It is Complicated: A Phenomenology of Using Natural Methods of Family Planning

A Phenomenology of Using Natural Methods of Family Planning

Abstract

National Demographic and Health Surveys have documented longitudinal data on the prevalence of family planning methods used by women of reproductive age in the Philippines. This article aims to contribute to the literature by documenting and exploring the lived experiences of women who decided to accept and use natural family planning methods to space births or achieve pregnancy. It used descriptive phenomenology, moving between an eidetic description of their (N=15) lived experiences to understand them. Warm and cool analyses of data yielded four significant themes labeled as tacks – on the rebound, moving on, sticking on, and passing it on – which collectively describe their natural family planning experience and perspectives. Liminal gaps separated the tacks, with one tack influencing and setting up the other towards the desired direction, suggesting the complicated experience that the women went through across time. This study contributes to the current literature on the prevalence of family planning methods by providing an insider perspective on why and how the women accepted and used natural family planning methods.