that conflict arises when a couple is not on the same wavelength sexually. An interviewee put it this way, “When a man wants to have sex and the woman says no, he doesn’t understand why she’s not sexual. It can cause tension.”

GOOD NEWS
Happily, many studies show when women communicate information about their cycles to their partners, it can have a positive affect on relationships. The men we interviewed seemed to intuitively understand this even though their reasons for wanting to know might be different from their partners’ reasons for telling them. This type of communication could help a man feel more in tune with his partner and also address a belief expressed by an interviewee, “The man knows he is not in control of anything [in regard to her cycle], but understanding it makes it seem less precarious and mysterious.”

No doubt, it takes the willingness of both sides to communicate and do so effectively, but if both partners are in tune with the cycle and able to plan together for their sexual expectations, it could well diminish a source of stress in the relationship.

Sources:

Cycle Technologies interviews with men in Des Moines, IA, and Washington, DC, 11/10/10

“Understanding men’s attitudes about the menstrual cycle, Mitchell Gardner, PhD, Saybrook Graduate School and Research Center, 2008. - http://gradworks.umi.com/33/31/3331298.html

2005 PremCal MAP Survey (Men’s Attitudes of PMS Survey) - http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/19302.php

Standard Days Method research: Male Involvement and Couple Communication, The Institute for Reproductive Health, Georgetown University. - http://www.irh.org/?q=SDM_male_couple

Can A Woman's Cycle Affect Her Relationships with Men?

2010-11-03T09:00:00.000-04:00

The menstrual cycle has long been considered a "woman's issue". This seems logical, since only women have a menstrual cycle, but a woman’s cycle can also significantly affect her partner's life and the dynamics in general between a man and a woman. There are the obvious monthly occurrences, such as premenstrual syndrome and menstruation itself, but more is being learned about how other aspects of the cycle influence feelings and behavior, and how all of these influences can actually impact relationships.

Pre-menstrual Syndrome, or PMS, is reasonably well known and its symptoms range from depression and irritability to bloating and fatigue. While not all women suffer PMS symptoms, those who do can be very unpleasant to be around. A survey on attitudes about PMS conducted in 2004 by PremCal reported that both men and women may seek to avoid PMS sufferers and, in extreme cases, PMS can lead to divorce.

A less well known aspect of a woman's cycle is the fact that women and their partners may behave differently around the time that the woman is ovulating. Studies have indicated that during this time, women give off sexual signals to men, dress more alluringly, prefer more physically masculine men and are more likely during this time to have thoughts of infidelity. Men in turn are more attracted to women when they are ovulating; they also tend to become jealous and protective of their mates. Much of this happens at a subconscious level and is likely a remnant of our biological evolution, yet can exert stress on relationships.

Further evidence of the influence of a woman’s cycle has recently been found in a study examining the effects of hormonal contraception on a woman's sense of smell and choice of partners. The study conducted by biologist S. Craig Roberts at the University of Liverpool demonstrated that a woman taking hormonal contraception prefers a man with a genetic make-up that is similar to hers, but when a woman discontinues the artificial hormones, she prefers the opposite type. Dr. Roberts states that not only could the similarity in genetic make-up in couples lead to fertility problems, but could ultimately lead to the breakdown of relationships when women stop using the contraceptive pill, because odor perception plays a significant role in maintaining attraction to partners. Read the press release here.

These studies demonstrate a few of the ways that a woman’s fertility cycle and the related hormones can affect her life as well as her partner's. Hmmm...maybe the menstrual cycle isn't just a "woman's issue" afterall.

