Fertility Awareness Method, or FAM, has been used for over 30 years as a natural method of birth control by thousands of couples around the world and is based on the charting and analysis of certain simple body signs that change with changes in a woman's menstrual cycle. On the other hand, it is also a method that can be used for those trying to conceive by looking at the same information.

Using this method pinpoints when a woman is most fertile, when ovulation has occurred, and when she might be pregnant. Specifically, waking temperature and cervical fluid change predictably and identifiably with changes in the hormonal cycle that accompanies ovulation and menstruation. You can take classes taught by a certified FAM practitioner and record your fertility signs on printed charts and make your own interpretations using the rules of the method. Another choice is a well-respected book by Toni Weschler that will teach the method, and in this age of computer information, a website called, Ovusoft.com is a basic primer on the Fertility Awareness Method.

FAM is a collection of practices that help a woman know which days of the month she is most likely to get pregnant. She can learn when ovulation is coming by observing her own body and charting physical changes.

1. Calendar Charting is what a woman uses to calculate the average number of days in her cycle and estimate future fertile times.

2. Cervical Mucus Monitoring. Cervical mucus changes consistency during the menstrual cycle and plays a vital role in fertilization of the egg.

3. Basal body temperature (BBT). When a woman monitors her BBT she can see when ovulation happens after it has occurred.

4. Cervical Observation. The position of a woman's cervix changes over the course of her menstrual cycle. Usually, during and in the first few days after menstruation, the cervix is fairly low and firm.

Learning to use the FAM method takes time, effort and considerable commitment, but poses no health risks or side effects for the woman. It can also increase a woman's awareness and understanding of her own body.