Sympto-Thermal Methods

For natural birth control, some women may find the sympto-thermal method of tracking fertility to be effective. With a high success rate when practiced correctly, the sympto-thermal method relies on the body's own ovulation indicators---tracking basal body temperature and cervical mucus---and can help you pinpoint fertile days to avoid or achieve a pregnancy.

Identification

• According to Contraception Information Resource, the sympo-thermal method of family planning is a natural form of birth control where a woman determines which days of her cycle she is fertile and practices abstinence on those days, unless she is trying to conceive. To determine her fertile days, a woman can track her basal body temperature and cervical mucus pattern.

Effectiveness

• John and Sheila Kippley, authors of "The Art of Natural Family Planning," claim that when practiced correctly, the sympto-thermal method of natural birth control will only result in two surprise pregnancies per year per 100 users. Effective only if couples follow the strict sympto-thermal guidelines, the Kippleys stress the importance of consistency and strict abstinence during fertile phases. In addition, the Contraception Resource Center states that those with small children may have a hard time following the plan strictly, as getting up in the night could skew basal body temperature readings.

Basal Body Temperature

• The first step in figuring out your fertile period is to track your basal body temperature. Basal body thermometers can be found at local drug stores and are particularly helpful at reading the body's resting temperature, as they're ultra-sensitive and can track slightest difference in body temperature. Taking your temperature at the same time every morning can help to ensure an accurate reading.

  Immediately after ovulation, a surge in progesterone causes a woman's basal body temperature to rise approximately .4 degrees. After a few cycles of tracking basal body temperature, you should be able to see a pattern for when you ovulate. Consider yourself fertile on the day of ovulation---the day immediately before the temperature spike, also called peak day---and a few days prior.
  To avoid pregnancy, remain abstinent for five to seven days prior to the thermal shift and approximately three days after.

Mucus Patterns

• Secreted by ovarian follicles, a surge of estrogen causes an increase in cervical mucus. This mucus is important for trapping sperm and helping them to remain viable while they wait for the egg to be released. Though mucus varies from woman to woman, it generally starts out as tacky or sticky, with hardly any stretch. When a woman enters her fertile period, though, the mucus becomes stretchy and is the color and consistency of a raw egg white. To record your mucus pattern, it's important to take both internal and external observations. The Kippleys recommend starting out with external observations by checking for mucus when you wipe with toilet paper and also by being aware of wet sensations at the vulva.

  Mucus is considered less-fertile when it is tacky or sticky, with little or no stretch. Fertile mucus, on the other hand, will usually have a stretch of more than one-half inch and will produce slippery and wet feelings at the vulva.

Other Signs of Fertility

• In addition to tracking basal body temperature and mucus patterns, symptoms may indicate fertile times. Some women are able to check the cervix, the part of the uterus that opens into the vagina, for signs of fertility by doing an internal check of its position. Insert your middle finger into the vaginal canal to check the cervix's position. The cervix opens slightly as ovulation approaches. Also, the tip becomes softer and more rubbery-feeling. In addition, at ovulation, the cervix will be harder to reach. After ovulation, the cervix lowers again, it closes and becomes firmer.

  Another way to detect ovulation is to follow ovulation pain, though some women don't notice any pain at all. Pulsing of the Fallopian tubes at the time of ovulation and just afterward may cause a sharp pain in the left or ride side of a woman's abdomen. Because some women don't notice this at all, and because this pain could be confused with something else, don't rely on ovulation pain alone to determine ovulation. The Kippleys say to simply use it as another confirmation of ovulation.