Use-effectiveness among users of the symptothermal method of family planning

A 1987 retrospective study examined effectiveness and continuation rates for the symptothermal method (STM) of family planning among a group of 507 women in Mauritius who had completed a training period and were considered to be autonomous users. Women who had been using STM to space their births and those who had been using it to limit births were equally likely to have experienced an unplanned pregnancy after 24 months of use (12 per 100 women). An additional 40 women per 100 who were spacing births reported a planned pregnancy, compared with six per 100 who said they were using STM to limit births. Continuation rates after two years were 51 per 100 for spacers and 80 per 100 limiters. Women who had discontinued use to become pregnant were more likely to resume use than were those who had an accidental pregnancy or who discontinued use for other reasons.