Fertility awareness-based methods or natural family planning methods are an effective means of family planning that is seldom recommended by the medical community. After a review of literature it is concluded that such methods empower women and couples, that there is a need for a referral system and natural family planning clinics, and a need for a standardized fertility consultant license. Furthermore, such methods have been highly effective family planning tools in third world countries with limited access to contraceptives. Research on provider attitudes is scarce and further study is required, considering some women cannot or will not utilize mechanical or barrier methods of contraception.

Negative cultural attitudes towards the menstrual cycle have psychological consequences for women. The menstrual cycle in our society is devalued in public discourse and public regard, in which it is viewed as an uncontrollable, painful, and mysterious curse upon womankind. Internalization of these messages may negatively impact women’s self-esteem because of menstruation’s quintessential association with womanhood. Women’s lack of accurate, practical knowledge about the menstrual cycle may be a large contributor to these negative attitudes. The purpose of this proposed research is to investigate whether performing fertility awareness, a daily practice of observing fertility signs to determine the phases in a woman’s menstrual cycle, can increase self-esteem in college-aged women. The study measures perceived control, self-efficacy, and self-esteem in women before and after learning and practicing fertility awareness, as well as comparing those scores to a control group. It is proposed that practicing fertility awareness increases women’s self-esteem and self-efficacy by providing them with perceived control over their reproductive health. Implications for educational imperatives and future research are discussed.

Statistikos duomenimis, 15-20 proc. Lietuvos šeimų negali susilaukti vaikų. Vis daugiau žmonių nevaisingumą laiko liga ir siekia jį „išgydyti“ šiuolaikinėmis technologijomis, kurių dažna prieštarauja Bažnyčios mokymui. Krikščioniškosios antropologijos požiūriu, naujos gyvybės sukūrimas yra prokreacijos aktas, kai lytiniu aktu, kylančiu iš meilės santuokoje, pradedamas ir pagimdomas kitas asmuo, orumu ir verte prilygstantis savo tėvams. Negali būti meilės be vaikų (dirbtinai užkertant kelią naujos gyvybės atsiradimui) ir vaikų be meilės (kai santuokinį lytinį aktą atstoja technologijos). Žmogaus gyvybė yra šventa iš prigimties, todėl Bažnyčios mokymas, siekdamas pagelbėti nevaisingoms šeimoms, visų pirma siekia apsaugoti žmogaus, kaip unikalaus individo orumą, kilnumą bei vertingumą. Nevaisingumas – būklė, kai pora nepastoja arba moteris nesugeba išnešioti ir pagimdyti sveiko vaiko – kelia daug emocinių ir psichologinių problemų. Nevaisingumą dažnai lemia psichosomatinės priežastys, jam turi įtakos aplinkos veiksniai ir gyvenimo būdas. Aiškintis nevaisingumą sukeliančias priežastis svarbu dėl nevaisingumo prevencijos. Bažnyčios mokymui neprieštaraujantis etiškas vaisingumo gydymas – Naprotechnologija, kuri remiasi Kreitono vaisingumo pažinimo modeliu. Šeimai, trokštančiai susilaukti palikuonių, kartais pakanka pažinti savo vaisingumą. Nevaisinga Katalikų šeima patiria dvasinę krizę, įtampą, jai kartais sunku surasti savo vietą bendruomenėje. Labai dažnai stinga reikalingos... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Statistics show that 15-20 % of Lithuanian families are unable to bear children. More and more people think about infertility as a condition and seek to “cure” it with the help from modern medical technologies, which are often in conflict with the Church's teaching. From Christian anthropologic point of view, the creation of new life is the act of procreation: when during sexual act caused by love in marriage another person who equals in dignity and merit to his or her parents is conceived and given birth. There can’t be love without children (artificially preventing the emergence of new life), and children without love (technological intervention which replaces the conjugal sexual act). Human life is sacred by nature. Therefore, the Church’s teaching in order to help infertile families especially strives to protect the human being as a unique individual with dignity and merit. Infertility is biological inability of a person to contribute to conception and also state of a woman who is unable to carry a pregnancy to full term. It causes a lot of emotional and psychological problems. Psychosomatic reasons of infertility are often influenced by environmental factors and lifestyle. To understand infertility causes is important for the prevention of infertility. NPT (Natural Procreative Technology), ethical infertility treatment based on Creighton Model FertilityCareTM System, does not contradict with the teachings of the Catholic Church. Sometimes the fertility awareness is... [to full text]

