----- Original Message ----- From: "John D. Giorgis" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Saturday, November 09, 2002 3:07 PM Subject: Re: Contraception and Wedding Nights Re: science Vs religion
> Ditching the Rhythm Method for the Thermo-symptomatic method, which has > comparable effectiveness to other forms of birth control. I'd be very curious to see where you get your numbers. I saw the type of high numbers that you quote and talk about "motivated couples." Few websites on Natural Family Planning offer more than generalities, and all of them only show a perfectly regular 28 day cycle. I found one that gives some detail, and its much more pessimistic than what you've said. It is at http://www.epigee.org/guide/natural.html It seems pro-NFP, but fairly reasonable about what's involved. Let me quote some from it: First, it quotes the overall failure rate of this method as 15%. That is significantly higher than the pill. Further, it states as a method: "Her last "safe" day is one week before the earliest recorded day of temperature rise, or 5 days after the first day of her period." Well, this tends to dig a hole in your 75% availability number for many women. Not to be too indelicate, but the first few days of a cycle are usually not considered prime time for sex. Second, if a woman has a variable cycle, this can really mess things up. For example, let's say a woman's cycle varies from 28 to 70 days. That means that her safe time is the first week after the start of the cycle, and from three days after ovulation to the end of the cycle. So, NFP allows sex for this woman, during a long cycle, roughly 16 days out of 70. Now, for the accuracy of the method. It quotes a 1% figure for post-ovulation sex only: "Intercourse during the time before ovulation is less safe than the time after ovulation because sperm have been known to live up to six days. For this reason, some couples choose to have sex only after the fertile period. This practice, known as the post-ovulatory temperature method, is the most effective of all methods of true contraception, with a failure rate of only 1% among perfect users. However, it is not recommended because it requires a very long period of abstinence." So, the numbers you quote appear to me to be for ideal cases and perfect use only. The numbers from this site match what I've seen elsewhere. Plus, IIRC, the numbers are for any given year. So, a couple using this form of birth control for 15 years should expect roughly two randomly spaced children during that time. Dan M. Who made these measurements, and what were the controls in the study. Further, I guess this is an adult list and we can go there. You claim by _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
