FAM "Miss-Conception"

Natural methods of birth control have kind of gotten a bad reputation. I hear women say "I got pregnant using those methods". If used correctly, this will not happen. But, FAM and NFP are often confused with the rhythm method. The rhythm method is an unreliable method of family planning in which the fertile phase of the cycle is calculated according to the lengths of the previous menstrual cycles. Because of its reliance on regular menstrual cycles and long periods of abstinence, it is neither effective nor widely accepted as a modern method of natural family planning. In addition, the rhythm method technique is known to use information based on a 28 day cycle. This is just simply not what all women experience. If you were to tell your caregiver that you use the rhythm method as a form of birth control they would most likely scoff and tell you it is an ineffective method, which it is because of what I just mentioned above. However, their calculations for pregnancy and "due dates" are based on a 28 day cycle wheel. Something is missing here.

I believe that if you are wanting to conceive and especially if you are having difficulty, it is crucial that you begin to document and chart your cycles. And, if you are wanting to avoid induction you must chart!

A quick story:

Dana was a 25-year-old women who had recently come off the Pill, so her cycles had not yet returned to normal. Because she and her husband wanted to get pregnant, they practiced Fertility Awareness to determine her fertile phase. After she became pregnant, he doctor asked her the date of her last menstrual period to apply the standard pregnancy wheel. Dana mentioned that the pregnancy wheel would be inaccurate in her particular case since it assumes ovulation on day 14. She explained that she practiced FAM and knew that she didn't ovulate until day 37, so it would inaccurately predict her due date a full three weeks earlier than it really should be.

You can imagine Dana's surprise when the doctor not only did not give her credence to her charts, but actually expressed great concern when his pelvic exam revealed that the fetus was "extremely small for dates." Had this women not been practicing Fertility Awareness, she would have been distressed to be told by the doctor that something was wrong with her fetus, all because he was basing her cycles on the average women's day of ovulation, rather than her own. As if that wasn't enough, he actually red-flagged her chart with a "medical alert" tag, indicating that her pregnancy was high risk and needed to be followed carefully.

I believe this story is also a classic example of the importance of charting not only to know the exact day of conception, but also to avoid a possible risky induction. Had she not been charting and instead relying only on the date of her last period, she would most likely be induced before the actual 40 week mark and never even know it. Her baby would not even be 40 weeks when they would possibly induce at 10 days past her "due date" according to her doctors calculation based on the pregnancy wheel.

Coming Full Circle - Ch. 1

CHAPTER 1

Lucky. Blessed. Whatever you want to call it, I am it.

Today marks the first day of my year long journey. And this is my story.

I didn't know it yet, but this was going to be the cycle that we would conceive a baby. When you calculate your pregnancy, you count from the first day of your last period. Technically, you are considered pregnant already when you start your period. Odd, I know. Well, that was the day for me.

Two weeks then passed. When I think back, I remember so vividly all that followed. I sprawled out on my massage table talking to my mom on the phone. As in many conversations that would follow that one, we were talking about pregnancy. I was beginning to have the "baby fever" as they call it. Mostly in part to the fact that my sister was due with her baby in a few short weeks. Scott was sitting at the computer in the same room filling out a job application. This had become the story of our lives. The conversation with Mom was one to ponder. We discussed life, babies, pregnancy and such. It wasn't much different than most of our daily conversations. When our phone call ended, I was feeling inspired. Scott and I had not been "officially" talking baby yet. We were, at that point, still trying to figure out where our lives were headed. But, you can't really "plan" these things or you would never think you are ready to grow your family.

Because I track my cycle for birth control and now for pregnancy achievement, I know what every feeling and sign of ovulation is supposed to look like. My sister had given me some ovulation tests that the previous homeowners of their new house had left behind. She wasn't in need of them and had passed them along. I knew I was ovulating, but I wanted to reassure my confidence. Sure enough, the test said I would ovulate in the next 24-36 hours. I was pretty laid back about the whole thing. There was no pressure and no stress that surrounded that time. After a brief discussion of timing, jobs, and readiness, we decided no time was better than the present.

That was the beginning of the journey. Little did we know what was to follow.