Natural family planning

This article is about the alternative medical means of contraception, for a general discussion of birth control in human society - see contraception, for surgical means of contraception - see Sterilization (surgical) and for methods using medications and medical devices - see Contraception (medical methods).

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Natural Family Planning is a method of periodic abstinence and sexual contact between the male and female couple who desire to plan the timing of the arrival of their offspring. It is often considered to be part of alternative or complementary medicine but has a firm basis in the health sciences. More sophisticated practices are based on the biological basis of human reproduction, and natural family planning may be aided by medical tests for ovulation and other tests and examinations derived from medicine and biological science.. By being able to estimate whether on not a woman is likely to be ovulating, the chances of conception can be increased or decreased depending on whether that time period is used for abstinence from, or engagement in, unprotected intercourse. Further, the fertility of men, in terms of sperm count, can also be altered within a restricted range, their behavior and, in this way, can be used to make conception more likely. In many traditional societies, family planning is part of the social and religious fabric of everyday life. For some couples in developed countries, natural family planning is a contraceptive choice that is made on moral, religious or personal grounds. In other societies, (for example, sects of extremely observent orthodox Jews), carrying out religious guidelines for the physical contact of men and women in marriage tilts sexual intercourse in the marital relationship towards an increased chance of conception.

Billings method

"There are many types of NFP, including the Billings Method (the ovulation or mucous method), named for Australian doctors Jon and Evelyn Billings. This method charts the presence and description of cervical fluid. The mucous method describes three different cervical fluids during the menstrual cycle: (1) sticky, tacky, and dry occurring after menstruation, (2) creamy, milky, and smooth, which occurs right before the most fertile period, which is (3) slippery, egg white, stretchable, clear, and yellow /pink or red tinged. Women are taught to avoid intravaginal sexual activity when the cervical mucous reflects the most fertile time."

Breast feeding and lactation

The hormonal balance that occurs when a woman is actively breastfeeding is one that tends to suppress ovulation. In this way, whether by happenstance or design, breastfeeding, alone, tends to be an efficacious manner of "timing" children.

Increased fertilty: practices that likely to increase the chance of conception

Sometimes a child is very much wanted, but preganancy does not come. Although there are medical ways to increase the chance of pregnancy, natural family planning can be used to tilt the odds towards conception. Interestingly, in some traditional cultures, customs that are based on religious edicts actually translate into effective methods for increasing the chance that a child will be born.

Jewish law in orthodox practice

In very orthodox Jewish households, the details of daily living are closely bound with religious laws. These traditions can be traced back hundreds, and in some cases, several thousands, years- long before the biological facts concerning ovulatory cycles and sperm counts were known. However, the sum total of the laws involving male masturbation, and physical contact between husband and wife, in the most orthodox of Jewish household, results in the liklihood that marital sex during the childbearing years will result in a maximum number of children.

In this orthodox tradition, there is a strict prohibition of male masturbation as the spilling of semen outside of coitus is considered a wasteful practice specically condemned by God. In men, the sperm count- that is the number of sperm in each ejaculate, is directly correlated with fertility. This sperm count can be increased if several days pass without ejaculation, and can be decreased with very frequent ejaculation. For most men, the sperm count is high enough that even with frequent ejaculation, impregnation is possible. However, an increase in the sperm count can be important for men who have relatively low numbers of high quality sperm in each ejaculate. Sex within marriage is encouraged in traditional Jewish life, but there are proscribed periods when husband and wife are not to have any physical contact. When there is menstrual bleeding ( actually, any vaginal bleeding) a woman is not to be touched by her husband, and she and he do not change this status until 7 days after the last blood is seen, at which point she will submerge in the ritual bath, the mikvah. Then, physical contact-including intimacy, is allowed. If the couple follow the rules of orthodoxy, this means that they will, monthly, find themselves together in the marital bed after 10 plus days of separation, when his sperm count is likely to be quite high, and her follicles are likely to be mature, with ovulation imminent.

External links

An explanation of the Jewish marital laws during a woman's month cycle, from Nishmat, the Jerusalem Center for Advanced Study for Women: http://www.jewishwomenshealth.org/article.php?article=12