Fertility awareness-based methods (FABMs) are different approaches to tracking fertility and identifying which days someone is most likely to conceive if they are having sex without contraception. These include features such as tracking one’s menstrual cycle, basal body temperature, and cervical mucus, among others. Chelsea Polis, Principal Research Scientist at the Guttmacher Institute, sits down to talk with us about different FABMs, their effectiveness, advantages, and disadvantages, and why it is necessary for each method to be rooted in scientific evidence and reproductive justice. 

By tracking these markers, someone can choose to have sex for the purposes of pregnancy or abstain from sex/use additional contraception methods if they seek to avoid pregnancy. Based on their advantages and disadvantages, FABMs may work for some individuals and not others. Some people use FABMs for contraceptive purposes, yet not all of the methods have been tested for that purpose or approved by any regulatory body for that use. Some methods are engaging in inappropriate marketing as a contraceptive tool, when it is not backed up by science or regulatory approval. FABMs have also become a piece of the Make America Health Again (MAHA) movement, being touted as a substitute for the full spectrum of reproductive care.

To best integrate FABMs as a contraceptive option into the full menu, we need to support providers, fund research, and combat misinformation. 

For more information, check out Sex Ed with DB: https://podcasts.apple.com/zw/podcast/sex-ed-with-db-smart-science-backed-sex-education/id1819071622

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