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Birth ControlNatural family planningFor many reasons, some couples use fertility awareness as their main method of birth control. Also known as natural family planning or periodic abstinence, fertility awareness entails not having sexual intercourse on the days of a woman's menstrual cycle when she could become pregnant or using a barrier method of birth control on those days.Because a sperm may live in the female's reproductive tract for up to seven days and the egg remains fertile for about 24 hours, a woman can get pregnant within a relatively long timeframe--from seven days before ovulation to three days after. Methods to approximate when a woman is fertile are usually based on the menstrual cycle, changes in cervical mucus, or changes in body temperature. The overall failure rate of using natural family planning ranges from 1-9% when all directions are followed. Click here, for more information on ovulation and signs of fertility.
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