What is fertility awareness?

The basis of the fertility awareness method (FAM) is learning how to read the very observable signs in your body to identify your fertile time.

Our bodies give us messages about our overall health through cycle biomarkers, which we learn to read and then chart with FAM. It is a daily practice of noticing and charting what has always been there, we just never knew what it was for or how to interpret it!

Fertility awareness is the practice of charting your hormonal biomarkers to identify your fertile time. Biomarkers are signs that your body is giving you to let you know that you are fertile, and the possibility of pregnancy is there. Women can only get pregnant for approximately 7 days per cycle (however the fertile window may be longer, due to the fact that we can’t predict ovulation.

The basis of FAM is identifying the window each cycle when conception is possible.

This is called the fertile window - and it takes into account the length of sperm survival in cervical mucus and the lifespan of the egg. We know when ovulation is approaching based on cervical mucus and we confirm ovulation with basal body temperature.

If you’re avoiding pregnancy, you’ll avoid unprotected sex during your fertile window (but this doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy sex - think outside the PIV-sex box - condoms, perfect withdrawal, diaphragms, cervical caps and alternative sex are all on the table!) Outside of your fertile window you can enjoy worry-free unprotected sex 🔥

Now, maybe you're thinking, this all sounds great! But how do I get started? Learn all the juicy details about fertility awareness in my online FAM course, Cycle Love.

avoid pregnancy

Fertility awareness has been shown to be as effective as other methods of birth control to avoid pregnancy. What’s more, it is a natural and cost-effective method of birth control. Through charting her own unique biomarkers, a woman can identify her fertile time and either use a non-hormonal method or abstain during that time

get pregnant

Just as fertility awareness is used to avoid pregnancy, it can be effective in achieving pregnancy as well. By identifying the fertile time and charting ovulation, you time intercourse based on your real-time fertility.

chart for health

You don’t need to be thinking about babies to use fertility awareness! Learning FAM can be an empowering and informative for all women, no matter the stage in life. By learning about your own cycle and what is going on each month, you gain vital information on your health and well-being and steps to find root causes of what might be going on.

Fertility awareness gives you valuable insights into your reproductive an hormonal health.

some FAM FAQ’s

what method do you teach?

I am certified in FEMM and currently certifying with Billings. I also teach the sensiplan rules for basal body temperature, and am familiar with Tempdrop and regular oral basal body thermometers. My clients can use BBT and cervical mucus as the primary fertility indicators, adding in LH testing or Progesterone testing as secondary indicators.

is fam the rhythm method?

No! The rhythm method “guesses” when you might ovulate based on when you last had your period, and the assumption that all menstruators have a 28 day cycle – which we know is not true. FAM is a scientifically-based observational practice that is based on your own fertility signs, no matter how long or short your cycles are.

does fam work with irregular cycles?

Many people can use FAM successfully with irregular cycles, with the help of an instructor. Charting your cycle with FAM means you identify your OWN fertile window and ovulation, not based off any algorithm or guessing. This means that you can be confident in confirming ovulation because you are in charge of knowing where you are in your cycle.