Cosmopolitan_Australia_October_2017

gyno info

HIGH-TECH BC^ PRE-PERIOD PLANNING^ PREGNANCY RISK

SHOULD YOU

TRUST A BIRTH

CONTROL APP?

REPORT

No hormones, no implants, and no baby.

The rhythm method just got a high-tech

makeover that sounds super appealing

YOUR GRANDMOTHER

probably called it the rhythm

method. But today there are a

variety of fertility awareness­

based methods (FAM) – and

thanks to technology, we’re once

again talking about natural birth

control. ‘I’ve seen an increased

interest among single women,

married women, women of all

faiths and backgrounds,’ says

Dr Marguerite Duane, adjunct

associate professor of family

medicine at Georgetown

University and co­founder of

FACTS, a non­profit dedicated

to sharing the science around

FAM. And it’s easy to see why,

since hormones and implants

can be a nuisance or come with

side effects. According to Dr

Duane, as long as you abstain

from sex or use condoms during

your baby­making window (it

varies woman to woman and by

method but typically lasts 8 to

12 days), ‘the rest of the time,

you can have sex all day, every

day, and not get pregnant.’

Come again?

It may sound too good to be true,

but FAM is increasingly backed

by legit research. While past

‘LOOKS LIKE

WE’VE GOT

THE GREEN

LIGHT!’