Trojan Condoms

The Rhythm Method of Contraception

The general impression of the Rhythm Method is that it is a traditional, simple, natural and risk-free contraceptive method. In many people’s minds, the simplicity of the method means that no medical management or doctor’s supervision is necessary when using this method. The fact that it is a traditional method also suggests to some that its effectiveness or reliability has been proven over the years. Also, because this means of contraception is acceptable to most religions, there is a widespread conviction that it does not cause embryonic death – and it is therefore appealing to many pro-lifers. A woman’s decision to use the Rhythm Method of Contraception is often based on one, or a combination, of the above notions. The Rhythm Method may be the right contraceptive method for many couples. Before electing to use it, however, it is essential to understand what it is, how it works, and what its use involves.

The process of conception involves the fertilization of a woman’s egg inside one of her Fallopian tubes leading to the eventual implantation of a cluster of growing cells in the uterus and the start of pregnancy. All contraceptive methods involve interfering with this process at some point: either to stop ovulation (production of the egg), to prevent fertilization (of the egg by male sperm in the Fallopian tube) or to prevent implantation of the fertilized egg in the uterus.

No contraceptive method can accurately be described as natural. From tubal litigation to condom use and withdrawal, all methods of contraception are the result of conscious human attempts to stop nature from taking its course. The belief that the Rhythm Method is a natural contraceptive method may have its origins in the fact that members of the Roman Catholic Church promoted it in the early 20th century (contraceptive methods accepted by this Church are known as Natural Family Planning).

What is true, however, is that contraceptive methods don’t all require the same degree of medical involvement. The only contraceptive methods that can possibly used effectively used without medical consultation whatsoever are condom use, spermicidal use, withdrawal – and, of course, complete abstinence. Contrary to popular belief, a doctor’s advice and supervision are important for effectively using the rhythm method. Proper condom usage instructions can be found at Trojan Condoms.

So what is the Rhythm Method? It’s a contraceptive method that consists of avoiding intercourse (or using a barrier method like condoms or diaphragms) during the days when a woman is fertile. Known for thousands of years and widely discussed in the 19^th century, it has the reputation of being a very unreliable form of contraception, and it’s true that it was notoriously ineffective until modern times (1920s) when a scientific understanding of the female fertility cycle was developed.

Since it the Rhythm Method depends on calculating the woman’s fertile period (when the egg travels down the Fallopian tube where it may be fertilized by sperm), it is also known as the Calendar Rhythm Method. The method uses past cycles to predict future fertility: You predict your next ovulation time based on records of your past menstrual cycles. It is, in essence, a system for GUESSING when you are most likely to be ovulating – and not the best method for guessing either. If a woman’s cycle is regular and about 28 days long, then she is most likely to ovulate (be fertile) 14 to 15 days after menstrual bleeding begins, but very few women have regular 28-day cycles, and even those that do will probably have irregular periods from time to time.

A Roman Catholic physician, John Smulders, developed the first formalized calendar-based rhythm method in 1930, based on the findings of two other physicians (Klaus and Ogino), who had, in the 1920s, discovered that women ovulate about fourteen days before their next menstrual period. What this means is that menstrual cycles have several days in the beginning (pre-ovulation) and several days just before the next cycle (post-ovulation) when women are less likely to conceive. The two physicians never worked together, but the Calendar Rhythm Method was named the Knaus-Ogino Rhythm Method.

To use the Knaus-Ogino Rhythm Method with any rate of success you must not only exercise self-discipline during your two-week ovulation period, but you also need to do a considerable amount of record keeping and calculation to determine when those two weeks will be. It is no wonder then that imperfect use of this method leads to a failure rate of about 25%! When used perfectly, the failure rate for this method is said to be 9%. One reason for the popularity of the Knaus-Ogino Rhythm Method was its availability to Catholics and people of other faiths who cannot in conscience use other methods of contraception.

In 1999, Georgetown University’s Institute for Reproductive Health introduced a new development in the calendar-based rhythm method: The Standard Days Method, which uses colored CycleBeads to help a woman keep track of her fertile and infertile days, and is simpler to use. Days 1 to 7 of a woman’s menstrual cycle are infertile, days 8 to 19 are fertile, and the infertility phase resumes on day 20 of the cycle. With a perfect-use failure rate of 5%, it is more effective than the Knaus-Ogino method. However, only women who know that their cycles are always between 26 and 32 days long may use this method with any degree of effectiveness. In short, the calendar-based rhythm method of contraception is an extremely unreliable contraceptive method for women who have short, long or irregular menstrual cycles. In fact, using this contraceptive method alone is not recommended for ANY woman who is serious about preventing pregnancy.

The good news is that since 1930, significant progress has been made in predicting the infertile phases of women’s cycles. Although this is a controversial matter, we’ll assume for the purpose of this article that the Fertility Awareness Method is an improved version of the Rhythm Method of Contraception. You still use your menstrual cycle to predict your least fertile time of the month. The difference is that in addition to the calendar-based method discussed above, you can use other more recently discovered fertility indicators or symptoms-based fertility methods:

• Basal Body Temperature, BBT (body temperature rises a couple of days before ovulation, so you have to measure and record your BBT every morning)
• Cervical Mucus Method (you need to check the amount, look and texture of cervical mucus during your cycle because just before your menstrual cycle, the amount of mucus increases and its texture is different)
• Hormone Monitoring (Ovulation Predictor Kits can be bought to test the level of a certain hormone in your urine; higher levels indicate that ovulation is about to occur)
• Symptothermal Method (a combination of the above methods and the calendar-based method discussed earlier).

For the Rhythm Method of Contraception to be most effective, it is imperative that a woman keep track of all of the above fertility indicators, in combination, for several months before starting to use the Rhythm Method as a means of contraception. The correct use of the Fertility Awareness Rhythm Method also necessitates expert professional guidance by a physician.

The bottom line is that no contraceptive method is 100% effective – but the rhythm method is more risky than other methods like those involving Trojan Condoms. Even with medical supervision, the Rhythm Method is the least reliable contraceptive method around, and the number of women who get pregnant using this method is 25 out of every 100. You should only choose to use this method if you are aware of your monthly cycle, know that it is regular, are willing to invest the time and effort to learn how to use fertility awareness methods and – if you (and your partner) are prepared to accept the method’s low rate of protection against pregnancy.

The Rhythm Method of Contraception has no side effects, and does not involve the same type of health risks as those associated with hormonal contraception. Remember, however, that this method (unlike condoms for example) provides absolutely no protection against STDs.

Trojan Condoms. Finally, while has long been believed that the rhythm method works (when it does work) by preventing conception from occurring, an article published in 2006 by Professor Luc Bovens of the London school of Economics argues* that part of the success of the method stems from the fact that embryos conceived on the fringes of the fertile phase of a woman’s cycle are less healthy or viable. They are therefore less likely to survive. In other words, if you do use the Rhythm Method and have intercourse at a time you believe to be safe, an embryo can still be formed – but it will be less likely to survive. If it does die, the Rhythm Method of Contraception may in fact cause embryonic death.