Sources:

2005 PremCal Men’s Attitudes of PMS Survey

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/19302.php

Hormones and Behavior 51 (2007) 40-45; “Ovulatory shifts in female human ornamentation: Near ovulation women dress to impress”

http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/comm/haselton/webdocs/dress_to_impress.pdf

UCLA press release on study appearing in “Hormones and Behavior”:

http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/Near-Ovulation-Your-Cheatin-Heart-6713.aspx?RelNum=6713

Evolution and Human Behavior 28 (2007) 375-381; “Ovulatory cycle effects on tip earnings by lap dancers: economic evidence for human estrus?”

http://www.unm.edu/~gfmiller/cycle_effects_on_tips.pdf

Press release from Newcastle University on study regarding “Contraceptive pill influences partner choice” published in The Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Services

http://www.ncl.ac.uk/press.office/press.release/item/1218558246

S. Craig Roberts, L. Morris Gosling,Vaughan Carter, and Marion Petrie

MHC-correlated odor preferences in humans and the use of oral contraceptivesProc. R. Soc. B December 7, 2008 275:2715-2722; doi:10.1098/rspb.2008.0825

Family Planning via Cell Phones

2010-10-20T17:45:00.003-04:00

Exciting research is being conducted by the Institute for Reproductive Health on offering the Standard Days Method™ of family planning through mobile phones. As an information-based, natural family planning method, the Standard Days Method is ideally suited for offering in this manner. The research and some of the lessons to date are described in an article on MobileActive.org called, "Family Planning through Mobile Phones: No Doctors Necessary".

Currently most women using the Standard Days Method, use the method in conjunction with CycleBeads®, a color-coded visual tool that helps a woman track the key information required to use the method correctly: 1) that her cycles are between 26 and 32 days long, and 2) that she should consider herself fertile between days 8 and 19 of her cycle.

CycleTel™ is the mobile phone-based version of this existing fertility awareness product. It requires that a woman text the service on the first day of her period. From there she will receive messages informing her of when she is in her fertile window, when she is on a "safe day", and when she should expect to get her next period.

While there are many challenges to offering a family planning method through text messages, it has the potential to make this natural family planning option available to even more women around the world.

On that note, stay tuned for a new iPhone app based on the Standard Days Method - the only app based on this patented family planning method. Coming soon!

"Birth Control Over Baldness"?

2010-10-08T09:25:00.009-04:00

In a recent New York Times Op-Ed piece, “Birth Control Over Baldness” Nicholas Kristof points out that research on contraception is “pitifully underfunded” and argues that family planning is treated less seriously than baldness. He further points out that new contraceptives will fight global poverty and “affect more people in a more intimate way than almost any other technological stride.”

To be honest, we’re not sure how much funding baldness research receives so we won’t comment on that comparison. However, we agree that family planning research is underfunded and that new contraceptives have the potential to impact global poverty significantly.

The key issues when it comes to birth control are accessibility and providing options that people will actually use. According to figures from the United Nations, more than 215 million women in poor countries do not want to get pregnant, but are unable to get access to modern contraceptives.

Unfortunately, while the column points out a number of hormonal options that are in trial and may help address some of the access issues in the future, it does not highlight any non-hormonal options for women or talk about newer methods that are already having an impact.

Obviously we think CycleBeads should have been included as an innovative, modern family planning option that is being used by more than 2.5 million women in more than 50 countries – many of these in communities where access is a critical issue.

Still we can’t help but agree with Mr. Kristof in his summary of the situation, “Family planning has long been a missing – and underfunded – link in the effort to overcome global poverty. Half a century after the pill, it’s time to make it a priority and treat it as a basic human right for men and women alike around the world.”

CycleBeads is Not the Rhythm Method

2010-09-24T11:30:00.002-04:00

We occasionally hear the question “isn't CycleBeads just the rhythm method?" The answer is NO. CycleBeads, and the Standard Days Method on which it is based, are very different from the so-called “rhythm method”, a method which is vaguely understood, not well defined, confusing to use, and largely untested.

The confusion most likely comes from the fact that CycleBeads and the rhythm method are both considered “calendar-based natural family planning methods”. That is where the similarities end.

First, let's define "the rhythm method". When asked to explain what the rhythm method is, most people will have a vague idea that it involves not having sex during certain days of your cycle when you think you could get pregnant. When asked which days of a woman's cycle those days might be, some respondents have a general idea that it is around the middle of the woman’s menstrual cycle, but most cannot say with accuracy.

