Most women are able to use natural family planning. However, there are a number of circumstances where it is not recommended as a form of birth control, or as your only form of birth control.
These are described below.
- You have a medical condition that makes becoming pregnant dangerous – such as poorly controlled high blood pressure or heart disease. Or there could potentially be a health risk to the baby if you did conceive, such as being dependent on drugs and /or alcohol, or taking medications known to cause birth defects. A more reliable method of birth control such as the contraceptive injection or implant would be recommended.
- You are having irregular periods so predicting your fertile time period may be hard or impossible. Irregular periods can have a wide range of causes, such as age (both younger and older women are more prone to irregular periods), stress, rapid weight gain or loss, excessive exercise and having an overactive thyroid gland.
- You have a temporary condition that is disrupting the normal signs of fertility which make using fertility awareness methods difficult to use, such as pelvic inflammatory disease, sexually transmitted infection (STI) or bacterial vaginosis – you would have to wait until the infection passed before using natural family planning.
- You have a long-term condition (or other underlying factors) that is disrupting the normal signs of fertility, such as liver disease, an underactive or overactive thyroid gland or cervical cancer. Recently giving birth or having an abortion can disrupt the signs of fertility.
- You are taking a medication known to disrupt the normal production of cervical mucus making fertility awareness methods difficult to use – this can include lithium (used to treat a number of serious mental health conditions, such as bipolar disorder) and some older types of antidepressants.
- You have an increased risk of catching a sexually transmitted infection – for example you have multiple sexual partners, or are planning to travel to a part of the world where sexually transmitted infections are widespread, such as sub-Saharan Africa.
