“Many women would choose a natural option of birth control if they knew there was such a thing”

This week I was lucky enough to catch up with Aisha Mukooza, the co-founder of a 20,000-strong Facebook group called ‘Fertility Awareness Method of Birth Control‘. This Facebook group has played a key role in the education and support of a growing number of women and much of this is thanks to Aisha’s dedication in growing the group from scratch! Each week, this group hosts weekly learning activities and has a huge wealth of resources in their Files section. They also have a dedicated team of admins and moderators who are on-hand to guide new members through their learning journey.

I was curious to chat with Aisha to find out more about her background, her experience with Fertility Awareness, and what drove her to create such an incredible Facebook group.

Join the conversation!

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Aisha! Thanks for catching up. Can you tell us a little about yourself and where you are based?
My name is Aisha Mukooza. I live in Virginia and have since I moved to the USA 11 years ago from Uganda. I work as a lab assistant at a local hospital and I’m currently going back to school to become an ultrasound technologist.

What was your experience of sexual health education in High School?
I went to high school for a bit in Uganda but mostly in America. All I remember in High School (USA) was a woman counselor who was brought into the main hall of our school for juniors and seniors. She gave a serious lecture about STD’s, safe sex and relationships. One time. I don’t remember exactly what it was about but I do remember it being great. I already knew it all though thanks to a male family friend who had gone over STD’s and safe sex back in Uganda. In Uganda, there were many programs (including in schools) surrounding STD’s and safe sex due to the AIDS epidemic. The family friend I mentioned actually worked for such programs. It’s from him I learned what “STD” meant. What sex meant and what safe sex meant. One of the people in my life I am and will always be thankful to have met.

How did you first discover Fertility Awareness?
I was never for anything that interfered with ovulation for long term so I was lucky that Kenneth also envisioned condoms as his long term birth control. Everything was great until about six months of dating when he started to experience burning and such. We concluded he was allergic. I discovered withdrawal perfect use and we started using that solely; however, he wasn’t keen on withdrawing long term. This led to pressure to get on birth control. I looked into the IUD and that scared me more than hormones to be truthful. I was not going on hormonal birth control and that led to unhappiness and negative thoughts. At some point I did contemplate breaking up but I figured I’d run into the same problem in the next relationship. I googled ‘natural birth control’ thinking there was no such thing. How wrong I was! I stumbled onto the LadyComp. It was expensive though and I wanted to make sure it truly worked. I didn’t know much about studies and such then so reviews were my best bet. Most positive reviews also suggested reading Taking Charge Of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler – I figured whatever increases the effectiveness, why not?! I borrowed the book from my local library, read the book, and was blown away! Amazed! And never looked back. I realized I didn’t even need a LadyComp anymore but rather a thermometer and paper charts. 

[Editors note: The LadyComp is a device made by Valley Electronics – the same company that makes Daysy. Both devices predict when you are fertile using an algorithm that uses your basal body temperature. Apps and devices that rely on your temperature alone to tell you when you are fertile (such as Natural Cycles, Daysy and LadyComp) are not recommended and you can read why HERE]

What was the most surprising thing you learned about your body?
That you can accurately track ovulation.

What made you start the Facebook group Fertility Awareness Method of Birth Control?
To share the knowledge. The more platforms – the more the knowledge of Fertility Awareness is passed on.

How was the growth – did it grow fast right from the beginning or did it start off slowly?
It started out slow with lots of engagement from the members. It grew slowly in the early days but once it got big, it started to grow even faster. 

What’s the most memorable thing that’s ever happened for you in the group?
A study on the group taught me and my fellow admins about the seriousness of consent. A member approached us about observing how women who use Fertility Awareness interact on social media. I was so excited about it without realizing that not everyone would want to be observed. It also lead to a feeling of mistrust from our members. We never went through with the study but it taught me a great lesson I will use forever. Lots of stress though!

Why do you think social media is so important for Fertility Awareness Based Methods?
Like I said, the more platforms out there spreading the knowledge, the better. There are many women out there who would choose a natural option of birth control if they knew there was such a thing.

Any tips for people who are just starting out with a Fertility Awareness Based Method?
I highly recommend to learn the method thoroughly. If there’s something essential that you don’t understand, there are Fertility Awareness Instructors so take advantage of that great option. Always follow the rules if you’re using Fertility Awareness for birth control. Once you get it, you can become over-confident and disregard the rules. In my experience as someone who’s seriously used Fertility Awareness for birth control, I can firmly say that it’s better to delay unprotected sex than worry you might have mistaken things and weren’t safe.

Where do you see the future of Fertility Awareness Based Methods?
I’d like to believe that there are going to be more aids to help us accurately determine when the fertile window opens and to confirm ovulation happened.

Thanks for catching up Aisha!
If you’d like to join Aisha and a community of over 20,000 women who practise Fertility Awareness, you can find the Facebook group here