Believe it or not, there are actual “rules” to using the rhythm method, but these “rules” are not well defined and vary from one source to another. These “rules” typically involve several calculations that take into account the last 6 cycles that a woman has had, she then subtracts some number (17, 18, or 19) from the shortest of her last 6 cycles and a different number (10, 11 or 12) from her longest cycle, to determine a "fertile window". Unfortunately these formulas have not been tested, so there is no clear evidence of how effective these calculations may be. What is clear is that these calculations are confusing and that many people make mistakes while using them.

The problems with the rhythm method are numerous:
1) It is not well defined or understood.
2) It involves extensive record keeping which is impractical for most people.
3) It involves several calculations on which it is easy to make mistakes.
4) It has not been tested or evaluated in any rigorous scientific studies.

So how is CycleBeads different?

CycleBeads, based on the Standard Days Method of family planning, is clearly defined and understood, it is simple to use, it has been extensively tested, and it is proven to be more than 95% effective at preventing pregnancy*. It is based on a fixed formula which simply says that when a woman has cycles between 26 and 32 days long**, she should consider that she is fertile on days 8 through 19 of her cycle.

That’s it. No confusing calculations. No vague "rules". No tracking months and months of data. CycleBeads is clearly defined, easy to use, easy to teach, and a highly effective natural family planning method. Find out more about the research behind CycleBeads and how to use CycleBeads.

* Arevalo M. et al., Contraception, 2002;65;333-338.
** 80% of cycles are in the 26-32 day range according to data from the World Health Organization

New Study Shows Men Are Key Influencers in Birth Control Use

2010-09-16T07:52:00.012-04:00

A new study shows that young women who aren’t trying to get pregnant are more than twice as likely to use birth control when their partners are “very” in favor of it.

The study, funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, looked at 435 couples in Los Angeles and Oklahoma City. The women in the couples were aged 18 to 25, were not pregnant, and did not want to become pregnant.

While the men and women in the study said they played an active role in deciding whether birth control was used, there was significant disagreement between partners about whether they'd actually talked about birth control. Furthermore, the researchers found that even though the women in the study said that they did not want to get pregnant, most of them were having unprotected sex.

Researchers say that this information will change public health campaigns that traditionally just targeted women when it came to encouraging birth control use.

Where in the World Are CycleBeads?

2010-09-10T10:59:00.000-04:00

CycleBeads® Availability Worldwide
The natural birth control option CycleBeads is available throughout much of the world through NGO's, Ministries of Health, healthcare providers, and retailers. From Benin to Belgium, East Timor to Ecuador, and Uganda to the United States, this natural family planning option is becoming increasingly popular with availability in more than 50 countries, and approximately 2.5 million women having used it.

Why is this important? It is difficult for natural birth control options to become widely accepted and available despite the fact that women all over the world have said that they are interested in using them. There are a number of barriers that can make offering natural family planning options difficult. CycleBeads addresses many of those issues by being readily accessible, low cost, easy to use, and easy to teach. It’s an important addition to the range of family planning options available in that it allows an effective natural family planning option to be readily offered.

For a list of many of the international organizations offering CycleBeads click here. For a list of retailers and healthcare providers in the U.S. offering CycleBeads, click here.

What Does Birth Control Cost?

2010-09-03T10:08:00.003-04:00

There are many factors to consider when looking at birth control options, and while cost is definitely not the only one, it is a big issue. If the cost is too high, a person is less likely to use a family planning method for a long time or use it consistently. This means that a woman is more likely to be at risk for an unplanned pregnancy. Women are especially hard hit by this financial burden since they are most often the ones responsible for making family planning decisions.

We decided to look at annual cost because it is the fairest way of comparing the relative costs of different methods. A method like the IUD which requires a one time purchase may have a hefty price of about $700. However, it is typically used for as long as 10 years which makes it somewhat more economical on an annual basis than one might think. Meanwhile, condoms are extremely cheap individually at about $1.25 on average; but since a person would need approximately 100 of them for a full year of coverage, the annual cost might be higher than expected.

There are three things that factor into calculating the annual costs for a particular birth control method:

1) The average cost per unit.
2) The number of units used in a year.
3) The number of years a particular method is likely to be used in the case of methods that are a one time purchase (i.e., CycleBeads and an IUD).

