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We used it to conceive and it worked out great. I think it would work the same for not getting pregnant. The one thing I don't like about it is when we were learning about it at church, people made such a big deal about the man being involved with everything, getting in tune with the woman's cycles. Sorry, that's not our style. I keep track of everything and make sure I'm temping at the right time and keeping track of ovulation. He just needs to know when we can or can't have play time.

We're currently using it to conceive and HOPEFULLY it works out for us, haha. It definitely is helping me get more in tune with my body and helping me know when to expect my fertile window, etc.

I would say if you do it, you should definitely do both temps and checking CM. Especially in the beginning to figure out when you're going to ovulate. Maybe continue using the condom until you figure out your cycle. The great thing is once you ovulate, you'll know after three days (three days of consistent high temps) and then you'll know you're safe to get busy without risk of getting pregnant.

Once you've done it for a few months (if your cycle is pretty stable), you'll get a good feel for when you ovulate and then you can either just not have sex during your fertile window or use another method of protection.

I also had a really difficult time with hormonal birth control. I definitely recommend reading "Taking Charge of Your Fertility" - it is so awesome! It'll teach you how to chart to prevent and how to chart to try, as well as charting will coming off the pill, nursing, etc.

We've been birth-control-free with this method since July of 2009 and I would NEVER go back! It's so easy once you get the hang of it, and it's also just really good to have such a better understanding of your body. We're like @mediagirl, husband isn't super involved. I monitor things and let him know when we are/are not safe.

@hunni: Yep! One thing I really recommend, which the book I mentioned teaches, is not relying too much on knowing your fertile window based on dates or past cycles. For me, my cycle length (and hence, day of ovulation) really varies depending on stress and travel. So if I'm not charting, it would be really easy for us to get pregnant because it does change a little month-to-month. That may not be the case for you, it's just different people's bodies work differently.

My husband and I used it to prevent for the first year. I didn't follow it strictly (I wasn't religious about temping). We used condoms during my fertile period and never had any accidental pregnancies.

When we started trying we stopped using codoms and after a few months I started temping consistently. I really believe if we hadn't had any fertility issues it would have helped us conceive. It turns out my husband had varicoceles though. Once he is all healed up and we are able to TTC again I am going back to charting.

The reason I started using NFP in the first place is hormonal bc made me really sick. I was really happy to find a method that didn't require me to put anything in my body and not have to use condoms most of the month.

@hunni: I understand Here are a few links that may help explain without reading the entire book -

http://www.tcoyf.com/content/FertFAQ-ovulation.aspx
http://www.tcoyf.com/content/FertFAQ-FAM.aspx
http://www.tcoyf.com/content/FertMyths.aspx

@hunni: You'll need to get a basal thermometer, but you can get them at Walmart (or wherever). Just make sure it says basal. A regular thermometer won't be accurate enough. And then yes, just take your temp every morning (preferably at the same time every morning and before you get up). I'm not great at taking mine at the same time (on weekends, I tend to take it 2-3 hours later than during the week), but I still get a pretty good sense of what my temps are looking like and when I ovulate.