Does anyone have any tips on using saliva ferning for nfp?

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chemaeslay

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So my husband and I practice nfp. We chart my temperature, sensation, tissue check, and have recently started to check under a microscope for saliva ferning. Just wondering if any of you do this method and if so, do you have any tips?
I might also add that we use a microscope we bought at hobby lobby for $40. We check my saliva every morning and every night, charting what we observe.
 
My husband and I were very excited about doing the saliva ferning as an extra NFP check as newlyweds, but we could never get it to work.

So, definitely cross-check.
 
Most people practicing NFP don’t have a good reason to, they’re just using it as an alternative to condoms, but for the same reason they would have used condoms. So my best advice is to take a hard look at yourself and ask if you’re one of those people 🙂
 
null said:
Most people practicing NFP don’t have a good reason to, they’re just using it as an alternative to condoms, but for the same reason they would have used condoms. So my best advice is to take a hard look at yourself and ask if you’re one of those people 🙂
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Wow, this is a huge assumption. You absolutely do not know what is in someone’s marriage and what their reasoning for NFP is, so keep yourself right where you belong–out of it–and keep your assumptions kindly to yourself.
 
Ophelia23 said:
Wow, this is a huge assumption. You absolutely do not know what is in someone’s marriage and what their reasoning for NFP is, so keep yourself right where you belong–out of it–and keep your assumptions kindly to yourself.
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You clearly did not read what I said. Nowhere did I assume the OP doesn’t have a good reason for NFP. I just suggested that they evaluate their position to determine if they do. It’s quite a legitimate suggestion.
 
null said:
You clearly did not read what I said. Nowhere did I assume the OP doesn’t have a good reason for NFP. I just suggested that they evaluate their position to determine if they do. It’s quite a legitimate suggestion.
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You did, however, assume that most couples practicing NFP do so with inappropriate motives. I’m simply reminding you that this is not a stone that is yours to cast, here. It’s an awful big assumption that is unfortunately quite smug. Don’t poison yourself with so much cynicism.
 
Ophelia23 said:
You did, however, assume that most couples practicing NFP do so with inappropriate motives. I’m simply reminding you that this is not a stone that is yours to cast, here. It’s an awful big assumption that is unfortunately quite smug. Don’t poison yourself with so much cynicism.
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  1. I was pretty sure I read this somewhere.
  2. The NFP class we were forced to take did not make it very clear that it’s not just an alternative to condoms.
  3. Almost nobody in that NFP class were practicing Catholics, and it was pretty obvious they were all just taking it because they were forced to like we were, and they would either be using condoms, or possibly NFP as a replacement for condoms.
If I’m mistaken then I’m mistaken. But the vast majority of Catholics I’ve met in real life support female priests, LGBT rights, condoms, abortion, masturbation, etc, so the theory that they’re using NFP inappropriately doesn’t seem far-fetched.
 
null said:

“1. I was pretty sure I read this somewhere.”

Well, I guess that settles it, then.

“3. Almost nobody in that NFP class were practicing Catholics, and it was pretty obvious they were all just taking it because they were forced to like we were, and they would either be using condoms, or possibly NFP as a replacement for condoms.”

This must not be the US, because my understanding is that condoms are unpopular among married Americans and in general among Americans in monogamous relationships.

“If I’m mistaken then I’m mistaken. But the vast majority of Catholics I’ve met in real life support female priests, LGBT rights, condoms, abortion, masturbation, etc, so the theory that they’re using NFP inappropriately doesn’t seem far-fetched.”

Eh, Catholics who support any item on that list are vanishingly unlikely to bother to do NFP.

The demographics of this is that Catholics who bother to use NFP are almost certainly quite orthodox.

(Of course, there’s also a Catholic and non-Catholic demographic that uses NFP because of unpleasant side effects of hormonal contraception or because they are trying to conceive.)
 
null said:
Most people practicing NFP don’t have a good reason to, they’re just using it as an alternative to condoms, but for the same reason they would have used condoms. So my best advice is to take a hard look at yourself and ask if you’re one of those people 🙂
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Judgmental…much?

I hate the way every NFP thread dissolves into this type of nonsense. Ppl should be supported and praised for using NFP, especially when the vast majority of even practicing Catholics use contraception.

Such threads tend to turn into 🍿 fodder.
 
🍿 or maybe :banghead: or maybe :slapfight: or best :gopray2::knight1::knight2:
 
Galbin said:
Judgmental…much?

… Ppl should be supported and praised for using NFP, especially when the vast majority of even practicing Catholics use contraception.

…
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👍

To the original question- My husband and I, who FTR have a LEGITIMATE reason to practice NFP, observed ferning in the pre-clearblue / OV test kits days. We used a microscope we bought at a toy store and, later, a lipstick sized “scope.” The ferning was an interesting, extra observation of fertility, but was never a substitute for mucus observations or temp readings.