With these factors in mind, we've reviewed costs as provided by Consumer Reports, Planned Parenthood, and suggested retail prices, for various birth control options and created a table that shows the "Average Cost of Contraception for a Woman in the U.S." per year.

Click on the chart to enlarge it.

As shown on the chart, the costs for effective birth control ranges from about $7 per year for a fertility awareness-based method such as CycleBeads to about $390 per year for a hormonal method of birth control. Costs may vary depending on an individual’s insurance coverage and whether or not her healthcare provider subsidizes certain methods. The average costs take into account these discounts so some individuals may be getting them for free while others pay significantly more than the average cost for a specific method.

Of note, we did not include other fertility awareness-based methods besides CycleBeads. The cost for these methods can vary widely depending on whether books are purchased, devices are used, and/or if a couple receives professional counseling. Therefore it would have been difficult to calculate an accurate “average cost” that would be widely agreed upon since the costs range from a few dollars to hundreds of dollars. Additionally, we did not reflect the fact that some people may use condoms in conjunction with their chosen method either because they plan to have intercourse on a fertile day or as STI prevention. This would obviously increase costs further.

While the cost of birth control is certainly less than the cost of having a baby, affordability is an issue. If the cost is too high, couples are much more likely to make choices that will result in unplanned pregnancies. Cost effective family planning options are needed.

Examples of Fertility Awareness-Based Methods

2010-08-26T08:00:00.007-04:00

After all this talk about what it means to be a "fertility awareness-based" family planning option, we think more detail is in order. What are these natural family planning options and how do they work? Fertility awareness-based family planning options differ from one another in terms of the scientific evidence behind them, how they identify the fertile window, how they are taught, and the tools used to follow them.

In general, there are two types of fertility awareness-based methods of family planning:

1) calendar-based
2) symptoms-based

Calendar-based methods rely on a woman tracking her cycle and identifying her fertile window based on her cycle length. These methods include: The Standard Days Method® - the method on which the popular visual tool CycleBeads® is based, and the Calendar-Rhythm Method.

Symptoms-based methods rely on a woman understanding and identifying symptoms that may indicate fertility (i.e, temperature changes, secretions, etc.). These methods include: the TwoDay Method®, Billings Ovulation Method, and Symptothermal Method.

Calendar-Based Methods

CycleBeads and The Standard Days Method
By far the most effective and easiest to use of the calendar-based methods is the Standard Days Method. This method is designed for women with cycles that are usually between 26 and 32 days long*. It identifies days 8 through 19 as the fertile days, also known as the "fertile window". This 12 day fertile window takes into account the timing of ovulation, the variability of ovulation from one cycle to the next, and the lifespan of the sperm. Most women who use this method, choose to use it with the visual tool CycleBeads, a color-coded string of beads that helps a woman track her cycle and know if it is a day when pregnancy is likely or not. This method is more than 95% effective at preventing pregnancy in perfect use, and 88% effective at preventing pregnancy in typical use. It can be self-taught by reading the instructions included with every set of CycleBeads or by reviewing information at www.CycleBeads.com. It is also offered through many healthcare providers. Read more about the research behind CycleBeads and its effectiveness.

* Approximately 80% of cycles are between 26 and 32 days long.

Calendar-Rhythm Method
The "Calendar" or "Rhythm Method" has become a catch-all term that is used by many people interchangeably with "Periodic Abstinence", "Natural Family Planning", and other terms associated with fertility awareness. In general, when people say that they use the "Calendar Method" or the "Rhythm Method", they mean that they are avoiding intercourse during certain days of their cycles when they think they might get pregnant. However, research shows that few people who claim to be using the "Rhythm Method" have accurate information as to when their likely fertile days are. This method does have some rules to using it correctly - it requires that prior to using it, a woman records the length of her previous 6-12 menstrual cycles, she identify her longest and shortest cycles, and then make calculations on a rolling basis to determine her likely fertile window for her current cycle. There are a number of variations to this method and little scientific evidence as to which are are most effective. However, due to the popularity of the term and the confusion surrounding it, we felt it should be included in this list.

