How to Get Your Man Involved in Natural Family Planning?

In a relationship, it is very important for both the partners to take part in family planning. Gone are those days when only women were responsible for taking care of these things and would take all sorts of measures to prevent unwanted pregnancies. Unless a man used a condom, got his vasectomy done, or practiced withdrawal in time spontaneously, it was almost always the woman who would adopt all the birth control methods. She would swallow the pills, get fitted for the intrauterine diaphragm, or rush to her gynecologist for an IUD. Dealing with any physical and emotional after effects due to unwanted conception was, in any case, a woman's foremost concern.

But now, times have changed. Male partners are equally held answerable for any kind of untoward incident that follows unprotected sex. So, it is important to get them involved in family planning. Natural family planning is based on avoiding sexual intercourse during the fertile period of women. As a birth control method, it holds great potential for involving educated and socially aware men in the process. Following are some of the ways how you should get your partner involved in natural family planning procedure:

It's very natural for you as a woman to take your body temperature, keep the charts, and interpret your menstrual cycles. But does your man ever help you take the decisions, or he just simply wraps up his duty asking, “is it safe now?”

-If that is the case, then talk to him directly regarding natural family planning and the effectiveness of birth control. Communicate with him about fertile/infertile times, abstain from sex or use a contraception method at times, and take decisions regarding family planning together. This constant healthy communication and awareness will not only increase intimacy between you two, but will also strengthen your relationship.

Helping your partner to understand your fertility cycles and charts is again your responsibility. Once you do that properly, make sure you invite him on a regular basis to participate in the charting. You can also motivate him in a positive way to check your cervical position around the time of ovulation. This type of involvement on your partner's end in natural family planning will surely add a new meaning in your relationship.