COUPLE BEAD METHOD OF NATURAL FAMILY PLANNING
1. Why consider natural family planning?
Natural Family Planning (abbreviated NFP) is a method of achieving or avoiding
pregnancy by observing and charting the natural signs of a woman’s body which indicate
if she is fertile or not. NFP does not use any hormones, chemicals or devices that can
cause short or long term side effects.
2. How does NFP work?
A woman cannot become pregnant every day of her cycle. In fact, there is only a six-day
time frame each cycle in which a woman can potentially conceive. We call this six-day
time frame the “fertile window.” If a couple makes love during the fertile window, then
conception is possible. If they avoid making love during the fertile window, then
conception is not possible. For couples trying to become pregnant, knowing the fertile
window helps them recognize the best
time to make love to improve the
chances of conception.
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3. How does a woman recognize the fertile window?
There are three signs which allow a woman to recognize the fertile window:
1.) The general pattern of her cycles: Is she having regular cycles? Is she having
irregular cycles? Is she not having any cycles (for example when she is breast feeding
a young infant)?
2.) The presence or absence of cervical mucus: Cervical mucus is what gives life to the
sperm. In the presence of cervical mucus, sperm can live three to five days, long
enough to reach and fertilize the egg. In the absence of cervical mucus, the sperm die
within a few hours.
3.) The day
of the menstrual
cycle:
Days at the
beginning and end of the menstrual cycle are much less fertile than the days during
the mid-portion of the cycle.
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JAN 1st --------------------------------------- JAN 15th ---------------------------------------------JAN 29th
4. How does a woman recognize these three signs?
1.) General Cycle Pattern: Answering the following question helps you know whether or
not you have regular cycles: Do you anticipate having a period at more or less the
same time each month? If your answer is “yes,” then you are likely having regular
cycles. If your answer is “no” then you may be having irregular cycles.
2.) Cervical Mucus Observations: Each day a woman observes for the presence or
absence of cervical mucus at her vulva, the sensitive skin just outside her vagina.
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Whenever she uses the toilet and at least 3 times a day, she intentionally and
carefully checks for cervical mucus by what she “senses, sees and touches.” In so
doing, she notes if she has bleeding, if she has cervical mucus or if she is dry (she
does not feel or see any blood or mucus). Cervical mucus can be one of two kinds.
EGG WHITE cervical mucus will feel wet, runny, lubricative and when examined it will
appear clear or slightly cloudy. When it is held between the thumb and forefinger it
will feel slippery and will stretch. STICKY TACKY mucus will not feel wet and will look
opaque, whitish or yellowish. When it is tested, it will feel sticky and mound up and
not stretch. Studies show us that over the course of 3 months, 90% of women can
learn to correctly observe and identify these signs.
STICKY TACKY MUCUS
EGG WHITE MUCUS
3.) Day of the menstrual cycle: This sign is used by women with regular cycles. The first
day of a woman’s cycle is the first day of her period, defined as the first day of bright,
red, vaginal bleeding. This is “Day 1,” and each day of the cycle is counted
sequentially from there. Days 1 through 5 are low fertility, days 6 and 7 have an
increase in fertility, days 8 through 21 are days of highest fertility and days 22 to the
end of the cycle are days of low fertility. Using the day of the menstrual cycle days
applies only to women with regular cycles.
5. How does a couple track these signs with regular cycles?
In the Couple Bead Method, there is a bead string with 35 colored beads on it. Next to
each bead is a safety pin. The bead string begins on the end with the red bead
(indicating the start of a woman’s menstrual cycle). The beads represent the day of the
cycle, beginning with Day 1, the first brown bead. Brown beads represent days of low
fertility, yellow beads days of intermediate fertility and green beads days of highest
fertility. This upper row of fixed beads are the CYCLE DAY beads.
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In addition to tracking the cycle day, a woman observes for bleeding, dryness, egg white
or sticky tacky mucus.
1.) If she observes menstrual bleeding, she places a RED BEAD on the safety pin of that
cycle day.
2.) If she observes dryness (she does not feel or see mucus or blood), she places a
BROWN BEAD on the safety pin of that cycle day.
3.) If she observes EGG WHITE mucus, she places a GREEN BEAD on the safety pin of
that cycle day.
4.) If she observes STICKY TACKY mucus, she places a YELLOW BEAD on the safety pin of
that cycle day.
6. How does a couple use the beads to know which days are fertile?
1.) BROWN CYCLE DAY beads are infertile (Days 1 through 5 at the beginning of the
cycle; Days 22 to 35 at the end of the cycle)
2.) GREEN CYCLE DAY beads are fertile (Days 8 through 14)
3.) YELLOW CYCLE DAYS may be fertile or infertile depending on the OBSERVATION bead
a. DAYS 6 and 7 are infertile if dryness (BROWN BEAD) or bleeding (RED BEAD)
b. DAYS 6 and 7 are fertile if STICKY TACKY mucus (YELLOW BEAD) or EGG WHITE
mucus (GREEN BEAD)
c. DAYS 15 to 21 are fertile if EGG WHITE mucus (GREEN BEADS)
d. DAYS 15 TO 21 are infertile after EGG WHITE mucus is followed by 3 full days of
either STICKY TACKY mucus (YELLOW BEADS) or dryness (BROWN BEADS). We
call this change from EGG WHITE to STICKY TACKY or dryness “drying up.” To
mark these 3 drying up days we use small orange beads. After 3 full days
(midnight of the third day), a woman is considered infertile.
