J L Allen - Natural Birth Control: Intro to the Sympto-Thermal Method of Fertility Awareness

Copyright J L Allen

Published and distributed by J L Allen.

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner without written permission from the author and publisher. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the authors and the publishers rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

The information presented in this book should not be treated as a substitute for professional medical advice, always consult a medical practitioner. Any use of information in this book is at the readers discretion and risk. Neither the author nor the publisher can be held responsible for any loss, claim or damages arising out of the use, or misuse, of the suggestions made, the failure to take medical advice or for any material on third party websites.

Cover design and all artwork has been created by J L Allen. All photography is licensed royalty free. I would like to offer this publication to be licensed under Non-Commercial Creative Commons. Similarly, if you wish to share this publication you may, as long as no payment has been exchanged.

How To Use This Book

T his book is designed to introduce you to a natural birth control and an alternative option to synthetic hormones; The Sympto-Thermal Method of Fertility Awareness.

Its a topic that not many women know about, or are taught, but thanks to a collection of courageous women and educators, this knowledge is gaining momentum.

When I stumbled upon Fertility Awareness, I was intrigued but wanted to find more of an introduction and overview of what practising this form of birth control entailed.

Could this be a birth control option for me? Could I make this work? Would there be any technology available to help me? What about reviews and comparisons by real women?

This book is the resource that I wish I had had and felt called to share with other women. I hope that it helps you on your journey in deciding if natural birth control could be right for you.

My Journey

T here have been times in the past where i've rushed myself into making a decision about birth control, out of laziness, out of limited options and of course, out of fear of pregnancy.

The recent transition that has led me on this Fertility Awareness journey was when I had a contraceptive implant inserted into my arm. To be honest, I choose it because I was petrified of getting pregnant.

It was great, I loved it - the implant meant i didnt have to remember any pills and I was protected for up to 3 years! I thought it was the perfect fit as I travel often and wasnt planning on having children any time soon. Until I fell into depression. The sad bit was that now looking back, was that the depression was a slow decline that I almost didn't even realise it was happening.

I spoke to my partner about it one day - Ive never been this sad in my life - it must be the hormones to which he replied Ive noticed it as well but I didnt want to say anything. You're not my girlfriend right now.

I am incredibly grateful for my wonderful life, and privilege of being Australian and living in this time in history which allows so many opportunities. But when I was crying and couldnt get out of bed in Bali (such a paradise) with no negative external circumstances to explain it, I knew things were bad.

I know this is not an isolated occurrence with hormonal birth control. In fact, its probably more likely the norm than the exception.

I soon discovered I literally had no way of removing the contraceptive implant in Bali. No doctors or hospitals would remove it, not even an Australian gynecologist could do it as the tools just weren't available in a hindu country. I wasnt going back to Australia for another 2 months - I had to wait it out.

So began the journey of deciding which method of birth control to choose next. My #1 priority was personal wellbeing. I could no longer sacrifice well-being in favour of pregnancy prevention - that would be my deal breaker.

What Ive learned is that there are downfalls with any method of birth control. I decided to define what my deal breakers were first and let that guide my decision.

With the luxury of time on my side, each morning Id wake up and spend a few hours reading and on youtube learning as much as I could about my birth control options and womens experiences with them.

When I stumbled upon Fertility Awareness, I was intrigued but wanted to find more of an overview like; Could this be a birth control option for me? Could I make this work? Would there be any technology available to help me? What about reviews and comparisons by real women?

It was difficult to find the information, but I consumed as much as I could find.

Why Im Writing This Book

A fter i learned about Fertility Awareness (and how our female reproductive system actually works), every female friend and acquaintance I saw, I felt it was duty to introduce FAM to them and what I had been learning incase they weren't aware (not that I did, but the compulsion was there!) Like it was this massive secret that Id just uncovered and felt compelled to empower other women should they choose to implement this knowledge.

That's when the idea of writing this book came up. If women were searching for natural birth control, they should be able to access the information easily, quickly and wherever they are in the world.

As soon as I thought it might be a great idea to share the information about Fertility Awareness via an ebook (as there was none available at the time) so it could be easily accessible to all women the doubt come shooting up; "Who am I to write about this? How am I qualified to write about this?"