Question about NFP

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richardsgirl

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I have a question to do with NFP and marital relations. I’m not married so I don’t really know about these things but I’ve been wondering whether couples who are NFPing, in addition to not having sex during the fertile time also do not have sex during the woman’s period. Is it just too gross to have sex when you’re on your period? I kind of feel it would be, but then adding on fertile time to period time that would be a pretty big chunk out of the month when you couldn’t enjoy marital relations. Just wondering what people here do.

Also… does NFP really work? It just sounds so complicated! Thanks!
 
The days of your menstrual period would be considered fertile days and therefore when avoiding pregnancy you would not use those days for intercourse.

There are several methods of NFP, so if one seems confusing or complicated, look into another.

The major methods include:

Sympto Thermal (Couple to Couple League)
Creighton Model
Billings Ovulation Model
Marquette Model
 
Really?! Wow, I thought the cycle went roughly like this… 10 or so days infertile, then the fertile phase of maybe a week, then more days infertile, and then your period. i had no idea that periods are fertile days… how does that work? :confused: I guess I don’t really have a clue how my body works!🤷

To be honest I hate the sound of all that temperature taking and mucus checking and charting and things… I’m just not good at that kind of thing and I wouldn’t know where to start! i was thinking of getting one of those ‘lady-compt’ (?) machines but I’ve heard they’re expensive, also I don’t know how well they work?
 
1ke said:
The days of your menstrual period would be considered fertile days and therefore when avoiding pregnancy you would not use those days for intercourse.

There are several methods of NFP, so if one seems confusing or complicated, look into another.

The major methods include:

Sympto Thermal (Couple to Couple League)
Creighton Model
Billings Ovulation Model
Marquette Model
Click to expand...
Wouldn’t that depend on how long the menstrual period lasted and how far it was from ovulation? I thought that menstruation up to the appearance of fertile mucus was considered Phase 1, which is often avoided only if couples are being extra cautious. I’ve never heard that menstruation itself was considered fertile, only that it could be if the end of menstruation coincided with the beginning of Phase 2 fertile mucus.

OP: It’s up to the individual couple whether or not they have sex during the woman’s period. There’s nothing wrong or immoral with either choice.
 
richardsgirl said:
Really?! Wow, I thought the cycle went roughly like this… 10 or so days infertile, then the fertile phase of maybe a week, then more days infertile, and then your period. i had no idea that periods are fertile days… how does that work? :confused: I guess I don’t really have a clue how my body works!🤷
Click to expand...
The blood can mask fertile mucus. If early ovulation occurs in a cycle, the fertile mucus could be present during the flow of blood and you would not be able to detect it.

What you describe above is only an “average” and remember NFP doesn’t work on averages-- it works on actual observation of the fertile signs each day.
richardsgirl said:
To be honest I hate the sound of all that temperature taking and mucus checking and charting and things… I’m just not good at that kind of thing and I wouldn’t know where to start! i was thinking of getting one of those ‘lady-compt’ (?) machines but I’ve heard they’re expensive, also I don’t know how well they work?
Click to expand...
It’s not difficult at all to do NFP. It’s probably overwhelming because you haven’t learned it yet. It’s very easy.
 
Ok, so I use the sympto-thermal method of NFP and my understanding is that the period is considered infertile IF ovulation occurred 16 or less days prior and was followed by a full thermal shift. The problem comes in when women have annovulatory cycles and think breakthrough bleeding is their period or ovulatory bleeding is their period when it really isn’t and they could (porentially) be close to ovulating. This can be easily determined through looking at your temperature pattern.

It’s worth noting, though, that I have had several cycles where fertile cm appeared toward the end of my period, so if I was being very cautious, I would have had to avoid.

But like PP’s have said, some of it has to do with how much you are trying to avoid…there are plenty of “rules” based on how conservative you want to be and how much experience you have.
 
I agree with Kevinsgirl… at least that’s how I learned the sympto-thermal method as well.
If you have a fairly “regular” cycle… meaning that you normally ovulate several days after menstruation is over and you’re able to regularly detect the signs of ovulation starting well after menstruation has ended, then menstruation can be considered INFERTILE (phase 1 infertility vs phase 2 fertility)…

It’s up to you as a couple with how comfortable you feel having relations during menstruation…
Some couples feel comfortable with this (we do!)… taking certain precautions to avoid the mess…

NFP DOES really work… it works great! And, for us, it’s not difficult at all! 👍
 
I use Billings method and from what I understand, only days of heavy menstrual flow are off-limits. I usually have only two or three days of really heavy flow, and then two or three days of “spotting” which IIRC would be okay for intercourse. Maybe I should give my teacher a call to double-check…?

Anyway, DH and I don’t find it gross. He’s not the squeamish type and neither am I, so we just put down a towel. 😉 Plus I find my desire increases during my period…I’m weird, I know.

If you don’t like the idea of taking your temp, try one of the mucus-only methods like Billings or Creighton. I find Billings very simple - all it requires is to be aware of the sensation at your vulva (dry, sticky, wet/lubricative), take note of any mucus you see, and make a note of it every night.
 
1ke said:
No.

Whenever blood flow is present, it can mask fertile mucus that could also be present.
Click to expand...
Hmm…I think that is not the case for all women. From my own charting days, I can safely assert that I always had a couple of dry/sticky mucus days between day 6 (end of period) and the appearance of any wet mucus.

This is a situation that a woman would need to determine from her own charts.
 
1ke said:
No.

Whenever blood flow is present, it can mask fertile mucus that could also be present.
Click to expand...
This is absolutely true. Scientific evidence shows that you can ovulate as early as day 5 in your cycle. So, if you are bleeding heavily and your intent is to avoid a pregnancy, that time is considered potentially fertile.

And, although we are all individuals, with our own cycles, it can change at any time. So, if you are pre-ov, you need to be aware of what is going on. Pay attention. If you are spotting and dry, that day would be okay.
 
Since I have charted for over a year, I can apply the 20, 21 day rule to my cycles, DH and I can have relations up to day 10 or 11 if we so chose. (Right now we’re using the most conservative rule which means no relations past day 6.) Both rules depend how long your cycles are. When a woman is fertile during her period that means that she has very short cycles. I’m talking 26 days or less. It’s in the Art of NFP book.

1ke, as I understand it, you practice the Creighton Method. I’m not sure what the rules are when it comes to having relations during a woman’s period, but sounds like it’s not recommended.

That being said, I would never have relations during AF, that’s just yucky to DH and me. Not to mention I’m not “in the mood” at that time. :rolleyes:

Richardsgirl, once you learn NFP, it’s sooooo easy.
 
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