Rhythm Method of birth control is basically a natural method of avoiding pregnancy, by following abstinence during the period of ovulation. The method was once one of the most prominent methods of natural family planning, as it was approved and recognized by Roman Catholic Church, which condemned the usage of artificial contraceptives. The rhythm method is also known as calendar method, as it involves determining the infertile days of a woman to have sexual intercourse.
The rhythm method of family planning was introduced in 1905, when Theodoor Hendrik Van de Velde, a Dutch gynecologist, explained that women only ovulate once per menstrual cycle. Following this, in 1920s, Kyusaku Ogino, a Japanese gynecologist, and Hermann Knaus, from Austria, independently discovered that ovulation occurs about fourteen days before the next menstrual period. Taking this theory as basis, Ogino devised a formula, with the help of which infertile women could time sexual intercourse with their partners and achieve pregnancy.
The method employs observing the menstrual cycle of a woman for a few consecutive months, to calculate the safe period. With the help of this, you need to note down the shortest and the longest cycles that the woman might have experienced. After this, to calculate the first fertile day, you have to subtract 18 days from shortest cycle. Similarly, the last day can be calculated by subtracting 11 days from the longest cycle. This will give you the fertile time of a woman’s cycle. To avoid pregnancy, abstinence has to be observed during this period.
