Contraception | Fertile days

Contraception

There are several natural contraceptive methods that aim to limit the fertile and infertile days of the female cycle. Ovulation calculators, menstrual calendars, but also symptothermal methods are used, in which the assessment of the cervical mucus and the measurement of basal body temperature are the main focus. Symptothermal methods are considered relatively safe in cases of sexual abstinence during the fertile days.

Other methods such as ovulation calculators and menstrual calendars, but also the sole assessment of cervical mucus or basal body temperature are not suitable as methods of contraception due to their inaccuracy. This topic may also be of interest to you: Cerazette is a contraceptive method in tablet form. You should also look into this promising form of contraception before you decide on a variant.

  • Is it possible to postpone ovulation?

Apps for fertile days

There are now various apps that aim to increase the likelihood of pregnancy with the help of different user information. These are combinations of menstrual calendars or ovulation calendars, which can be supplemented with individual information such as symptoms, consistency of the cervical mucus or basal body temperature. The more information the user can enter into such an app, the more precisely the fertile days can be narrowed down.

Such apps are suitable for increasing the probability of pregnancy in women who wish to have children. However, they are too imprecise for contraception and depend on the user’s information. The following is a small overview of a few current apps, which by no means claims to be complete: Cycle Calendar by ELTERN, Clue, Glow, Lily- Your personal and private Period Tracker.

After stopping the pill

The “pill” is a hormonal contraceptive that prevents pregnancy. Most combination preparations prevent ovulation. They induce a regular cycle of 28 days in which one tablet is taken every day for 21 days.

For the remaining 7 days there is a break in which a so-called withdrawal bleeding occurs. This is usually much less pronounced than menstrual bleeding. There are also single substance preparations (so-called minipills), which primarily work by thickening the cervical mucus.

Newer minipills also prevent ovulation. There are therefore no fertile days while taking the pill. The implantation of a fertilized egg is not possible.

After discontinuing the pill, however, this protection is no longer guaranteed so that ovulation takes place again. In the first few months after stopping the pill, there may be irregularities in the length of the cycle, making it difficult to estimate the time of fertile days. However, these irregularities are natural and can occur even without a special event.