Det finns många olika typer av preventivmedel för kvinnor, där en av de vanligaste är kombinerade hormonella p-piller. Många kvinnor vill undvika hormonella preventivmedel och använder sig av andra metoder för att undvika graviditet. Intressanta alternativ till hormonella preventivmedel har kommit de senaste åren, där en av dem är mobila applikationen Natural Cycles, som baserar sig på fertilitetsmedvetenhet.  Befintliga studier finns som undersöker hur effektivt och säkert Natural Cycles är som preventivmedel. Syftet med detta arbete är att undersöka applikationen Natural Cycles som preventivmedel, detta genom att jämföra Pearl Index och sannolikheten att bli gravid efter ett visst antal cykler av befintliga studier, och undersöka vilken demografi som Natural Cycles är bäst lämpad för.  Arbetet är en litteraturstudie där fem vetenskapliga artiklar analyserats. Studierna är hämtade från databasen PubMed och Google Scholar, och visar att Natural Cycles effektivitet med ett Pearl Index vid typisk användning är mellan 6,1–7,0. Detta visar att Natural Cycles effektivitet som preventivmedel är lika bra som tex. kombinerade hormonella p-piller, men sämre jämfört med tex. hormonspiral. Sannolikhet för graviditet efter en 13-cykelperiod för Natural Cycles beräknades till 6,3–8,3 %. Natural Cycles passar bäst för kvinnor runt 30 års ålder, som är i ett förhållande, har en högre utbildning och som tidigare använt kondom som preventivmedel.  Att tänka på är att alla studier som undersökts i detta arbete har varit sponsrade av just Natural Cycles, vilken kan ha påverkat resultatet. Det behövs göras mer forskning under längre tid och för större mångfald, och även göra studier som inte är sponsrade av Natural Cycles. / There are many different contraceptive methods for women and one of the most common are the combined hormonal birth control pills. Many women want to avoid hormonal contraceptive methods to prevent pregnancy. Interesting alternatives to hormonal contraceptives have emerged in recent years, and one of these is the mobile application Natural Cycles, which is based on fertility awareness. Existing studies are available that examine the effectiveness of Natural Cycles as a contraceptive.   The aim of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of the application Natural Cycles as a contraceptive, by comparing the Pearl index and the probability of becoming pregnant after a certain number of cycles of existing studies and also examine demographic which Natural Cycles is best suited for. This study is organized as a literature study, in which five scientific articles were analyzed. The studies were obtained from the database PubMed and Google Scholar and show that the effectiveness of Natural Cycles with a typical-use Pearl Index is between 6,1-7,0. This shows that Natural Cycles' effectiveness as a contraceptive is as good as e.g. combined hormonal birth control pills, but poorer compared to e.g. hormonal intrauterine device. The probability of pregnancy after a 13-cycle period for Natural Cycles was estimated to 6.3–8.3%. Natural Cycles is best suited for women around the age of 30, who are in a relationship, have a higher education and who have previously used a condom as a contraceptive. It should be borne in mind that all studies examined in this work have been sponsored by Natural Cycles, which may have affected the results. More research is needed for a longer period and for greater diversity, and to do studies that are not sponsored by Natural Cycles.

AN ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION OF AKILAH MORRIS SMITH, for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Public Health, presented on April 11th 2018, at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. TITLE: KNOWLEDGE, INTENTIONS, AND BELIEFS ABOUT FERTILITY AND ASSISTED REPRODUCTIVE TECHNOLOGY AMONG ILLINOIS COLLEGE STUDENTS MAJOR PROFESSOR: Roberta Ogletree H.S.D and Juliane P. Wallace PhD The purpose of this quantitative cross sectional study was to examine knowledge, beliefs, and intentions about fertility and assisted reproductive technology among college students. This study differs from previous studies in that it examines knowledge, beliefs, and intentions about fertility and assisted reproductive technology among Illinois college students. Five hundred thirty six undergraduate students from six Illinois universities taking foundational health courses participated in this convenience sample study. Participants included three hundred and five females, 225 males, and five transgender students. The age ranges from 18-60. Five hundred and twenty students were childless. Three hundred and eleven students were single, 195 were in a committed relationship, and 16 were married. An Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) detected the differences among college students’ knowledge, beliefs, and intentions, based on race, sexual orientation, age, parental status, relationship status, and gender. Additionally Multiple Linear Regression analysis determined variations among race, sexual orientation, age, parental status, relationship status, and gender based on intentions, beliefs, and knowledge of fertility and ART treatment options. The first findings indicate that age, race and relationship status variables strongly impacted fertility intentions. The second findings reveal that gender and race impact beliefs influencing fertility and ART treatment options. None of the six variables significantly affected knowledge, which does not correlate with the literature. The students replied that they were not informed about women’s fertility as well as ART treatment options. Caucasians and older students’ intended on delaying parenthood supports the current literatures. According to Martinez, Daniels, and Chandra (2012), Caucasians are more likely to delay parenthood, which this research study supports. Secondly, Caucasians and males students had beliefs that supported the delaying of parenthood. Amongst the six groups, none of the groups affected knowledge. Daniluk and Koert (2012) show that while college student’s lack knowledge researchers are not sure what strongly predict their fertility and ART knowledge treatments.

