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NFP : How to Learn Last Updated: Sep 10th, 2007 - 18:59:21


How to Judge Changes in Cervix
Answered by: Andrea and Ron Gronsky
Feb 13, 2006, 12:55

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Question

My wife and I have just started using NFP 3 months ago. We have not had any formal training, but have read and frequently go back to "The Art of Natural Family Planning" to answer our questions. The one question I can not seem to get a handle on is in checking the cervix. My wife has me do it because she says she can never reach up far enough. She claims her fingers are too short. Anyway, I don't have a problem doing it, I just don't understand what I am feeling. I've read about hard like the tip of your nose and all that, but I am not 100% sure on how I know if it is open or closed. Short of asking my wife's Gynecologist if I could assist the next time my wife goes in for an exam (ha ha ha), is there any place I can get easier to understand information on what I am feeling up there?

Thanks for your time!

Jim

Answer

Dear Jim,

While the cervix sign can be an additionally helpful piece of information in the overall picture of your wife's fertility cycle, and may be especially helpful to women who are breastfeeding, just off the pill, or premenopausal, we advise couples who have difficulty with this observation to forego this sign. The temperature and mucus signs taken together can give you an excellent indication of the fertility phase with a 99% effectiveness rate. The interpretation of cervix changes is quite subjective and is really meant for a woman to determine herself. Attending a CCL class series may help you and your wife with further information and tips on observations and interpretation of all the signs. A complete teacher listing can be found at www.ccli.org

Ron and Andrea Gronsky


This question was answered by Ron and Andrea Gronsky, a certified teaching couple for the Couple to Couple League, and members of CANFP. They have been teaching the Sympto-Thermal Method of natural family planning in the San Francisco Bay Area for 16 years.


© Copyright 2005 by CANFP

The information on this page and web site is for informational purposes only, and is not a substitute for medical diagnosis and treatment by a physician.

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