DENVER — The Centers for Disease Control reports that four out of five American women take birth control pills yet nearly 30 percent complain of side effects.
Some are now considering natural family planning in order to avoid extra hormones, others follow religious beliefs that don’t allow for the use of modern birth control methods.
Na-Pro Technology has been proven to be successful in helping women to determine the best time of the month to become pregnant, and now some are using it as a way to determine the best time to abstain from sex in order to plan their family.
The process involves careful monitoring of factors like body temperature and phases of the monthly cycle.
Registered nurse Paula Dong trains women interested in natural family planning at the Lighthouse Women’s Center in Denver. She says, “I think it’s really interesting that we’re really careful about our water, our hormone-free meat, our environment but we’re pumping our women full of hormones.”
Many new resource centers are opening doors in the metro area which offer classes and counseling for women looking to learn more about this type of family planning.
She says when performed correctly, the method is consistently reliable and effective, still many medical experts stress that this method ranks much lower in effectiveness than the birth control pill, IUD, and other options.
Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains CEO Vicki Cowart says, “It is very complicated to use. You have to track your cycle exactly (and) spend a fair amount of time on math to make sure you’re doing it correctly.”
Cowart also says that natural family planning is best for couples who will be able to handle having a child if the method turns out to be ineffective. All agree that couples should get the facts before deciding on the best choice.