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Couples who find the pill problematic and condoms cumbersome may be interested in a study out today in the journal Human Reproduction. The report, lead authored by Petra Frank-Hermann, a professor in the Department of Gynecological Endocrinology at the University of Heidelberg in Germany, followed 900 women who practice a form of natural family planning called the symptothermal method (STM). Frank-Hermann's team concluded that perfect use of STM resulted in unintended pregnancy rates of 0.4 percent, making for a highly favorable comparison in rates of effectiveness between STM and the hormonal birth control pill.
STM involves using body temperature measurements, visual cues, and a calendar to determine when a woman's monthly period of fertility is occurring, and it requires that a woman and her partner either abstain from sex or use a barrier method of birth control during her fertile days. The method takes a bit of learning to master; Frank-Hermann says that couples who are interested generally buy a book or take a training course from a qualified teacher.
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Comments
Hmm, that's a lot better than what's typically seen with STM. I think the best I've seen is close to 1%, more typically ~3-5%, and in actual practice (as opposed to "perfect" use), failure rates range from 5 up to maybe 25%.
Posted by: Tara C. Smith | February 21, 2007 9:35 AM
from my experience most people who use this method and are actually concerned with it working are very diligent about their 'charting' and it ends up being quite accurate, so i'm not suprised.
Posted by: catswym | February 21, 2007 12:34 PM
You know what the name is for people who use this as their main form of contraception?
Parents.
Posted by: Clare Wilson | February 21, 2007 12:54 PM
i like the combination of fertility and control.
Posted by: whitewhale | February 21, 2007 9:26 PM
"Perfect use" according to the study doesn't include using a barrier method during fertile periods. Using a barrier method increased the rate of unintended pregnancies to 0.6%. (And unprotected sex during fertile periods, which you'd think wouldn't be use of the method at all, increased the rate to 7.5%.)
Numbers like this in a study of 900 women may be subject to misinterpretation as to accuracy, of course. For all but the last group we're talking about single-digit numbers of reported pregnancies. If this were a political poll the margins of error would be several percent.
Posted by: paul | February 23, 2007 9:13 PM