Contraception: abstaining from intercourse when an egg may be in the oviduct

The idea

This method is a behavioural form of contraception: a couple avoids sexual intercourse during the fertile window when a mature egg may be present in the oviduct. It relies on understanding the menstrual cycle and predicting ovulation, because sperm can survive for a few days in the female reproductive tract while an egg remains viable for roughly a day after release. If intercourse is avoided around ovulation, sperm and egg are unlikely to meet, so fertilisation is prevented. Fertility awareness can use calendar calculations, body temperature changes or cervical mucus observations, but predictions are not exact, so the method has a relatively high failure rate. It offers no protection against sexually transmitted infections.

What earns the marks

• Abstaining means not having sexual intercourse during the fertile period.
• The fertile period is when a mature egg may be in the oviduct after ovulation.
• The method depends on predicting ovulation using cycle records, temperature or mucus changes.
• Avoiding intercourse at this time prevents sperm and egg from meeting, so fertilisation is unlikely.
• Sperm can survive several days and the egg about a day, so timing is critical.
• The method gives no protection against sexually transmitted infections and is less reliable than many other methods.

Common mistakes and how to put them right

• Confusing abstinence with sterilisation.

  Put it right by stating abstinence is avoiding intercourse at fertile times, while sterilisation is a surgical procedure.

• Thinking the egg is always present in the oviduct.

  Put it right by explaining the egg is released at ovulation and remains viable for only about a day.

• Treating fertility awareness as completely reliable.

  Put it right by noting ovulation prediction is uncertain, so the method has a relatively high failure rate.

Exam tips

• Refer to the oviduct and ovulation explicitly to show you understand where and when fertilisation could occur.
• Explain the role of sperm survival time as well as egg viability when justifying the fertile window.
• State clearly that this method does not protect against sexually transmitted infections.