What is the Standard Days Method®?

The Standard Days Method (SDM) is a simple fertility awareness-based method of family planning based on a woman`s menstrual cycle.  Appropriate for women who usually have menstrual cycles between 26 and 32 days long (in other words, women who get their periods a month apart), SDM identifies days 8 through 19 as the fertile days. To prevent pregnancy, the couple avoids unprotected sex on the fertile days. A woman can use CycleBeads®, a color-coded string of beads, to help track the days of her menstrual cycle and see which days she is most likely to get pregnant.

SDM Facts

• 95% effective in preventing pregnancy with correct use; 88% with typical use.
• Natural and has no side effects.
• Easy to teach, use and learn.
• Can be offered equally well by medical providers and community-level providers.
• Teaches women about their fertility.
• Can enhance male involvement and couple communication.
• Requires a one-time, low cost purchase for CycleBeads users.
• Developed in 2001 and introduced in over 30 countries worldwide.
• Considered a modern method of family planning by international organizations, including the World Health Organization (WHO) and Ministries of Health worldwide.

More…
Unlike other methods based on fertility awareness like the rhythm method, SDM is a modern, scientific, evidence-based method. For more information on the scientific basis of the method,visit here.

The benefits of SDM integration into programs have been documented by many operations research studies conducted in India and all over the world. For more information on this research,see here.

For more information on “Why Offer SDM?” explore here.

For a detailed description of CycleBeads, please click here.

For more information on the SDM, including tools that programs can download and use, click here