For couples that believe the sanctity of life begins when sperm meets egg, therhythm method of birth control may be a bad idea, but a new national survey found that a growing number of teens say they use therhythm method for birth control, and more teens also think its effective and very useful. Though not the most reliable or effective birth control around, the rhythm method is one that has long been used by women all over the world.

The rhythm method is one of the first fertility awareness methods to be widely practiced. It is a natural form of birth control that relies on knowledge of a woman’s ovulation cycle in order to avoid pregnancy. It is a contraceptive method that requires abstaining from sexual intercourse on the days of the woman’s menstrual cycle.  It involves working out this period of fertility, which will differ slightly with each woman.