Efficacy of the new TwoDay Method of family planning
Received 25 November 2003; received in revised form 8 March 2004; accepted 8 March 2004.
Objective
To test the efficacy of the TwoDay Method, a new fertility awareness–based method of family planning that provides women with simple instructions to identify the days each cycle when they are most likely to become pregnant. Users avoid unprotected intercourse on days when cervical secretions are present on that day or on the day before, to prevent pregnancy.
Design
Prospective, nonrandomized, multicenter study.
Setting
Five culturally diverse sites in Guatemala, Peru, and the Philippines.
Patient(s)
Four hundred fifty women, aged 18–39 years, wishing to use a fertility awareness–based method to prevent or delay pregnancy.
Intervention(s)
Study participants were followed for up to 13 cycles of method use.
Main outcome measure(s)
Life table pregnancy rate.
Result(s)
The first-year pregnancy rate was 3.5 (pregnancies per 100 women/years) with correct use of the method (pregnancies and cycles with no intercourse on identified fertile days), 6.3 with use of a backup method on the fertile days, and 13.7 including all cycles and all pregnancies in the analysis.
Conclusion(s)
The TwoDay Method offers a valuable addition to the services that reproductive health and other programs can offer. Its efficacy compares well with that of other coitus-dependent family-planning methods; it is easy to teach, learn, and use; and it can address the need of women for simple, accurate instructions for identifying their fertile days.
Institute for Reproductive Health, Georgetown University, Washington, DCUSA
Reprint requests: Marcos Arévalo, M.D., Institute for Reproductive Health, Georgetown University, 4301 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20008 (FAX: 202-537-7450
Support for conceptualizing the TwoDay Method, implementing the efficacy study, and preparing this article was provided by the Institute for Reproductive Health, Georgetown University, which is funded under a cooperative agreement HRN-A-00-97-00011-00 with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The views expressed by the authors do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of USAID or Georgetown University. The TwoDay Method is a trademark owned by the Institute for Reproductive Health, Georgetown University.
ABSTRACT