Similarly to withdrawal, the rhythm method requires no outside chemical tablets or devices to work and also remains a fairly unreliable method of contraception. The idea is based around three key pieces of knowledge. Firstly, that a woman ovulates every fourteen days before menstruation begins. Secondly, that sperm can survive within a woman for three days. Finally, that an egg is fertilized within twenty four hours of being released from the ovaries.\u00a0 The idea is simple. From the first day of her period, a woman can count back around fourteen days, thus identifying their specific period of ovulation. Once this period is identified, the woman can thus choose to either abstain from sex during this time or wear an additional form of contraception. A six month record of period dates, daily temperature readings and studying mucus discharge can help the efficiency of the method. The periods outside of this, are seen as less fertile and therefore carry less risk of pregnancy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The method works in three ways which can be used independently or in combination with each other. Firstly, a calendar can be drawn up with the beginning of every period marked out on a specific date, in order to obtain an idea of the number of days between each period. Once these statistics are gathered, the shortest and longest number of days between periods should be noted. You then subtract 18 from the shortest number and then 11 from the longest. Thus, you will be left with two numbers which represent two dates within a month (i.e. 8 and 21 become 8th and 21st) You have thus identified the fertile period of the month and the dates outside of it as the less fertile. In doing this, it is of crucial importance that the intervals between periods are carefully calculated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alternatively, temperature readings can be taken at a regular time everyday. This is because body temperature should rise by half a degree on the day following ovulation, due to the presence of the progesterone hormone. The temperature should ideally be taken in the morning, following at least five hours of uninterrupted sleep. Once three increasingly higher readings have been recorded within a month, the ovulation process has taken place and you are now entering the less fertile stage of the cycle. The only issue with this method is that it doe not allow you to identify the first infertile phase of the month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The other more basic method of planning occurs through the simple monitoring of vaginal discharge. This is because, during ovulation, there should be a stringy, mucus thread which emanates from the vagina. The stringy quality of the mucus indicates ovulation.\u00a0 Following careful monitoring of this substance and its state, production should peak. Once this peak is recorded, four days will pass before the female enters the second less fertile phase of the cycle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anyone can use this method as it requires no form of hormonal or surgical treatment. No devices are required for long term planning. However, careful and detailed planning is required. Temperatures must be taken regularly and at regular times, period dates must be accurately noted and mucus samples carefully examined for it to produce any kind of adequate results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The method allows couples to carefully plan sexual activity both in terms of avoiding pregnancy and identifying periods of fertility. There are no dangerous side effects or risk of complications that you associate with many modern types of birth control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The method offers no protection against any form of sexually transmitted infection. It requires detailed planning yet offers limited reliability. When taking temperatures, the reading can be wildly altered by cold or infection. Mucus analysis can be disrupted by the presence of other sexual discharge within the vagina. Both the temperature and mucus methods are unable to clearly identify the initial phase of the month prior the fertile phase. It can not always be accurate, as for many women ovulation does not occur on the same day every month. Sperm can survive longer than three days, which would mean sex would have to be avoided at least a week prior to ovulation to avoid risking pregnancy. The method has an 80% level of effectiveness which is much lower than all the other forms of contraception using devices, pills or surgery.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Similarly to withdrawal, the rhythm method requires no outside chemical tablets or devices to work and also remains a fairly unreliable method of contraception. The idea is based around three key pieces of knowledge. Firstly, that a woman ovulates every fourteen days before menstruation begins. Secondly, that sperm can survive within a woman for three…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.caughtout.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/44"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.caughtout.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.caughtout.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.caughtout.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.caughtout.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.caughtout.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/44\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45,"href":"https:\/\/www.caughtout.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/44\/revisions\/45"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.caughtout.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}