• Thu, Sep 22 2011

Poll: How Do You Feel About ‘The Rhythm Method’ Of Birth Control?

There’s been a bit of blog talk these past few days about a new “bead system” for tracking your fertility that’s been developed by Victoria Jennings, a professor at the Catholic Georgetown University Medical Center Institute for Reproductive Health. Conveniently enough, that same professor also performed a study showing that this method is 95% effective, “higher than a diaphragm or condoms.”

This study is somewhat misleading, though, because the people using fertility awareness methods are having sex fewer days of the month than the people using condoms. Also, it ignores previously published studies that take into account “typical use,” i.e. the fact that people are not going to use their birth control one hundred percent correctly, one hundred percent of the time. According to Planned Parenthood, the typical use failure rate for the rhythm method is about 25%, while perfect use’s is about 5%. Meanwhile, the typical use failure rate for condoms is about 18%, and perfect use’s is about 2%. In order to have the rhythm method be more effective than condoms, she’d have to be comparing the rhythm method’s perfect use rate with condoms’ typical use rate, and that would be horrifically bad science.

Personally, I like being on the pill because I don’t want anything to get in the way of sex. I don’t want to have to check the calendar first, especially considering my partner and I are both really busy and don’t get to hang out as much as we’d like to. I don’t want him to have to worry about getting his sperm inside me. And I don’t want to worry about getting pregnant, having an abortion, and potentially feeling sad about said abortion when I’m trying to get my fuck on. That’s, like, the least sexy thing I can think of.

On the other hand, I have a friend who uses it and hasn’t had any problems yet. I think she must have a freakishly regular cycle. And unlike me, she is not terrified at the prospect of having to get an abortion. Different strokes for different folks, I guess.

Has the rhythm method worked for you? Are you all about it? Let me know your thoughts.

Sorry! This poll is now closed.

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  • Lo

    Unless you cram the beads into your vagina and they throttle the cervix, I don’t see how this is going to be effective.

  • Eileen

    Umm…other. Totally all-natural with no side effects, which is nice. And it forces you to pay close attention to your body. But, no STD protection. I do know people who used this method effectively for their entire fertility, though (and they had kids, so they were fertile).

    • Eileen

      That sounds like “not for me,” but I should add that I mean “not for me now.” Maybe in a monogamous future, though, because I’m not a fan of hormones.

  • Emily

    The rhythm method was big some twenty-odd years ago, my parents were using it to “save money” by not buying contraceptives. Then they got pregnant with me, been using condoms ever since.

  • Sunshine

    the rhythm method is the reason I was born. And my three siblings too. You would have thought my rents would have got the message after the first two..

  • M

    I have a friend with a Catholic-ish wife who also doesn’t want to deal with possible hormonal BC side effects. They have a tremendous amount of sex, but only at certain parts of her cycle. However, her idea of tracking isn’t just counting days: she takes her basal temperature every morning and uses that as her indicator. So far it’s worked.

    My parents also only used the rhythm method [they tried a condom one time and my dad didn't like it]. My mom only ever went by the calendar, no other tracking. When they decided to try for their first kid [my brother], it took on the first try. When they decided to try for a second [me], it also took on the first try. After they had the matched boy/girl set they decided to not have more kids, and so they didn’t. Never any accidental pregnancies either. Apparently before menopause my mom was The Most Stunningly Regular Woman Ever to Live.

    On the other hand, my high school health teacher liked to tell this anecdote when he covered birth control: ‘My grandparents used the rhythm method! My grandma had fourteen kids. You can probably judge if it’s effective.’

    If I had to guess, trying would make me turn out more like my health teacher’s grandmother than my mom: my periods come every four to seven weeks. I’m pretty sure the bead method is not made for people like me.

  • Fabel

    I do have a freakishly regular cycle, so this seems like it would work for me (although if it’s not accompanied by pulling out, I think I’d get pretty paranoid?)

  • Jenn

    Fertility awareness method (FAM) and “the rhythm method” are not the same thing. Please educate yourselves about the difference between FAM and CycleBeads before you make statements about them. A good place to start is Taking Charge of Your Fertility. If nothing else, it’s the most comprehensive explanation of the female reproductive system that I’ve ever read and I think everyone should have that kind of knowledge about their bodies.

  • Megan

    The bad part about this isn’t that it exists–actually, fertility beads have been around for quite some time now. What’s bad is the “bad science” you mention. Catholics/chastity supporters/pro-lifers have no issue quoting those statistics as “actual science–with studies to back it up!”

    I’m not Catholic or a supporter of chastity, but I’m also not crazy about abortions just for the hell of it. When I see misuses of statistics and misleading propaganda in the name of science and safety, however, I lose it.

  • Kelsie

    My boyfriend and I use FAM (fertility awareness method)–it’s not the same as the “rhythm method,” as someone already pointed out, but it is still MUCH maligned by my friends and acquaintances who don’t understand.

    At any rate, I’ve been doing this for well over a year now, and no pregnancy scares. We have sex every single day I’m not on my period. I think I’m the only woman I know who isn’t on the pill.

  • Kati

    You need a fourth category there in the poll:

    They are the only method of birth control I’ll ever use because I love being in control of my fertility, they are super effective, and have zero side effects!

    I’ve been using FAM as birth control for 2 years with no pregnancy scares. I chart my cycle using http://www.Kindara.com

  • Kati

    There are big differences in “Fertility Awareness Based Methods” in terms of the way they are practiced, and the effectiveness of them. I would never use the calendar/rhythm method, but the Fertility Awareness Method/ Sympto-Thermal Method, as described in Toni Weschler’s excellent book Taking Charge of Your Fertility is super effective, and what I’ve been using.

  • googlies

    it’s how my brother was born!