FABMs and relationships
10 ways fertility awareness improves your love life
When I first tell young couples that Fertility Awareness Based Methods improve sex and relationships, I sense a subtle skepticism in the room. “Wait, you’re saying that we have to abstain from sex 8 days a month? How is that going to make our relationship better?” But at the end of the talk, they say […]
How the Pill can cause divorce
I want to tell you the story of three couples. Each of them experienced a serious stress early in their marriage relationship because of contraceptives: Couple number 1: shortly after her first child, Mayra got on Depo-Provera, an injectable hormonal contraceptive. She began to have major mood changes. Any little annoyance would make her very […]
12 reasons men should choose natural birth control
Some children in the inner city context grow up never knowing anything else. So when they’re exposed to a country setting, the mountains, the beach, it may be exciting, but it can also be uncomfortable and even scary for them. They’d rather retreat back to the confined, polluted and unsafe environment they’re used to. But […]
The manly men behind fertility awareness
A few weeks ago I was inspired, truly inspired, by a young couple in my fertility awareness class. In fact, they taught me. She was 30, and he was a mere 26. Attractive, professional young couple, set to be married in 5 months, with a bright future ahead of them. It wasn’t always the case. She […]
Waiting for sex with a purpose: how fertility awareness methods can change your life
“My wife and I, we did a 90 sex fast. 90 days. No sex,” says Terry Crews in the video below. Until last week, I had never heard of Terry Crews. This short video showed up on my Facebook feed and I couldn’t help but take the 60 seconds to watch it, like 4 million […]
Of the fluidity of motherhood
Motherhood comes in all shapes and sizes. There’s the mom who sat through hours of blood tests, chart analyses, and waiting rooms. The one who saw countless negative pregnancy tests and was crestfallen every time. There’s the mom who only saw one positive pregnancy test, you know the one I’m talking about. The unexpected one. The test […]
Fertility Charting: What’s a Guy to Do?
The first time I saw his chart—yes, his—I giggled. My husband and I had a long-distance engagement; he lived in Washington, D.C., and I lived in Austin, Texas. We were learning how to chart my fertility via Skype with an instructor in Ohio. I had the official chart, stickers and all, and he had a […]
Charting her way to self-love
Charting our fertility signs is about far more than avoiding or achieving pregnancy—it is about discovering who we are. My friend K. taught me that discovering who we are through charting has the power to teach us to love ourselves, even when it feels impossible. K. is beautiful and doesn’t know it. I met her […]
You say yes, I say no: motherhood in post-modern America
My wife is an amazing mother to our two (now grown) children. She is attentive, committed, caring and one key reason why they’re each doing so well today. We’ve been married 25 years and, by any consideration, are a happy couple. If I have any regret, it is the fact that we stopped at two […]
Fertility Diaries, Episode 3: Men on Charting
You know the saying – it takes two to tango. And while it doesn’t take two to chart your fertility, (all my single ladies, put your hands up) we certainly appreciate the men who support their partners in their FAM journey. So we have an entire episode as an ode to all the charting men. […]