SEQUENCE OF DRYING UP WITH
3 ORANGE “DRYING UP” BEADS
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7. How does a woman with irregular cycles use the beads to know which days are fertile?
With irregular cycles, it is hard to use the cycle day as part of the method (a woman may
not have a period for two to several months) and thus she relies only on her cervical
mucus observations. With irregular cycles, we use a different bead string – with the
CYCLE DAY bead string consisting just of white beads with a safety pin attached. With
this string a woman observes and marks her observations as she would with regular
cycles (Bleeding = RED BEAD, Dryness = BROWN BEAD, Egg white mucus = GREEN BEAD,
Sticky tacky mucus = YELLOW BEAD).
8. How does a woman with irregular cycles use the beads to know which days are fertile?
In general days of consecutive dryness (BROWN BEADS) are infertile and days of
consecutive small amounts of sticky tacky mucus (YELLOW BEADS) are infertile. Fertility
is indicated by EGG WHITE mucus (GREEN BEADS), a change from dryness to sticky tacky
(BROWN BEADS changing to YELLOW BEADS). Once a woman has fertility, then
infertility returns after three full days of drying up, just like with regular cycles.
DAY AFTER DAY DRYNESS
(Example of infertile pattern)
EGG WHITE MUCUS
(Example of fertile pattern)
9. How does a couple use NFP to help their chances of conception?
1.) They use the method “in reverse.” In the situation where a woman has regular cycles,
a couple should have intercourse every 2 to 3 days beginning on day 6 or 7 if there is
cervical mucus or day 8 if there is no mucus on days 6 through 7. They should to try
through day 21.
2.) In women with irregular or infrequent cycles, a couple should look for days of EGG
WHITE mucus or a change from dryness to sticky tacky mucus. It is very important to
know that “irregular cycles can equal irregular ovulation.” Thus, a woman with
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irregular cycles may have a more difficult time becoming pregnant because she is not
ovulating each month. This may be an indication of an underlying hormonal or
general health problem.
EXAMPLE OF COUPLE BEADS WITH REGULAR CYCLE: ACHIEVING PREGNANCY
(GOLD BEADS ARE USED TO MARK DAYS OF INTERCOURSE)
10. What else should a woman and couple consider with NFP?
1.) Every woman of reproductive age should be taking a vitamin with folic acid every
day, regardless of whether or not you are planning on becoming pregnant. This is
called “preconception use of folic acid” and it helps prevent a certain type of birth
defect called a neural tube defect.
2.) If you are trying to become pregnant and do not achieve pregnancy in one year, you
should see a health professional. If you are over 35 years of age and have not had a
full term pregnancy before, then you should see a health professional if you do not
conceive after 6 months of trying.
3.) If you are breast feeding, there are special things you should know about NFP. This
includes learning about Lactational Amenorrhea (LAM) and how to use NFP while
you are breast feeding. This education should take place with an NFP teacher.
4.) You should practice good health habits! You should eat healthy foods and maintain
a healthy body weight (weighing too much or too little can impact your fertility). You
should avoid smoking and you should minimize alcohol use (more than 1 drink a day
increases your chances of many cancers, including breast cancer). You should
exercise at least 150 minutes a week and try to get between 7 and 9 hours of sleep a
day.
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11. How effective is NFP in preventing pregnancy?
When we talk about the effectiveness of any kind of family planning, there are two kinds
of effectiveness which are considered. The first kid is called “perfect use” effectiveness
and this is how effective a method is if it is used perfectly every time. The second kind of
effectiveness is called “typical use” and reflects the real-life effectiveness where a couple
may not observe or chart correctly and thereby unintentionally become pregnant.
The “perfect use” of NFP methods is in the range of 98%. The “typical use” effectiveness
is between 87 and 90%. Both of these effectiveness rates are comparable to the pill
which has a perfect use effectiveness in the 98% range but a typical use effectiveness in
the 93% range.
If a couple understands the method well and applies the rules, they should count on an
effectiveness rate in the 90% range, which is comparable to the pill and in general higher
than barrier methods such as condoms and using a diaphragm.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE COUPLE BEAD METHOD OF NATURAL FAMILY
PLANNING PLEASE CONTACT US THROUGH THE MLI WEB-SITE. WE HAVE AVAILABLE
FURTHER RESOURCES INCLUDING COUPLE AND TEACHER TRAINING MATERIALS AS WELL AS
BEAD SETS.
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