The Basics of the Cycle

Women's cycles are devided into four phases: menses, the follicular phase (before ovulation), ovulation, and the luteal phase (after ovulation). Many women vary in how many days there are before ovulation, but almost every woman remains constant for the amount of days that are in her luteal phase, which means if you know that you have ovulated you can usually have a pretty good idea of when your next period should start even if the days in your cycle are different each cycle.

For me I really like this, because otherwise I would have no idea when my period was coming. Some people use NFP to calculate the days a woman is fertile, and then abstain from sex on those days. Others will combine NFP with barrier methods (condom, diaphragm etc.). This way a woman can still track some of her fertility signs (basal body temperature, cervical fluid etc., but not have to abstain from sex. It is also a good money saver, as couples don't have to invest as much money in buying condoms etc.

It can seem a little overwhelming at first, but once you get the general gist it is not that hard at all. Here is a general overview of how it works for me:

Well, really the thing I mainly do is just take my temperature in the morning with a basal body thermometer right after I wake up. After you have ovulated, your body temperature rises until your next cycle or stays high if you are pregnant. After my temperature rises, I wait three days to be sure and then don't use any type of contraceptive after that.

I use http://www.fertilityfriend.com/ to input the data. Technically that web site is designed to help people who are trying to get pregnant (NFP works well for people who are experiencing problems with getting pregnant). However, that doesn't mean that I can't use its charting tools to help me keep better track of my data. It also offers a helpful and free online class you can take too. They e-mail you one lesson a day for 20 days.