My experience was we got the best observation by looking at my saliva first thing in the morning - no water or anything prior to prepping the slide. You have to get the right amount of saliva on the slide and really let it dry before reading. A thin smear that you let dry at least 10 minutes works best.

We abandoned ferning observations in favor of the Clearblue monitor several years ago. I do, often, notice the increase in thirst at peak.
 
null said:
  1. Almost nobody in that NFP class were practicing Catholics, and it was pretty obvious they were all just taking it because they were forced to like we were, and they would either be using condoms, or possibly NFP as a replacement for condoms.
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What do you mean by using NFP as a replacement for condoms? Condoms act by rendering intercourse infertile whereas natural family planning ensures that intercourse remains fertile in every instance by choosing to have sex based on the phase of the cycle. They are the opposite thing altogether.
 
Getting back on topic…

We used the microscope for a while too. It’s okay…it’s really cool to see the ferns when they are crystal clear. But most of the time we saw some degree of ferning. It’s not like you see nothing and then suddenly FERNS! There was an ebb and flow to it.

But that’s just me. In the end I prefer the urine strips. It’s nice having the “control” color to compare the “test” color to. Makes the reading a little easier.
 
Xantippe said:
My husband and I were very excited about doing the saliva ferning as an extra NFP check as newlyweds, but we could never get it to work.

So, definitely cross-check.
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Yea we are stoked to find this method could be useful! We have been using nfp for almost 4 years and just now heard about saliva ferning last month. It seems like it’s working but I’m not 100% sure. I read online that you have to let the spit dry before observing it and we weren’t exactly doing that but now we are. God bless you . Thank you for your (name removed by moderator)ut.
Galbin said:
Judgmental…much?
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I would say so…geesh…it’s too bad! I wasn’t asking for all that nonsense I was simply asking for suggestions for saliva ferning. . God Bless you!
NFPWife said:
👍

To the original question- My husband and I, who FTR have a LEGITIMATE reason to practice NFP, observed ferning in the pre-clearblue / OV test kits days. We used a microscope we bought at a toy store and, later, a lipstick sized “scope.” The ferning was an interesting, extra observation of fertility, but was never a substitute for mucus observations or temp readings.

My experience was we got the best observation by looking at my saliva first thing in the morning - no water or anything prior to prepping the slide. You have to get the right amount of saliva on the slide and really let it dry before reading. A thin smear that you let dry at least 10 minutes works best.

We abandoned ferning observations in favor of the Clearblue monitor several years ago. I do, often, notice the increase in thirst at peak.
Click to expand...
We are thinking about getting that lipstick sized scope but wanted to red some reviews on it first…let the spit dry 10 min…thank you…we will try that…when we first started we we testing it immediately after the sample was placed on the slide. Now we are waiting about 5 min… I will try 10 min as it seems 5 isn’t enough wait time. Yea, we Def don’t use s.f. as a sub for any of the other observations. We just use it for more evidence of what my body is going through.
Clearblue monitor? I will have to look into that…iI have no idea what it is…
Thank you for your help. God Bless!
Kit15 said:
Getting back on topic…

We used the microscope for a while too. It’s okay…it’s really cool to see the ferns when they are crystal clear. But most of the time we saw some degree of ferning. It’s not like you see nothing and then suddenly FERNS! There was an ebb and flow to it.

But that’s just me. In the end I prefer the urine strips. It’s nice having the “control” color to compare the “test” color to. Makes the reading a little easier.
Click to expand...
We have tried about 5 different brands of the urine strips and could never get a positive reading even when we knew for sure that it was time…but I have heard that it works great for some women.
We check for ferning every morning and every night and we chart exactly what we see and keep a library of slides and take pics so we can see the progress.
Thank you for your (name removed by moderator)ut.
God Bless!
 
null said:
Most people practicing NFP don’t have a good reason to, they’re just using it as an alternative to condoms, but for the same reason they would have used condoms. So my best advice is to take a hard look at yourself and ask if you’re one of those people 🙂
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I refuse to get into this with you on this thread. (Maybe another one)
May God Bless you !
 
Galbin said:
Sorry, but yay! 👍

There’s never a need to judge NFP couples, IMO.
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I agree 100%…I wasn’t expecting someone to dog me on here (of all places) about nfp. Glad he didn’t get to put in another commemt. Well thank you everyone for your help! God bless!
 
chemaeslay said:
I agree 100%…I wasn’t expecting someone to dog me on here (of all places) about nfp. Glad he didn’t get to put in another commemt. Well thank you everyone for your help! God bless!
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Sadly, NFP threads often turn into giant arguments around here. Ridiculous…
 
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