Why Fam? How it works for guys

Why should men consider fertility awareness for family planning? 

If you and your partner could find a method of birth control that would be side-effect free for the both of you, that wouldn’t interfere with your sexual experience, functioning, or libido, and might actually make your relationship stronger and more intimate, would that appeal to you?

It’s more comfortable than condoms…

Perhaps the only side-effect free birth control you can think of is condoms, but those certainly do not fit the bill when it comes the whole “not interfering with your sexual experience.” 

It’s safer and healthier than hormonal birth control…

Many men don‘t know that hormonal contraceptives and the birth control pill tend to tank women’s libidos, as well as cause a host of other side effects affecting mental health (depression, anxiety, moodiness) and physical health (weight gain, headaches, blood clots, even clitoral shrinkage).

It’s as effective as the IUD…

As for the IUD, well, whether it’s hormonal or not, it also comes with many of the same side effects as other contraceptives and might even make sex uncomfortable for men (it is possible to feel or be poked by the strings of your partner’s IUD during sex). 

And it’s actually good for your relationship

Drug-free, effective, and science-based methods of family planning called Fertility Awareness Methods (FAMs) or modern methods of Natural Family Planning (NFP), are safe forms of family planning that are more effective than the Pill. In fact, many consider FAMs to be “natural birth control.” FAMs don’t tank anyone’s libido or leave them with debilitating mental or physical side effects, and some studies have shown that they may even have positive effects on intimate relationships.  

Interested? Learn more about FAMs.  

What role is there for men to play in fertility awareness? 

Did you know that your partner can’t get pregnant any day of her menstrual cycle? It’s true: There is only a brief window of fertility in every cycle where your partner could get pregnant if you have sex. But men? Well, men are fertile all the time. This has led many men and women to wonder, does a woman really need be on birth control all the time? 

FAMs are the most egalitarian form of family planning available. When using modern methods of fertility awareness or Natural Family Planning, both partners shoulder the responsibility of decision-making when it comes to having sex and seeking or avoiding pregnancy. It’s a decision you make together, based on real-time fertility information found in your partner’s FAM charts.  

When a couple uses FAM for their family planning, no one partner is solely responsible for making sure pregnancy does not happen, and no one partner is unequally subjected to the bevy of side effects that come with most forms of contraception. Further, no one is second-guessing or predicting fertility outcomes, as modern FAMs are evidence-based, and based on real-time biological information—not on predictions of future fertility (like the outdated Rhythm Method). Plus, many FAMs are more effective than the Pill when learned from an instructor. 

Learn more about FAMs and how they work for men in the articles below.