Symptoms-Based Methods

The TwoDay Method®
The TwoDay Method is a simplified symptoms-based method which uses cervical secretions as the indicator of fertility. To use this method, if a woman notices secretions of any type, color, or consistency on the current or previous day, she should consider herself fertile. This method is appropriate for women with any length cycle and is more than 96% effective at preventing pregnancy in perfect use, and 86% effective at preventing pregnancy in typical use. More information on this new method can be found at the Institute for Reproductive Health's website.

Billings Ovulation Method/Cervical Mucus Method
The Billings Ovulation Method, also called the Cervical Mucus Method, is based on understanding and interpreting changing cervical secretions that are produced at the neck of the uterus - the cervix. Couples who wish to avoid pregnancy abstain from unprotected intercourse from the onset of cervical mucus symptoms until three days after the last day of fertile-type secretions. This method is 97% effective in Perfect Use and 78% effective in Typical Use. There are specially trained instructors who can teach couples how to use this method.

Symptothermal Method
The Symptothermal Method involves observing changes in the cervical secretions, along with changes in the basal body temperature, and the position and feel of the opening of the cervix. Other fertility signs such as mid-cycle pain or bleeding may accompany ovulation. Couples who wish to avoid pregnancy abstain from unprotected intercourse during the fertile period identified by all of the fertility indicators for an individual woman.This method is 98% effective in Perfect Use and 80-87% effective in Typical Use. There are numerous books on this subject.

Summary
All fertility awareness-based methods have the benefit of being natural and therefore side-effect free. These methods are usually designed to be highly effective in Perfect Use. However, some of these methods are difficult to use, and therefore have a much lower Typical Use efficacy rate. They can also take a significant amount of time to learn to use. Research shows that most fertility awareness-based methods take approximately 4-6 hours to teach and in some cases must be taught in multiple sessions.

The Standard Days Method and the TwoDay Method are the exception to this in that they can both be learned in a single short counseling session or self-taught through readily available educational materials. As a result of being easier to teach and learn, they also have higher Typical Use efficacy rates as shown on the chart below:

Click on the above chart for a larger view.

More information on all of these methods can be found in the medical guidebook Contraceptive Technology.

Whichever method is chosen, a woman who chooses to use a fertility awareness-based method of family planning has a greater understanding of how her body works and is in more control of her fertility.

How Dangerous are Birth Control Pills?

2010-08-23T17:28:00.006-04:00

A story on NPR today focuses on the dangers associated with newer versions of the birth control pill. In the report, the interviewers talk to women who have taken Yaz, a birth control pill that came on the market in 2006. Touted as being "beyond birth control" Yaz quickly became America's No. 1 birth control pill. Today thousands of women are suing the manufacturer, Bayer HealthCare saying that Yaz caused them serious harm.

There have long been concerns about side effects from taking birth control pills - headaches, nausea, blurred vision, blood clots, strokes, and even death. Despite these concerns, many women have decided that the benefits outweigh the risks. Often this decision is made with the incorrect assumption that only women who are over 35 years old and/or smoke are at real risk for potential side effects.

The truth is that there's a risk for anyone who chooses a hormonal birth control option. It may be a worthwhile risk for some women in that hormonal options are slightly more effective at preventing pregnancy than most other birth control options. But for others the potential side effects are not worth that risk.

No matter one's contraceptive choice, it is important to understand the available research and who conducted it, to know the truth about the potential risks, and to be aware of the options. It is also prudent to be careful about taking the newest versions of pharmaceuticals where there may be unknown risks associated.

Read or listen to the NPR report here.

New Study on Stress & Conception

2010-08-18T09:45:00.002-04:00

A new study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the University of Oxford, draws a distinct connection between stress and fertility. While it has long been believed that stress can impact a woman's ability to conceive, the study is the first of its kind to document, among women without a history of fertility problems, an association between high levels of a substance indicative of stress and a reduced chance of becoming pregnant that month. Stress and it’s corresponding hormones can diminish blood flow to the reproductive organs and give the eggs less chance of being implanted, doctors say.

