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A new diagnostic aid for natural family planning
M Barbato1, A Pandolfi, M Guida
1Centro Ambrosiano Metodi Naturali, Milano, Italy.
Introduction:
We have studied the use-effectiveness of salivary ferning as a diagnostic testing aid to natural family planning. We used PG/53, a pocket microscope.
Materials And Methods:
Use of natural family planning methods was studied in 32 women who used the new technology PG/53 to detect the fertile period. By this means the women observed their menstrual cycles and other markers of fertility, such as basal body temperature and appearance of cervical mucus.
Results:
Of the 32 women participating in this research, 28 women had a good salivary test with positive ferning by the microscope in the same period as other markers of fertility. In 4 cycles the ferning was uninterpretable as there was no correspondence with the cycle phase. Ferning began 1-2 days before cervical mucus appearance, and lasted a mean of 6.2 days. Ferning occurred, on average, 7.2 days before the first day of temperature shift.
Conclusions:
There is a direct correlation between salivary ferning and fertile period. Salivary ferning may be used as a new parameter to aid women to detect the fertile period in combination with other symptothermal methods of ovulation detection. We now need further research in order to improve the use-effectiveness of salivary ferning.