Rhythm method
| Part of the series on |
| A baker's dozen on sex |
Vatican roulette The rhythm method is a method of birth control involving abstaining from unprotected sex except on days when a woman is "infertile". There are numerous calendar methods based on the same idea, but the rhythm method is the most commonly cited and is often used synonymously with these similar methods. The calendar and rhythm methods also exist under the banner of natural family planning, based on the fact that they don't involve unnatural birth control devices. As the "natural" result of sex is pregnancy, it should be obvious as to what the result of using "natural" family planning tends to be. The scientific term for women who use the rhythm method is "pregnant".
[edit] Proponents
It is used by:
- People without easy access to other forms of birth control;
- People who choose not to use other forms of birth control, usually because of religious beliefs;
- People whose only exposure to sex education has been abstinence-only sex education;[1]
- People who really believe that they can stave off a raging libido through sheer will power alone;
- People who want to have kids.
Adherents to the rhythm method will often show its effectiveness by having eight or more kids. Maybe their metronomes are broken.
In reality, over the course of an average year, about 25% of couples who use "fertility awareness methods" unintentionally become pregnant.[2]
[edit] See also
[edit] Footnotes
- ↑ Stobbe, Mike. "Teen sex: More use rhythm method for birth control", (Yeah, the writer doesn't come right out and blame abstinence-only programs. Few of those who reported this story did. But the dates cited correspond with the dates that abstinence-only overtook comprehensive sex education.
- ↑ KidsHealth.org website article on fertility awareness