Essential Knowledge

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, the method identifies days 8 though 19 as the fertile days. To prevent pregnancy, the couple avoids unprotected sex on the fertile days. SDM has a 95% efficacy rate when used correctly. 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.

 

 

Global Health Technical Brief: Standard Days Method: A Simple, Effective, Natural Method
2004 | U.S. Agency for International Development | 2 p
The Standard Days Method (SDM) is an effective new natural method of family planning developed through scientific analysis of the fertile time in the woman's menstrual cycle. With its simplicity, low supply cost, and attractiveness for couples not previously using contraception, more and more programs are including it among the options they offer.
[read more >]

SDM Overview (2 resources)

Standard Days Method® (SDM) is a simple fertility awareness-based method of family planning based on a woman's menstrual cycle. This section offers an overview of the SDM, some quick facts about the method, and a link to the efficacy article.

    Scientific Basis of the SDM (1 resources)

    Standard Days Method® (SDM) is based on reproductive physiology. Most ovulations occur around the mid-point of the menstrual cycle (+/- 3 days). Thus a woman's fertile "window" (days in the menstrual cycle when she can get pregnant) begins approximately five days prior to ovulation and lasts up to 24 hours after ovulation. This is because the sperm remain viable in the woman's reproductive tract for up to five days, and the ovum can be fertilized for up to 24 hours following ovulation.

      What is CycleBeads®? (2 resources)

      CycleBeads® is a color-coded string of beads and facilitates use of the Standard Days Method® (SDM) by helping women track their menstrual cycle and identify their fertile days. As described below, each bead represents a day of a woman's menstrual cycle.