Knowing your menstrual cycle and fertility signs is part of a well-rounded life. I’m sure you’re aware that your menstrual cycle is about more than just bleeding and babies. So, there must be a way to use it to our advantage right? Yes! As I discuss in my article here, I mention that we have clear fertility signs that rise and fall depending on where we are in the cycle. And when you live your life in tune with the distinct phases of your cycle, you may be more productive, satisfied, and rested.

The fertility awareness method (FAM) is a powerful tool that God has given women to be aware and connected to their bodies. He created us with information, literally at our fingertips, to further our ability to co-create with Him.

So whether you’re married and want to achieve or avoid pregnancy or you’re single and you simply want to get to know your fertility signs for better health literacy and want to achieve pregnancy quickly in the future, this article is for you.

As a caveat, as an Orthodox Christian, I understand that some religions have very strict guidelines on family planning and hormonal birth control. This article does not discuss that topic. But I will say that there is no universal doctrine, within the Orthodox Christian Church, on what to do about family planning. It is a personal issue to be discussed with your husband and spiritual father. This information is for educational purposes only and should not be taken as medical or spiritual advice.

What is the Fertility Awareness Method?

The Fertility Awareness Method (FAM) is an evidence-based method of tracking ones menstrual cycle and using specific biomarkers of fertility, to draw conclusions about your health and fertile window. With this information, a woman can decide when to be intimate with her husband and try for a pregnancy, avoid intimacy to delay pregnancy, confirm one's health status, or use other points of data to diagnose underlying health conditions.

The biomarkers that are tracked include:

Basal Body Temperature or BBT
Cervical Fluid
Cervical Position
Estrogren and Leutinizing Hormones
Secondary Fertility Signs

All of these takes minutes a day to identify and once written down or charted in an app come together to show you a pattern of your fertility. Your menstrual cycle is your fifth vital sign and should be used accordingly. FAM is your opportunity to get to know yourself on an intimate level and use it as a super power.

3 Benefits of Using a Fertility Awareness Method

Once you learn your fertile signs – more on that later – you’ll be shocked you didn’t recognize them before. Whether you want to easily get pregnant, avoid pregnancy, or help with your overall health, the benefits of FAM are extensive.

1. FAM For Pregnancy Achievement

In a world where 1 in 6 couples struggle with infertility, wouldn’t it be amazing if they knew about FAM? There is so much misinformation out there about a perfect 28-day cycle and ovulation happening on day 14. But this is only the case for a small percentage of women. When you follow FAM, you learn to identify your distinct fertile window. This means that you can communicate with your husband about the perfect time to be intimate. Because even coming together one day after ovulation may be too late.

Additionally, if you’re not finding yourself pregnant as quickly as you’d like, charting your cycle can help you identify a short luteal phase, estrogen dominance, or low temperatures, just to name a few potential causes of “unexplained infertility”.

2. FAM For Natural Family Planning

More and more women are realizing the harmful effects synthetic birth control can have on one's body, not to mention the potential abortifacient backup mechanism that they have.

But FAM doesn’t cause any harm to one's body and is just as, if not more effective, than hormonal birth control. Additionally, why dampen your hormones everyday of the month when you’re only fertile for 5-7 days every month? There is no need to harm ones body, mind, or spirit, in order to avoid a pregnancy, when you can make that decision with the information God gives you.

3. FAM For Health Literacy

If you haven’t read The Fifth Vital Sign by Lisa Henderkson-Jacks, I highly recommend it! She has been in the FAM industry for 20 years and describes how a woman’s menstrual sign is her fifth vital sign.

An accurate account of your menstrual cycle not only confirms ovulation (or not) but can be used as a diagnostic tool for underlying health issues and help you begin to heal them.

