Information methods are based on facts about how pregnancy occurs and how the the woman and man's reproductive systems work. With this information, women and men have pregnancy prevention choices that are safe, work well, and are very inexpensive.
Abstinence means different things to different people. To some people, it means not having any kind of sexual contact with another person. To other people, it means not having vaginal intercourse. And for others, it means not having vaginal or anal intercourse or oral sex.
When it comes to using abstinence for pregnancy prevention, abstinence means that a couple chooses not to have vaginal or anal intercourse, since both of these types of sexual activity can cause pregnancy.
When people choose to abstain for pregnancy prevention or other reasons, they may still want to show affection in physical or non-physical ways such as:
People who choose to prevent pregnancy by not having sex can't do anything that lets the man's sperm anywhere in or near the opening of the woman's vagina or anus.
You should:
Here are a few suggestions on talking about sex with your partner:
Perfect user: A person that uses their method of pregnancy prevention correctly all of the time.
Typical user: A person who does not use their method of pregnancy prevention correctly.
Abstinence is the only method that can always work to prevent pregnancy. Of course, this is only true when "abstinence" means doing nothing that lets sperm get near a woman's vagina.
With perfect use, abstinence is 100% effective.
This means that if 100 couples use abstinence exactly the right way, none of the women would get pregnant.
With typical use, no one is sure.
Abstinence is safe for anyone. It causes no side effects or health problems.
Learn more about abstinence at:
LAM stands for Lactation Amenorrhea Method. It is a method of pregnancy prevention where a new Mom breastfeeds her baby and does not use bottle feeding. When used correctly, it will work well up to 6 months after the baby is born.
LAM works well to prevent pregnancy, but it does not protect against HIV and other STDs. If a woman is concerned that she might get a sexually transmitted disease from her partner, they should use an female or male condom.
To use LAM as a birth control method, you must:
If you follow these directions, you can use this as a method until your baby is 6 months old. Once you get your period, that means the ovaries are making eggs again. You must use another birth control method if you don't want to get pregnant.
If you are not sure you are breastfeeding the right way, meet with a Breastfeeding Consultant (Lactation Consultant) to learn more.
Perfect user: A person that uses their method of pregnancy prevention correctly all of the time.
Typical user: A person who does not use their method of pregnancy prevention correctly.
For women who use the method properly, LAM can work very well for the first 6 months after the baby is born.
With perfect use, LAM is 99% effective.
This means that if 100 women use LAM perfectly, 1 of these women may get pregnant during the 6 months of LAM use.
With typical use, LAM is 95% effective.
For women who don't use LAM exactly the right way, 5 women out of 100 may get pregnant during the 6 months of LAM use.
LAM may not work at all for women who use a breast pump.
Using LAM gives you time to learn about other pregnancy prevention methods. You will want to choose a method you can use when you are finished with LAM.
There are no side effects to using LAM as a pregnancy prevention method.
Breastfeeding is natural. It does not cause any serious health problems.
Natural Family Planning (NFP) and the Fertility Awareness Method (FAM) are pregnancy prevention methods based on:
If you choose NFP or FAM, you will need to take a special class to learn more about how to use them correctly. The information given here will give you a basic idea of what to expect.
NFP and FAM help prevent pregnancy, but they do not protect you from HIV or other STDs. Use a condom every time you have sex to help protect yourself from these diseases.
The instructor teaches you how to check your cervical mucus a few days during each cycle. By checking it and learning how your mucus changes, you will know when you can and cannot get pregnant. If you don't want to become pregnant, you don't have sex during the days you could get pregnant.
About 3 women out of 100 who use this method perfectly may get pregnant in a year.
Your instructor will teach you how to take your Basal Body Temperature and write your temperature on a special chart. You will learn when, after your BBT rises, you can safely have sex.
Using the BBT method tells you only when your fertile days end after the egg leaves the ovary. It cannot tell you when your fertile days start. So you don't have sex at all during the first part of the cycle.
About 1 woman out of 100 who use this method perfectly may get pregnant in a year.