The study showed that women with mental stress may have more trouble conceiving than their unstressed peers. Among 274 women, all trying to get pregnant, those with the highest levels of alpha-amylase — a biomarker for stress — had an estimated 12% reduction in their chance of getting pregnant during each menstrual cycle, compared to women with the lowest levels. In recent years many researchers have used alpha-amylase as a barometer of the body’s response to physical or psychological stress.

"It has been suggested that stress may increase with the disappointment of several failed attempts at getting pregnant, setting off a cycle in which pregnancy becomes even more difficult to achieve," said Dr. Germaine Buck Louis, Ph.D., M.S., director of the NICHD’s Division of Epidemiology, Statistics, and Prevention Research.

Dr. Buck Louis added that she and her colleagues are currently conducting a study with a larger group of women to confirm the findings. Similarly, they also hope to learn whether stress is associated with infertility.

Read the NIH press release about the study which is published in the current "Fertility & Sterility" to find out more.

Why Aren't Doctors Offering Natural Family Planning Options?

2010-08-10T10:33:00.012-04:00

Research shows that of the more than 10 million women in the U.S. who have used a fertility awareness-based family planning option, less than 1% of these women found about it from their doctors. Clearly women are interested in using natural birth control options so why aren't doctors offering them?

A number of reasons are outlined in this video:

But the key reasons are:

A Belief That Patients Aren't Interested in Natural Birth Control Options
We often hear from doctors that they don't think their patients are interested in using a natural birth control option. "They want a shot or a pill", they tell us. This may be true for some women, but the truth is that 1 in 5 women say that they would be interested in using a fertility awareness-based method of family planning when they are given accurate information about these methods.

Many Natural Birth Control Options Are Difficult to Teach to a Patient
Traditionally, natural family planning has been difficult to teach. Many natural family planning options require extensive training to use correctly and may take many hours or even days to learn. Therefore, doctors were not able to teach their patients these methods in a normal clinic setting. Newer options like the Standard Days Method on which CycleBeads are based, and the TwoDay Method which relies on simple observations, were designed specifically to address this issue. Both of these methods can be taught in a normal clinic visit in less than 15 minutes.

Many Natural Birth Control Options Are Difficult to Use Correctly
Most natural family planning methods are difficult to use correctly. While the Perfect Use efficacy rates for some of these methods are extremely high, the Typical Use efficacy rates are often low. This is due to the fact that some of the methods are complex and that users are likely to make mistakes. But again, newer options like CycleBeads and the TwoDay Method have high typical use efficacy rates with 88% and 87% typical use effectiveness, and therefore address this concern. In fact these two options are the most effective, non-hormonal, user directed methods available in terms of typical effectiveness because they are so easy to use:

Natural Birth Control Options Are Often Promoted by Religious Organizations
In the past, natural family planning options were promoted primarily by religious organizations and many still are. This has created an environment where some healthcare providers are uncomfortable. While some healthcare providers find this is consistent with their religious views, others don't want to hear about these methods because they don't trust the messenger. More recently, secular organizations have begun to offer fertility awareness-based methods. The idea being that natural family planning isn't meant to replace other effective options. It is simply another option that can be a great choice for many women.

A Belief That Natural Birth Control Is Only for "Religious People"
Many people think of natural birth control methods as something that only a religious, and most likely Catholic, person would use. Part of this belief stems from the fact that religious organizations have historically been the ones promoting natural family planning. But there are a number of reasons why women use natural methods and most of them have nothing to do with religion. A majority of women tell us that they choose a natural family planning option because of their concerns about side effects with hormonal options. They also like that these methods are empowering, help them better understand their bodies, and are effective as well as inexpensive.

There Are Few Economic Incentives
As they say, "money makes the world go round". It costs money to educate and train providers, generate awareness, and maintain quality control. That's a difficult problem with fertility awareness-based family planning options because frankly they are based on knowledge and don't rely on expensive devices, services, or chemicals. While there are books and tools that can help a woman to use these methods, there are simply not the same financial incentives in place as there are with products from pharmaceutical companies who have a vested interest in advertising, educating, and pushing their wares. So, a key challenge is that there are few companies, organizations, or individuals with economic incentives to promote these methods.