Underlying health conditions that can be diagnosed with your menstrual cycle include:

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)
Hypothalamic amenorrhea
Hypothyroidism
Inadequte Luteal length (often the cause of miscarriage and relatively easy to correct)
Endometriosis
Low Follicular estrogren
Premenstrual dysphoric disorder
Premenstrual syndrome

As you can see, there are many reasons to chart your menstrual cycle. I won’t deny that it can seem a little overwhelming but I promise it isn’t a huge learning curve! Your body is already doing all the work, you simply have to tune in and write down what you see and feel.

Temperature Chart postpartum, positive pregnancy — My chart when we conceived my 4 child. Notice I had quite a long fertile window and we were only intimate one time, noted with the X in the bottom row. And I knew I could test just 10 days after intercourse.

Different Philosophies of Fertility Awareness Methods

The different types of FAM are broken down into which fertility signs you chart and how you classify them. There is also a difference between secular or religious rooted methods.

Secular methods note the fertile window and if you're trying to avoid pregnancy recommend barrier methods or other forms of intercourse. Whereas religious backed methods, sometimes referred to as Natural Family Planning (NFP), only recommend abstinence during the fertile window to avoid pregnancy.

But of course, there is cross over and you can choose whichever method is right for you and your situation regardless of being secular or relgious. The most important thing is choosing a method that works for you! Whatever you will use, chart, and stick to, even if it’s a blend of multiple methods.

This is not an exhaustive list but a good start for deciding which method you want to look into.

Sympto Thermal Methods

Sympto thermal methods use two different biomarkers – signs of fertility – to confirm ovulation. Typically these methods track BBT and cervical fluid with cervical position being optional. Two of the best known methods are the Couples to Couples League and Symptopro. They have self taught courses or you can take classes from an instructor.

This is the method I know best and have used over the years. I like having two checks for ovulation and seeing my temperature chart change with the pattern of cervical mucus is fascinating to me.

The Creighton Model

Similar to the sympto thermal methods, the Creighton Model uses cervical fluid to observe and chart the fertile window but it doesn’t rely on any other biomarker. This can be good for some women who only want to observe one biomarker and not be bothered with temperature taking. It requires you to be extremely detailed with your cervical fluid observations and sensations.

The Creighton method uses 18 unique classifications and stickers to identify normal vs. abnormal cervical fluid, your fertile window, and the different phases of the menstrual cycle. Another benefit of this method is that a properly charted cycle can be used by a Natural Procreative Technology (NaPro) doctor to diagnose certain health conditions as well as assist in conception achievement.

Billings Ovulation Method

This method also uses cervical fluid as its main fertile sign but it doesn’t require that you touch the secretions and only note what it feels like at and around your vulva. It goes entirely off of your detailed classifications, which means you have to be very clear and consistent with your observations.

You can take classes or find an instructor on their website. This can be a great option for newer couples learning FAM since it's a straightforward objective observation.

Sympto Hormonal Methods

Methods like FEMM and The Marquette Method use cervical fluid and hormone test kits to determine and even predict your fertile window (after it establishes your pattern). The Marquette Method uses a fertility monitor and urine test strips (like the ClearBlue monitor) to determine LH and Estrogen spikes. The monitor tells you if you have low, high, or peak fertile signs.

It’s very important to have instruction in the Marquette Method from a certified instructor because its protocols go beyond the intended use of fertility monitors. But once learned, it’s a highly effective option for NFP or pregnancy achievement.

****If you’re not sure which method is best for you, I recommend taking this quiz, by Natural Womanhood. It takes into account your current lifestyle, whether you want technology involved or a simple pen and paper. And best of all, it takes less than 2 minutes to take.***

Choose Fertility Awareness Method for a Whole-Life Approach

Diving into FAM can seem daunting, but once you start you’ll quickly realize that you have everything you need to make informed intimacy and health decisions. My husband and I have better communication because of it, I have more confidence in my body and its capabilities, and I would never choose another method of family planning or conception strategy.

Of course, God is all powerful and can overturn the order of Nature but He also gave us the tools to know ourselves, so why not use them?

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Top 3 Benefits of Using a Fertility Awareness Method