With this method, you use two signs to know when your fertile days may be: cervical mucus and basal body temperature. Like the other methods, your instructor will teach you what to do to use this method the right way. This method tells you when your fertile days begin and end.
About 2 women out of 100 who use this method perfectly may get pregnant in a year.
This method uses a formula to tell you which days you could be fertile. When you use this method, there may be more days each month when you can't have sex than with other NFP methods.
The calendar method works well for women who use it the right way. However, with this method, you will not know if you are going to ovulate earlier or later than usual each month. That increases your chances of getting pregnant. Your instructor will teach you how to use this method.
About 9 women out of 100 who use this method perfectly may get pregnant in a year.
This method helps you keep track of the days of your menstrual cycle. If you have regular 26- to 32-day cycles, you can use a set of small plastic beads to help you know what days you could safely have sex and which days you could get pregnant. Each day of your cycle is marked by either a brown or white bead, indicating which days you should either abstain or use another method, like condoms.
About 5 women out of 100 who use this method perfectly may get pregnant in a year, according to one study.
Perfect user: A person that uses their method of pregnancy prevention correctly all of the time.
Typical user: A person who does not use their method of pregnancy prevention correctly.
For couples who chart the signs carefully and follow all the rules taught in class, these methods can work very well.
With perfect use, these methods are 91% to 99% effective.
This means that if 100 women use NFP or FAM perfectly, as few as 1 or as many as 9 of those women may get pregnant in a year. It depends on which method they are using.
With typical use, these methods are 75% effective.
For women who don't use the methods perfectly, 25 women out of 100 may get pregnant in a year.
Things that some people like about NFP and FAM:
NFP is safe for anyone. There are no side effects. It does not cause any health problems, so there are no warning signs.
FAM is also safe and does not cause health problems. There are no side effects, complications, or precautions other than those caused by whatever birth control method clients use during the woman's fertile days.
Not everyone can always use these methods the right way. If a woman has irregular periods, or her cycles are longer than 35 days, it may be hard for her to use these methods.
For more information about Natural Family Planning Methods:
Withdrawal is an effective pregnancy prevention method but only when used correctly. When a couple uses withdrawal, the man does not ejaculate ("cum") in or near the woman's vagina.
The couple starts out having vaginal or anal sex as usual. But when a man feels he is close to "cumming," he pulls his penis out of the vagina or anus. He moves his penis away from the woman's vagina, thigh, anus, or belly before he ejaculates so that semen isn’t allowed to be anywhere near the vaginal opening. This is the only way pregnancy can be prevented.
Withdrawal prevents pregnancy, but it does not protect against HIV and other STDs. Use a condom every time you have sex to help prevent these diseases.
The only way this method can work is if you know your body and can stop having intercourse, remove your penis from your partner’s vagina or anus and ejaculate away from her vaginal opening. If there is any sperm even at the outside of your partner’s vaginal opening, they can still cause pregnancy.
Be aware of how you feel as you have sex. When you are aware, you are able to withdraw from the vagina before you start to ejaculate.
Perfect user: A person that uses their method of pregnancy prevention correctly all of the time.
Typical user: A person who does not use their method of pregnancy prevention correctly.
For withdrawal to work really well, the man must pull out before any sperm leave the penis. He must also be sure that no sperm gets near the vagina or anus. This is called "perfect use."
With perfect use, withdrawal is 96% effective.
This means that if 100 couples use withdrawal perfectly, 96 women will not get pregnant but 4 will probably get pregnant within a year of using the method.
But men don't always pull out in time. Or they let sperm get near the women's vagina or anus, such as on her thigh, belly, or outside of her vagina. This is called "typical use." As you might guess, with typical use, the pregnancy rate is higher.
With typical use, withdrawal is 73% effective.
When men don't use withdrawal the right way every time, many more women become pregnant. 73 women out of 100 will not get pregnant but 27 women will probably get pregnant in a year.
Withdrawal is safe for anyone. It causes no side effects or health problems.