Thesis advisor: Corrine Y. Jurgens / Background: Infertility is a source of significant distress to women, their partners, and their families. If women are unable to identify the time in their cycle when conception is most likely (the fertile window) then they may be referred to fertility services unnecessarily, which incur costly, invasive, and risky interventions. Little is known about women’s experiences trying to conceive using fertility-awareness based methods. Objective: The purpose of this dissertation research is to examine fertility-awareness based method (FABMs) use among women seeking pregnancy, specifically as it relates to fertility knowledge, method frequency, predictors of use, and duration of pregnancy attempt. Methods: This manuscript-style dissertation will utilize multiple data sources and methods to address four major goals. First, an integrative review of peer-reviewed publications will synthesize the literature regarding fertility knowledge and fertility- awareness practices (Aim 1). Second, a secondary analysis of data from the CDC’s National Survey of Family Growth (2015-2017) will be used to identify factors that influence women’s decision to use FABMs (Aim 2). Third, an analysis of data from the Nurses’ Health Study 3 will be used to evaluate whether duration of current pregnancy attempt is associated with FABM(s) use (Aim 3). Lastly, a case study will be presented using the qualitative methodology of narrative interview to describe women’s experiences using FABMs to achieve pregnancy (Aim 4). Conclusions: Collectively, this work advances the science by providing researchers and clinicians with the knowledge to support women in their journey to natural, spontaneous conception. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2021. / Submitted to: Boston College. Connell School of Nursing. / Discipline: Nursing.

<div> <div> <div> <p>The following study used a liberal feminist lens to address a gap in the literature on contraceptive method use and romantic relationships by examining the association between contraceptive method use and both relationship satisfaction and balance of power. Specifically, it surveyed married women between the ages of 20-49 using either oral contraceptives (OCs) or natural family planning (NFP). Relationship satisfaction was measured using the Couple Satisfaction Index (CSI-4). Balance of power in the relationship was measured using the Relationship Balance Assessment (RBA). It was hypothesized that women using NFP would report higher relationship satisfaction and greater balance of power than women using OCs. Instead, results of the multiple regression analyses indicated that women using NFP experienced significantly lower rates of balance of power in their relationship. There was no significant difference in relationship satisfaction between groups. Additionally, control variables of religious importance and number of children were found to be associated with balance of power. Controls of age and religious importance were found to be associated with relationship satisfaction. Clinical implications, strengths and limitations, and future directions for research were discussed. </p> </div> </div> </div>

Moral aspects of contraception from the perspective of present catholic couples Most women in productive age choose any form of conception control. Catholic Church accepts only natural contraceptive methods. Fertility awareness-based methods are cheap, ecological but for necessity of managing the method more complicated forms of contraception. It is also little promoted and by doctors mostly considered to be less reliable and that's why it is not often recommended by gynecologists in contrast to widely promoted and used hormonal contraception. The topic of this dissertation is how do present catholic couples cope with this problem. The aim of the work is to give comprehensive description of basic types of in present used contraception and after that bring the view of particular contraception methods from the perspective of the Catholic Church doctrine. By the questionnaire survey in practical part is evaluated what are the attitudes of present catholic coulpes to contraception in comparison with official Catholic Church doctrine. Keywords catholic couples, contraception, fertility awareness-based methods, symptothermal method, hormonal contraception