Tracking your menstrual cycle to avoid pregnancy, often referred to as the rhythm method, involves identifying fertile and infertile days based on patterns in your menstrual cycle. For example, if a person has a typical 28-day cycle, ovulation usually occurs around day 14, making the days leading up to and following ovulation fertile.
Cycle tracking is a natural method of family planning, offering benefits such as increased awareness of one’s body and reproductive health. Historically, tracking cycles has been used for centuries, with early references found in ancient Chinese and Egyptian texts.