Damba-Cunningham, E., William Nolan, & Borland, A. (2025). Knowledge of OBGYN Residents of Fertility Awareness Based Methods of Family Planning. Journal of Restorative Reproductive Medicine, 1, 1-6. https://doi.org/10.63264/vn859v14
Damba-Cunningham E, William Nolan, Borland A. Knowledge of OBGYN Residents of Fertility Awareness Based Methods of Family Planning. J Restorative Reprod Med. 2025;1:1-6. doi:10.63264/vn859v14
Damba-Cunningham, E., et al. "Knowledge of OBGYN Residents of Fertility Awareness Based Methods of Family Planning." Journal of Restorative Reproductive Medicine, vol. 1, 2025, pp. 1-6.
For EndNote, Zotero or Mendeley:
Open access
No open license is recorded for this paper. Reuse terms are set by the publisher.
Under 40% of surveyed OBGYN residents report formal FABM training
A 2023 survey of 125 U.S. OBGYN residents found that less than 40% of respondents reported formal training in fertility awareness-based methods (FABMs). Respondents felt most comfortable describing the calendar method, which the authors call one of the least effective FABMs.
Key Findings
The 16-question survey, open from October 2023 to December 2023, drew 125 responses from among 5,000 OBGYN residents in ACGME-accredited programs.
Fewer than 40% of respondents reported formal FABM training during residency.
43% of respondents said they could list types of FABMs (agree or strongly agree). 75% or more disagreed or strongly disagreed that they could describe FABMs other than calendar methods.
Just 27% of respondents agreed they were able to explain how the calendar method differs from the other FABMs.
More than half of respondents disagreed that they were prepared to present FABMs as an option to postpartum patients who decline contraception.
Interpretation
This survey asked 125 OBGYN residents about FABM training, knowledge and readiness to counsel patients. The authors note that few residents replied, which limits how broadly the results apply. The findings support larger studies of resident FABM training, including knowledge tests and surveys of program directors.
RRM Context
Restorative reproductive medicine relies on cycle charting. Methods such as the Creighton Model and the Marquette Method put charting into practice. This paper cites a national survey of practicing OBGYNs. In that survey, the share who advised against FABM use fell from 25% to 2% once they learned about the methods. The authors suggest that better physician education may reduce bias against FABM counseling.
Our editorial summary of this paper, not the article's abstract.
Abstract
Background
Fertility awareness-based methods (FABM) of family planning have increased in popularity in recent years. The effectiveness of various methods can vary substantially and can be user dependent. For various reasons, there is a bias in OBGYN physicians against the use of FABMs for family planning. However, once educated about the methods of FABMs, this bias improves. There is limited regarding the education dedicated to FABM use in residency. We hypothesized that the residency education obtained regarding FABMs would be insufficient in preparing resident OBGYNs in effectively counseling patients regarding FABMs.
Methods
a 16-question survey was created via SurveyMonkey and was sent to all ACGME accredited OBGYN residency programs for distribution to current residents. The survey was administered from October 2023 to December 2023.
Results
125 responses were collected. Less than 40% of residents received formal training in regards to FABMs. Respondents indicated they felt most comfortable describing the calendar method to patients (68% respondents agree or strongly agree when queried if they could describe the method). 79.5% of respondents could not describe mucus-only, hormone monitoring, or sympto-thermal methods of family planning. When questioned if they were prepared to counsel postpartum patients who refused contraception regarding FABM, 58% of respondents indicated they could not assist their patients.
Conclusions
Despite increased use in recent years and multiple options for FABM use, resident education in the application and use of FABMs is lacking. Additionally, residents indicated they are most familiar with the least effective methods (calendar method) which would likely be a significant detriment to their patients.
05wf30g94 