Traditional Methods Fertility awareness. Also known as natural family planning or periodic abstinence, fertility awareness entails not having sexual intercourse on the days of a woman's menstrual cycle when she could become pregnant or using a barrier method of birth control on those days. Methods to approximate when a woman is fertile are usually based on the menstrual cycle, changes in cervical mucus, or changes in body temperature. In this method, also called coitus interruptus, the man withdraws his penis from the vagina before ejaculation. Fertilization is prevented because the sperm don't enter the vagina.
Effectiveness depends on the male's ability to withdraw before ejaculation.
Infectious diseases can be transmitted by direct contact with surface lesions and by pre-ejaculatory fluid. Surgical Sterilization Surgical sterilization is a contraceptive option intended for people who don't want children in the future. It is considered permanent because reversal requires major surgery that is often unsuccessful. Female sterilization blocks the fallopian tubes so the egg can't travel to the uterus. Sterilization is done by various surgical techniques, usually under general anesthesia.