The symptoms birth control method is a fertility-awareness technique. It uses a woman's basal body temperature, cervical mucus and the condition of her cervix to determine when she is most fertile so that unprotected sexual intercourse can be avoided during that time period. Although this method requires a bit of planning and education before being implemented, the process is simple and straightforward and only requires a few steps.
Step 1
Track your basal body temperature. The basal body temperature is the temperature of the body first thing in the morning, taken after at least three hours of consecutive sleep and before getting out of bed or moving too much, according to FertilityFriend.com. Beginning on day one of your menstrual cycle, record your basal body temperature and keep an eye out for a sudden rise in the temperature, which will indicate that ovulation has taken place. When your basal body temperature stays elevated for more than three consecutive days, it can indicate your fertile period may be over.
Step 2
Monitor your cervical mucus. A woman's cervical mucus typically starts as white and sticky in the beginning of her monthly cycle but gets more watery and slippery the closer she gets to ovulation. The white and sticky mucus is inhospitable to sperm and indicates a woman probably is not fertile. However, the clearer and more watery the cervical mucus gets, the more fertile a woman may be. Right around ovulation, a clear, stretchy cervical fluid that resembles raw egg whites may be present. This cervical mucus indicates the woman is at the peak of fertility for the month, so sexual intercourse should be avoided during this time. Once the cervical mucus turns back to the white and sticky kind found early in the menstrual cycle, it indicates the fertile period for the month is over.
Step 3
Note changes to your cervix. You can do this by feeling your cervix each day using a finger and taking a note of where it is positioned and how it feels. When your cervix starts to rise and seems to be getting softer and wetter, assume that you are entering your fertile period. During ovulation, your cervix will be at its highest and most open, so when you feel it starting to drop and harden, you can assume your fertile period is coming to an end.
Step 4
Look for other ovulation symptoms. These may include cramping, spotting or breast tenderness, all which may indicate ovulation is occurring or about to occur and that intercourse should be avoided.
Step 5
Use all of the information you have gathered to decide when to abstain from unprotected sexual intercourse. Using information from just one source may not be enough to effectively pinpoint a fertile period. Instead, use information from all of the sources to get a better idea of when your fertile period may be. It also may be wise to consider which day you are in your cycle when determining when to have intercourse. According to the American Pregnancy Association, women with a typical menstrual cycle tend to ovulate between cycle days 11 and 21, so unprotected intercourse during this time should be avoided.
Tips and Warnings
- To increase the effectiveness of this birth control method, talk to your doctor before you begin to implement this method. Your doctor may be able to provide tips specific to your situation to ensure you can carry out the method as effectively as possible.
- The symptoms method of birth control is not as effective for women who have irregular cycles or medical conditions that skew fertility signs. These women may want to consider other birth control options. Although the failure rate for this method of birth control is around 10 percent when used perfectly, the average failure rate is closer to 25 percent, according to the American Pregnancy Association.