Despite the above challenges, the situation is slowly changing and an increasing number of healthcare providers are offering natural family planning options. For instance, CycleBeads are now offered by hundreds of Planned Parenthoods, state and local health departments, and other clinics that previously offered no natural options to their patients. However many challenges still exist in educating the healthcare community about natural family planning options and ensuring that they are available to the many women who would benefit from them.

What are Fertility Awareness-Based Methods of Family Planning?

2010-07-28T08:30:00.013-04:00

Fertility awareness-based methods of family planning are methods that rely on a woman understanding when she is fertile and using that information to plan or prevent pregnancy. These methods are also called Natural Family Planning, Natural Birth Control, NFP, FAB or FAM. It gets a little confusing, but all of these terms mean the same thing.

There are two kinds of fertility-awareness based methods: calendar-based and symptoms-based.

Calendar-based methods rely on tracking a woman's cycle and identifying her fertile window based on the lengths of her cycles. By far the easiest to use and most effective of these methods is the Standard Days Method which is based on a fixed formula. It is designed for women with cycles between 26 and 32 days long, and identifies the fertile window as days 8 through 19 of a woman's cycle. It is used with a visual tool such as CycleBeads, and is more than 95% effective at preventing pregnancy.

Symptoms-based methods rely on identifying physical symptoms that are signs that a woman may be in her fertile window. They involve tracking a woman's temperature and/or mucus secretions. These methods include the TwoDay Method, the Sympto-Thermal Method, the Ovulation Method, and the Billings Method.

To prevent pregnancy while using a fertility awareness-based method, a couple uses either a barrier method such as a condom or diaphragm, or abstains from intercourse during a woman's fertile window.

One Size Fits All in Birth Control?

2010-07-22T09:22:00.004-04:00

No. One size does not fit all when it comes to birth control. Research shows that the more contraceptive options available, the greater prevalence of birth control use in general and the lower the rate of unplanned pregnancies.

Why?

Because when people have options, they can find a birth control method that works best for them. They are therefore more likely to use it, and use it correctly.

There are a number of factors to consider when choosing a birth control method and no one family planning option works for everyone. In fact, most people will need different birth control options at different stages of their lives. A woman who chooses a hormonal birth control option at one point may want to use a natural birth control option at another. She may even want sterilization when she feels that her family is complete.

Some of the issues to be considered when choosing a birth control option include:

Effectiveness
Side-effects
Cost
Availability
Short term future family plans
Long term future family plans
Level of involvement required
Difficulty of use
Protection against sexually transmitted diseases
Partner's willingness to use
Pre-existing health issues

No wonder we need options!

It's important for anyone who is considering their birth control options to weigh the different issues and decide what matters most to him or her. Whether it's concern about side-effects, effectiveness, low cost, potential affects on future fertility, preventing STDs, or any number of other issues, it is important to consider the pros and cons of each contraceptive option available and make the right choice for you.

We have already posted about the issue of birth control effectiveness and will take a closer look at some of the other factors involved in deciding on the right birth contraceptive option in future posts.

Any other issues that have factored into your decision? Let us know.

Birth Control Effectiveness: How Risky is Your Birth Control?

2010-07-19T14:40:00.007-04:00

Many people are surprised to find out that their chosen method of birth control is not quite as effective as they may think. They'll ask, "If the Pill is 99.9% effective, how come I got pregnant?" When talking about birth control effectiveness, there are two rates to consider: Perfect Use and Typical Use.

Perfect Use effectiveness is the effectiveness of a method when it is used correctly and consistently all of the time. Typical Use effectiveness takes into account how the average person uses the birth control method in the real world. Perfect Use effectiveness is almost always higher than Typical Use effectiveness, but different birth control options can vary significantly between Perfect Use and Typical Use rates.

User-directed birth control methods tend to have more variation between their Perfect Use and Typical Use effectiveness rates than surgical and doctor-directed methods like a tubal ligation, vasectomy, IUD or an injectable, all of which are 97-99% effective in Perfect Use as well as Typical Use.

