h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

While "Natural Family Planning" or the "Rhythm Method" (here called the cycle method) is not the best option for most couples, it is considerably more effective than presented in this entry. The comment about the unknown "health problems" present in one of the couple borders on the offensive, especially as this method is most often used for religious reasons by Catholic or Muslim couples.

Natural Family Planning (NFP) is generally most effective in adult women (adolescent women's menstrual cycles are not yet stable enough in many cases), and requires training and dedication by the couple, as it means remaining abstinent for almost half the month. However, clinical trials have shown it to be around 95% successful, which puts it on par with many of the other contraceptive techniques.

Is this something I, personally, would want to rely on? Probably not. But that's a matter of lifestyle, not the matter of effectiveness as it's been presented in this entry.

Edited guide entries that make statements regarding the effectiveness (or lack thereof) of medical interventions (such as contraceptive techniques) need to make sure they've actually looked into the pertinent medical research before making such claims.

The following website is rather biased, but does give some good, factual information about how NFP/rhythm method actually works, as well as bibliographies of many of the clinical trials examining the method.

-- Michelle

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You can also buy a special temperature- and pH-measuring device that builds up a much more accurate profile of the woman's cycle. It's called Persona and claims to have a 94% reliability, though both the UK and US governments have expressed doubts about the statistics used.