Natural methods of fertility regulation are acceptable in most cultures. Many couples worldwide do not wish to use contraceptives or do not have access to them but wish to limit their family size or lengthen the time between births. Barriers to expanding use of natural family planning (NFP) methods include a lack of providers who can teach NFP and a lack of time to teach and follow couples during the initial months of NFP use. If simple yet effective methods of NFP are available, then NFP could be introduced to a wider audience. Recently, calendar rules have been revised that use a set interval to identify fertile days. These new rules provide better coverage of fertile days and require less abstinence than the rules traditionally used with the calendar method. One of these new rules is being field tested in a pilot study in Brazil. Couples are asked to abstain from day 9-19 (inclusive) of the menstrual cycle, using a beaded necklace (the 'collar') as a mnemonic device. Focus groups with the teacher-monitors and in-depth interviews with female and male users were carried out to evaluate the acceptability of the 'collar' method. A preliminary analysis of these focus groups and interviews from the first site is presented.
simplified calendar method natural family planning Brazil, collar method necklace NFP pilot study, Faundes standard days method collar Brazil, fixed day abstinence calendar method day 9-19, simplified NFP method developing countries, beaded necklace mnemonic fertility awareness method, calendar rules revised fertile day identification, natural family planning acceptability focus groups, simplified fertility awareness barrier low resource settings, standard days method pilot study effectiveness
PMID 9288334 9288334 DOI 10.1023/a:1006547820310 10.1023/a:1006547820310 Faundes et al. 1997, Faundes 1997
Cite this article
Faundes, A., Lamprecht, V., Martins Duarte Osis, M. J., & Lopes, B. C. (1997). Simplifying NFP: preliminary report of a pilot study of the 'collar' method in Brazil. Advances in contraception : the official journal of the Society for the Advancement of Contraception, 13(2-3), 167-171. https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1006547820310
Faundes A, Lamprecht V, Martins Duarte Osis MJ, Lopes BC. Simplifying NFP: preliminary report of a pilot study of the 'collar' method in Brazil. Adv Contracept. 1997;13(2-3):167-171. doi:10.1023/a:1006547820310
Faundes, anibal, et al. "Simplifying NFP: preliminary report of a pilot study of the 'collar' method in Brazil." Advances in contraception : the official journal of the Society for the Advancement of Contraception, vol. 13, no. 2-3, 1997, pp. 167-171.
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