The chart below compares the rates for common, user-directed family planning options:

Of course we have to point out that CycleBeads compare quite favorably both in Perfect Use and in Typical Use to other user-directed family planning options. This is due to the fact that they were designed to be both highly effective and easy to use; therefore, people tend to use them correctly. We'll take a closer look at CycleBeads' effectiveness compared to other fertility awareness-based options in a later post.

So what does this chart mean? It means that in a given year, 8 out of 100 sexually active women using the Pill can expect to get pregnant; 12 out of 100 women using CycleBeads can expect to get pregnant; 15 out of 100 women using condoms can expect to get pregnant; 16 out of 100 women using diaphragms can expect to get pregnant; and 85 out of 100 women using nothing can expect to get pregnant.

In other words, if you are having sex, you are at risk of getting pregnant. Abstinence is the only 100% effective method in preventing both pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. All other birth control options carry some risk of failure.

It is up to the user to determine what level of risk is acceptable to him or her. But when deciding on a contraceptive method, the most important consideration is choosing a method with which a person is comfortable and which he or she will use correctly and consistently. If a person can't use their chosen method correctly and consistently it will simply not be as effective for them or they will discontinue using it. Therefore, in addition to effectiveness, other factors must be considered: potential side effects, likelihood of continuation, accessibility, how a particular method incorporates into a user's lifestyle, etc.

What is the Fertile Window?

2010-07-14T18:09:00.014-04:00

Yes it's our blog name, but what exactly is the "fertile window"?

The "fertile window" is the time during which a woman can get pregnant. In any given cycle, the specific time that a woman can get pregnant is only 6 days long; the 5 days leading up to ovulation during which time the sperm is viable, and the 24 hours after ovulation during which time the egg can be fertilized.

However, the timing of ovulation varies from one cycle to the next. This means that predicting when a woman's fertile window will occur during any given cycle can be challenging.

There are numerous ways to identify this fertile time. Some women monitor their temperatures on a daily basis, and others observe secretions. These tactics can be useful for dedicated, trained observers. But scientists have also developed a knowledge-based fertility awareness method to help women identify the fertile window quickly and easily without the calculations and intense monitoring. This method is the Standard Days Method.

Standard Days Method
The Standard Days Method of family planning, on which the visual tool CycleBeads is based, was developed to help women easily identify their fertile days. It indicates the fertile window as days 8 through 19 of a woman's cycle as long as her cycles are between 26 and 32 days long*. This 12 day window takes into account the 6 days around ovulation during which time a woman can get pregnant as well as the variation in the timing of ovulation from one cycle to the next.

The Standard Days Method and CycleBeads were developed by researchers at the Institute for Reproductive Health who analyzed data on thousands of menstrual cycles from women around the world. The method was further tested in multi-site efficacy studies which determined that it was more than 95% effective** at preventing pregnancy. To use this method to prevent pregnancy, a woman either uses a barrier method or abstains during her fertile window (days 8-19) and tracks that her cycles stay in the 26-32 day range.

* More than 80% of cycles are in this range. If a woman has more than one cycle per year outside of this range then she is not eligible to use this method for pregnancy prevention.

** Arevalo M. et al., Contraception, 2002, 65, 333-338.

Welcome to The Fertile Window!

2010-07-13T14:26:00.001-04:00

We plan to make this blog a resource for women and men interested in learning more about their family planning options, reproductive health, and the latest research in these areas with a particular emphasis on fertility awareness.

So what do we mean by “fertility awareness” and why is it important?

Fertility awareness is a set of practices used to determine a woman’s fertile and infertile days during her menstrual cycle. A woman can use this information to prevent pregnancy, achieve pregnancy, or simply monitor her reproductive health.

Some of these practices involve observing symptoms that are equated with fertility signs. Other fertility awareness practices involve a woman tracking her cycle and identifying her fertile window based on knowledge of when a woman can get pregnant.

Whichever of these practices she chooses, understanding her fertility empowers a woman to make better and more informed choices around her sexual and reproductive health.

We hope you find this resource useful!