In May of 2017, AFAP published a statement regarding another group’s petition to the CDC pertaining to the CDC’s published effectiveness statistics for Fertility Awareness Based Methods (FABMs) for pregnancy prevention. The CDC is based in the US, but is a global leader in public health, and its website and published information are considered authoritative. We appreciated that the petition generated some conversation around effectiveness statistics for FABMs. However, we did not feel that the petition’s assertions were entirely accurate, or that a petition is the best way to address nuances around the presentation of scientific research.

Instead, AFAP endeavored to submit constructive, specific feedback directly to the CDC as to the presentation of information on their website regarding the effectiveness of FABMs for pregnancy prevention. In March of 2018 we sent this feedback in a letter to the CDC, and later that month we received a reply. The CDC response assured us that our letter and the specific suggestions it contained were appreciated, and that as data on the effectiveness of family planning methods become available from well-conducted studies, CDC will review that information and update their materials as appropriate. Two sources of information cited in our letter — a systematic review of the effectiveness of FABMs for pregnancy prevention as assessed in prospective studies, as well as the forthcoming updated contraceptive effectiveness chapter in the next edition of Contraceptive Technology — were specifically mentioned as resources that will be taken into consideration after their publication. (The letters were exchanged prior to the publication of the systematic review.) We look forward to seeing how these resources inform published information about the effectiveness of FABMs for pregnancy prevention, both at the CDC and elsewhere.

The Association of Fertility Awareness Professionals Board of Directors
Anna Churchill, FAE
Allison Macbeth, MSc, HRHP
Geraldine Matus, HRHPE, PhD
Ilene Richman, MSW, FAE