back to feminine - Fertility Awareness Method
When I decided to create this space, it came clear into my mind: “I need to talk about this!”
From the first day I heard about this method, I felt a giant urge to share this knowledge with the greatest number of people, not only women, not only friends but anyone willing to learn more about the woman's body.
Although today this is a studied subject, based on an increasingly rigorous scientific approach, it also incorporates ancestral knowledge that was lost with the cultural changes and the roles played by women in our society.
Adopting the Fertility Awareness Method (in Portuguese, Método Natural de Fertilidade) was a huge change in my life. It opened up a whole new path of self-knowledge, respect, and empowerment as a woman.
In Portugal, it is now possible to find these educators, some of them with several years of experience in the field of menstrual, hormonal, and reproductive health.
I will leave some links at the end of this post that, in my opinion, can be useful for women who wish to deepen their learning and perhaps embark on this wonderful adventure of getting to know their bodies better. We are all unique beings and, ultimately, what is true for me may not be for someone else. That's why I like to invite the work to look and learn from the inside.
How I got here
I started taking the contraceptive pill at around the age of 18, for the sole purpose of not getting pregnant. I was always very careful and rarely missed a day. I only changed it once and I never objectively felt any uncomfortable side effects. Or at least I was not aware of them.
Since I started being sexually active, I regularly monitored my reproductive health with a gynecologist or family doctor. At times I felt ignorant, at other times ignored, but most of the time I felt vulnerable.
The lack of knowledge and information placed me several times in a position of vulnerability, feeling powerless to ask for all the clarifications I needed from the doctors.
I also felt really uncomfortable when I heard phrases like “Colleague, come see what a wonderful cervix we have here! It is not every day that we see such an amazing cervix! ” - while I was lying with my legs open, feeling not only overexposed and abused in my intimacy, but (and that was what bothered me the most) stupid, for not having the slightest idea of how a cervix could look like.
Around the age of 25, I was diagnosed with Human Papillomavirus. I was followed by a specialist for about two years. At first, I got scared and I tried to know more about my situation, questioning the doctor several times, but her answers were always evasive and deeply technical. Besides, she was often accompanied by young doctors, which made me feel more like an object of study.
Anyway, I continued taking the pill for five years more. At the age of 30, I had already made some changes in my life that led me to seek a greater connection with my body. That was when I began to wonder about the real need to maintain the hormonal pill.
Additionally, the experience of administering medicines for a decade and witnessing its many side effects also contributed to increasing my second thoughts about the pill. I was taking those tablets every month for the sole purpose of blocking the normal and healthy functioning of my body! A sudden click popped in my head - is there no alternative?!
After some research, I ended up finding a podcast episode about hormonal health and fertility awareness. They discussed the subject in such an open and natural way that no doctor, family member, or friend had ever spoken to me before. It was when I first heard about the Fertility Awareness Method - FAM.
It is a practical method of self-knowledge that allows any woman to better understand her menstrual cycles through the monitoring and documenting of monthly body changes. Summarily, it allows us to identify the fertile period, that is, the days when we must abstain from sexual intercourse, or use a barrier method, to avoid pregnancy.
If adopted consciously and responsibly, it can be used to prevent unwanted pregnancies (which was my main goal) with an efficacy rate close to the pill. It is also a powerful tool for anyone trying to conceive.
Besides, I loved the idea of empowering women to actively participate in the surveillance of their menstrual health. So, I decided to learn more and I sought information from various sources.
I made an appointment with a menstrual educator in Lisbon, I read some books and I went for scientific evidence. After considering different opinions and talking with my partner, I finally felt safe to stop the pill and start adopting this method.
It became one of the best decisions I made.
Educators:
Patrícia Lemos (Círculo Perfeito) - Menstrual and Fertility Educator. On the website (in Portuguese), you find lots of useful information and a free ebook. She also provides appointments in Lisbon.
Bárbara Yü Belo - Natural Fertility Educator. Appointments in Porto
Books:
“Taking Charge of Your Fertility”, Toni Weschler, MPH – for me it is like a bible to consult throughout life.
Other Resources:
Accessible information about fertility and menstrual cycles and photographs documenting changes in the cervix and cervical fluid throughout the cycle.
Fertility Appreciation Collaborative to Teach the Science (FACTS)
“The effectiveness of a fertility awareness-based method to avoid pregnancy in relation to a couple's sexual behavior during the fertile time: a prospective longitudinal study”