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New Low‐ and High‐Tech Calendar Methods of Family Planning
Author(s) -
Fehring Richard J.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
journal of midwifery and women's health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.543
H-Index - 62
eISSN - 1542-2011
pISSN - 1526-9523
DOI - 10.1016/j.jmwh.2004.07.001
Subject(s) - family planning , pregnancy , computer science , psychology , medicine , environmental health , biology , research methodology , population , genetics
Calendar‐based methods are not usually considered effective or useful methods of family planning among health professionals. However, new “high‐” and “low”‐tech calendar methods have been developed, which are easy to teach, to use, and may be useful in helping couples avoid pregnancy. The low‐tech models are based on a fixed‐day calendar system. The high‐tech models are based on monitoring urinary metabolites of female reproductive hormones. Both systems have high levels of satisfaction. This article describes these new models of family planning and the research on their effectiveness. The author proposes a new algorithm for determining the fertile phase of the menstrual cycle for either achieving or avoiding pregnancy.