How Much Abstinence Can I Expect with the Marquette Method of NFP?
Many couples who switch to the Marquette Method of NFP find that it involves less required days of abstinence than other methods of NFP. Urinary testing allows Marquette to identify the LH surge, which (short of ultrasounds) is the most precise method available to identify the day of ovulation. In general, the more precise we can be about the day of ovulation, the less abstinence that is required.
Every woman’s body is unique, and even with the latest, high-tech urine tests we still cannot predict in advance and with perfect accuracy the exact day a woman will ovulate in a given cycle.
Biologically speaking, there are a maximum of 6 days per cycle during which sex could result in a pregnancy. Marquette (just like other forms of NFP) identifies a fertile window that is longer than this biological minimum. Even women with very regular cycles who are well established with the Marquette Method can expect to abstain 11 to 12 days per cycle.New users of the method are likely to need to abstain longer than that until they have a cycle history established.
The calculations about expected days of abstinence are different for postpartum, breastfeeding women whose cycles have not yet returned after the birth of their baby. Many breastfeeding women do find that Marquette identifies significantly more available days than methods which go by mucus observations only. For more information on what to expect in terms of abstinence for cycle zero, visit my breastfeeding page.
To sum up, some people find that Marquette results in less abstinence than another method they’ve tried, and some people find they observe more abstinence but feel more confident in their ability to track their fertility. If you want a personalized answer to the question about how many days of abstinence Marquette is likely to require, given your own personal charting and/or fertility history, do get in touch. I do free consults on the Marquette Method and will always give you an honest assessment of how the Marquette Method is likely to work out for you.
