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Objective: To determine if an electronic hormonal fertility monitor aided method (EHFM) of family planning is more effective than a cervical mucus only method (CMM) in helping couples to avoid pregnancy., Study Design: Six hundred twenty-eight women were taught how to avoid pregnancy with either the EHFM (n=313) or the CMM (n = 315). Both methods involved standardized group teaching and individual follow-up. All pregnancies were reviewed and classified by health professionals. Correct use and total unintended pregnancy rates over 12 months of use were determined by survival analysis. Comparisons of unintended pregnancies between the 2 methods were made by use of the Fisher exact test., Results: There were a total of 28 unintended pregnancies with the EFHM and 41 with the CMM. The 12-month correct use pregnancy rate of the monitor-aided method was 2.0%, and the total pregnancy rate was 12.0%. In comparison, the 12-month correct use pregnancy rate of the CMM was 3.0%, and the total pregnancy rate was 23.0%. There was a significant difference in total pregnancies between the 2 groups (p<0.05)., Conclusion: EFHM is more effective than CMM. Further research is needed to verify the results.

Purpose: To determine the effectiveness of the Marquette Method (MM) of natural family planning (NFP) as a method of avoiding pregnancy., Study Design and Methods: This was a 12-month retrospective evaluation of the MM system of NFP. Two hundred and four women (mean age, 28.6 years) and their male partners (mean age, 30.3 years) who sought to learn a method for avoiding pregnancy with the MM from four clinical sites were taught to track their fertility by self-observation of cervical mucus, by use of an electronic monitor that measures urinary levels of estrone-3-glucuronide and luteinizing hormone, and by use of basal body temperature. All unintended pregnancies were evaluated by professional nurses as to whether they were intended or not. Pregnancy rates over 12 months of use were determined by survival analysis., Results: There were a total of 12 unintended pregnancies, only 1 with correct use. The 12-month "correct use" pregnancy rate was 0.6 (i.e., 99.4% effective) and the "typical use" (total pregnancy rate) was 10.6 (i.e., 89.4% effective) per 100 users., Clinical Implications: When used correctly, the MM system of NFP is an effective means of avoiding pregnancy. The efficacy of the MM system includes proper preparation of the professional nurse NFP teachers.

Objective: To determine the effectiveness of an electronic hormonal fertility monitor plus cervical mucus monitoring to avoid pregnancy., Design: A 12-month prospective clinical efficacy trial., Setting and Participants: One hundred ninety five (195) women (mean age 29.8 years) seeking to avoid pregnancy with a natural method at 5 clinical sites in 4 cities., Intervention: Each participant was taught to track fertility by self-observation of cervical mucus and an electronic monitor that measures urinary levels of estrone-3-glucuronide and luteinizing hormone., Main Outcome Measures: Correct- and typical-use unintended pregnancy rates., Results: There were a total of 26 unintended pregnancies, 3 with correct use. With 1,795 months of use, the correct-use pregnancy rate was 2.1% per 12 months of use (i.e., 97.9% effective in avoiding pregnancy when rules of the method were always followed) and the imperfect-use pregnancy rate was 14.2% per 12 months of use (i.e., 85.8% effective in avoiding pregnancy when rules of the method were not always followed and all unintended pregnancies and months of use were included in the calculations)., Conclusions: Correct use of an electronic hormonal fertility monitor with cervical mucus observations can be as effective as other fertility awareness-based methods of natural family planning. Comparative studies are needed to confirm this conclusion.

A protocol was developed and evaluated for nonovulating breastfeeding women to determine potential fertility with an electronic hormonal fertility monitor. The amount of required abstinence (i.e., days of potential fertility) through the first menstrual cycle indicated by the fertility monitor was significantly lower (17% of the total days) compared with the amount of abstinence (50% of the total days) indicated by the self-observation of cervical mucus.