Combining all the NFP methods

[EphelDuath]

Hello CAF,

I’m an engaged man currently learning about NFP with my fiancee. We’re going to take a course on the Creighton method. Right now I’m just reading a lot of literature on the matter and learning the basics for myself.

Does it make sense to combine all of the NFP methods to avoid pregnancy? That is, charting the basal body temperature, and vaginal moisture/cervical mucus, and breast firmness/back pains, and checking the cervical position? Or can they give you contradictory information and it’s best to just examine the cervical mucus? (I’m not too sure what the difference between the Billiger and the Creighton methods are, by the way.)

Thank you very much and God bless!

 

[Em_in_FL]

I don’t think there’s a problem with combining methods on your own, but keep in mind that most of the methods don’t speak the same “language” - much of the charting is done in different ways and uses different notations and descriptions. So, if you’re going to be seeking advice from Creighton instructors, it would be wise to maintain Creighton-only charting on one chart. Same goes for sympto-thermal charting.

Having more information or knowledge is never a bad thing… and many women discover that one method tends to work better for her than another - so it’s definitely a good thing to be open to learning multiple methods.

 

[agapewolf]

Hello CAF,

I’m an engaged man currently learning about NFP with my fiancee. We’re going to take a course on the Creighton method. Right now I’m just reading a lot of literature on the matter and learning the basics for myself.

Does it make sense to combine all of the NFP methods to avoid pregnancy? That is, charting the basal body temperature, and vaginal moisture/cervical mucus, and breast firmness/back pains, and checking the cervical position? Or can they give you contradictory information and it’s best to just examine the cervical mucus? (I’m not too sure what the difference between the Billiger and the Creighton methods are, by the way.)

Thank you very much and God bless!

Pick one method and stick with it

By the way, ALL methods use cm as the main indicator of fertility. StM has temp and cervical position as secondary confirmations.

Creighton method is more specific in cm details, and is connected to NAPRO technology for health records/diagnosing/treating issues.

 

[SonCatcher]

The different symptoms can be used for cross-checking to yield even greater reliability. CCL advises this because in their experience, one sign may be less reliable in a given month. (One of their sample charts is from a premenopausal woman whose CM sign indicated ovulation had passed, but the thermal sign did not shift. The CM sign then returned, indicating ovulation had not, in fact, occurred.)

Alternately, a couple with more tolerance for “risk” could choose to follow the more lenient sign.

 

[1ke]

Hello CAF,

I’m an engaged man currently learning about NFP with my fiancee. We’re going to take a course on the Creighton method. Right now I’m just reading a lot of literature on the matter and learning the basics for myself.

Does it make sense to combine all of the NFP methods to avoid pregnancy?

No. In fact it would be counterproductive.

Billings and Creighton use different methodologies for observing the cervical mucus. You need to be consistent, that is the most important thing. You cannot switch between methods nor attempt to combine them. STM and Creighton, for example, have completely different rules for the observation and recording.

You should select one method and then observe all the symptoms that method provides. You cannot observe cervical position in Creighton, because all observations are external. But they do have instructions for temperature based cross checking.

Marquette adds a fertility monitor to the Creighton observation method.

STM uses temp, cervical mucus, and cervical position, but they have their own method and isntruction and charting procedures.

breast firmness/back pains

That is not a fertility sign in any method I am familiar with (Creighton, Billings, STM, or Marquette).

Or can they give you contradictory information and it’s best to just examine the cervical mucus? (I’m not too sure what the difference between the Billiger and the Creighton methods are, by the way.)

Thank you very much and God bless!

It is best to use the rules and standards of one method, do not attempt to switch between them.

 

[EphelDuath]

Not intermix the methods, just use both of them. i.e. “We’re safe to have sex according to Creighton but not the others so let’s hold off”?

 

[ang1718]

I personally do use a combination of methods for different reasons…both to make them more conservative in some cases, and to minimize a day of abstinence in another.
I use the Marquette Method with the mucus AND fertility monitor. I also temp, and look for three high temps to correspond with the readings on the fertility monitor (temp rise should occur on the day after the 2nd peak reading on monitor).

If I so wish, I can have relations the evening of the 3rd day of temp rise vs a full 3 24hr. days past the 2nd peak.

I monitor my mucus and temp because I feel it is a little bit more conservative than using monitor only, which has been known to have “false” readings on occasion.
I love using all three signs…I tend to be a “nervous nelly”, so using all three signs helps me be less paranoid.

I’ve recently also tried to use Billings advice to be more aware of “sensation”, especially when walking around, etc. Why not use all signs available?

Good luck, and wishing you the best in finding the method/methods that work for you.

 

[Schieffelin]

Not intermix the methods, just use both of them. i.e. “We’re safe to have sex according to Creighton but not the others so let’s hold off”?

Yes, you can do something like this. I practice Creighton but I also take my temperature on a separate chart just to be sure. That’s kind of what STM is anyway, but I like that Creighton is more detailed in the mucus observations.