What is FAM?

The fertility awareness method, or FAM, might just be the natural birth control you’ve been searching for! But how exactly does it work? And is side-effect free, hormone-free contraception even possible? Is this method of birth control too good be true? Read on to find out what FAM is and how to get started.

Learning to work with your body, rather than against, it is the foundation of the fertility awareness method. Through FAM we learn to read the signs of our bodies and of our fertility. This method is a daily practice of paying attention to our body signs, charting them, and interpreting what our body is telling us. These are messages that are always there, whether or not we know how to interpret them!

Learning to read your body

With FAM you chart your hormonal biomarkers, or hormone signs, to identify your fertile time. It’s based on the physiological fact that women and menstruators are only fertile for a short time each cycle, approximately 7 days. This takes into account the 12-24 hours lifespan of the egg, and 5 day life span of sperm in cervical mucus.

With the symptothermal method of fertility awareness, you chart basal body temperature and cervical mucus. Using the information these signs are giving you, you can decide whether or not you want to have unprotected sex that day. If you’re avoiding pregnancy, you’ll avoid days where pregnancy is possible. Vice versa if you’re trying to conceive!

The ovulation cycle: a crash course

We’re all familiar with our periods, right? Our period is the start of the cycle! Day one of menstruation = day one of the cycle. Hormonally, during menstruation your hormone levels are low and the cervix is closed. After your period, as an egg is recruited to start maturing, your estrogen levels will slowly rise. As this happens, your cervix is stimulated to produce cervical fluid with a quality that helps keep potential sperm alive.

Around ovulation, or the time that the egg is released, estrogen rises to peak levels and the egg is launched out of the ovary. Following ovulation, the hormone progesterone becomes the dominant hormone, raising your basal body temperature very slightly. You can retrospectively identify when we ovulated by taking your basal body temperature daily upon waking. Progesterone levels fall prior to menstruation and our cycle begins allll over again!

Charting your cycle with fertility awareness involves an intimate relationship with your body and your internal rhythms. With this knowledge you’re in full control of your body and contraception is in your hands.

Now you're thinking, this all sounds great! But how do I get started?

Set up your chart

Let’s start charting! At the most basic level, charting is paying attention to your cycle day and recording your observations. If you’re off hormonal birth control you can start charting at any time. The first day of your cycle is the first day of full blood flow where you need a pad, tampon or menstrual cup.

Find something to chart on, whether you chart on paper or in an app, pick something that you’re more likely to stick with. Find a paper chart in my store, or use an app like the Read Your Body app.

The key for fertility charting is that you need a space to chart temperature, a row to track cervical mucus, cycle days and days of the month/week, as well as the ability to mark a coverline, peak day and temperature shift.

Start charting

Start by getting in the habit of charting every day. If you’re using a symptothermal method of fertility awareness, you will be charting basal body temperature and cervical mucus.

Basal Body Thermometer is a thermometer that goes to 2 decimal places. You’ll want to take your temperature before you get out of bed at the same time each morning, after at least 3 hours of sleep. You can find a basal body thermometer at your local drugstore or order one online.

Read the ultimate guide to cervical mucus

Each method of fertility awareness will have it’s own type of interpretation, observation and categorization of cervical mucus. Most symptothermal methods of fertility awareness will categorize cervical mucus into dry, non-peak and peak.

Learn a method thoroughly

Fertility awareness based methods (FABM) is an umbrella term for the array of fertility charting methods. Under this umbrella are:

Symptothermal Fertility Awareness Based Methods: the use of cervical mucus and basal body temperature (Sensiplan, TCOYF, Justisse, Symptopro, Serena)
Symptohormonal Methods: the use of cervical mucus and a hormonal check like LH or Estrogen urine tests (FEMM, Marquette, Boston Cross-Check)
Cervical Mucus Only Methods: detailed charting of cervical mucus only (Billings, Creighton)

Self teach

If you are a dedicated, self-motivated learner, you can teach yourself how to use fertility awareness. If you decide to go this route, it’s important that you thoroughly learn your chosen method. You can’t half-ass FAM. Folks have succeeded self-teaching, however there is a more significant risk of unintended pregnancy going this route.

If you do decide to self-teach, learn the method in it’s entirety, don’t pick and choose. Chart for at least 3 cycles and feel confident in your observations and charting before having unprotected intercourse. The two most common ways to self-teach are by reading Taking Charge of Your Fertility or the Sensiplan Manual. You can also join and post your charts in the FAM BC Facebook Group, which is a volunteer-run group.

Work with an instructor

Working with a certified fertility awareness educator streamlines the learning process and helps you feel confident and start using FAM for birth control faster. I also recommend working with an instructor if you’re someone who experiences irregular cycles (like in the case of PCOS) or you’re wanting to use FAM for birth control during postpartum.

Working with an instructor also means that you have someone you can message or chat with whenever a question arises, and they’re able to review your charts for you so you can be sure you’re using the method correctly. A certified instructor will be able to help you navigate challenging situations that arise in the reproductive continuum and will teach you everything you never learned in sex ed!

Choosing an instructor comes down to a few things:

Personal preference and fit
What method they’re certified in
Whether they have a religious affiliation or teach from a secular standpoint

FAM FAQ’s

What will I learn with a fam educator?

This will depend on the instructor you work with, but in general, a FAM educator will teach you how to understand your hormones and anatomy, get you set up charting your fertility biomarkers, and teach you how to interpret your chart. Your FAM educator will walk you through your charts as you begin charting to make sure you’re interpret everything correctly and you can confidently trust the method!

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 for 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.

Is FAM the same as NFP - Natural Family Planning?

Fertility awareness based methods are diverse, and some methods originate out of the research and beliefs of the Catholic Church - generally known as Natural Family Planning. However, not all methods of fertility awareness are Catholic. Catholic NFP generally includes some teachings around marriage and sex, and encourages abstinence in the fertile window. Secular FAM teaching involves the use of barrier methods or alternative sex in the fertile window. Not all Catholic educators will include this in their teaching, it’s important to talk with your prospective educator and make sure that they’re a good fit!