Introduction

Throughout my entire time as a fertility awareness method (FAM) user and instructor, I’ve noticed that, whenever I explain what FAM is, people automatically assume it’s only useful for those who are trying to conceive. However, there are several interesting uses for it beyond this. In this post, I hope to take it back to basics by touching on these uses as well as elaborating on why they are important.

Preventing Pregnancy

Just as those trying to conceive hope to identify the fertile window to take advantage of it, those who are trying to avoid pregnancy do the same, but instead to ensure they are practising safe intimacy throughout that time. FAM is an umbrella term so depending on the method someone has chosen to follow, there will be different ways of tracking and observing the fertile window and, providing their specific method rules are followed, intercourse can be timed to avoid a pregnancy.

For those looking to utilise FAM for this purpose, I always believe that they should work directly with a suitably qualified instructor to ensure understanding of all of the rules and methods of observing fertility before fully relying on it.

Health Monitoring

Given that practising a FAM method can provide a significant amount of data about your body, it can be a beneficial way of tracking health. For example, some issues that may show up on a chart could point towards something going on health-wise or draw attention to a lifestyle change that isn’t working out. Many in FAM communities also enjoy seeing improvements to their charts after making healthy changes like losing extra weight or decreasing stress. Having the data on hand for medical appointments or discussions with health professionals can also be useful to provide a more complete picture.

Body Literacy

One of my favourite things about practising a FAM method is the level of understanding and appreciation it gives me for my body. I would say I was generally quite self-aware before learning how to chart my fertility but since practising it daily for years now, it has given me a whole new level of depth I couldn’t have imagined before. As mentioned, it allows me so much insight into my current state of well-being and how my lifestyle or environment affects me.

On a more spiritual note, it also helps me to feel much more connected to what femininity and womanhood mean to me as well as make a conscious choice to plan my calendar around what will work best for me and my menstrual cycle. For example, I’m generally a lot more outgoing in my follicular phase so I prefer to go out and socialise at this time. Conversely, during my luteal phase, I can be more emotional and introspective so often choose to get more creative writing done.

Conclusion – The Advantages of the Fertility Awareness Method

FAM has several uses beyond just trying to conceive and I hope this post has drawn attention to these. For me, my favourite benefit is the significant increase in body literacy as well as being able to practice it as a method of birth control, allowing me to avoid drugs or devices. If you have any benefits to add, please drop them in the comments below!