NCT00843336

Brief Summary

The purpose of this research study is to compare the effectiveness of two natural family planning (NFP) methods that are provided over the internet by the Marquette University Institute for Natural Family Planning. One of the NFP methods is the use of a hand held electronic hormonal fertility monitor. The other method involves the self-observation of cervical mucus to track fertility. Both of the methods will involve placing information about fertility into an online charting system that automatically displays the days of fertility and infertility. The investigators are also interested in the influence of mutual motivation by the woman and her partner in using these methods to avoid pregnancy. The investigators hypothesize that there will be lower unintended pregnancy rates among those couples who use the electronic hormonal fertility monitor and among those couples who have a strong motivation to avoid pregnancy.

Trial Health

87
On Track

Trial Health Score

Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach

Enrollment
358

participants targeted

Target at P25-P50 for phase_3 pregnancy

Timeline
Completed

Started Feb 2009

Typical duration for phase_3 pregnancy

Geographic Reach
1 country

2 active sites

Status
completed

Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.

Trial Relationships

Click on a node to explore related trials.

Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

Study Start

First participant enrolled

February 1, 2009

Completed
11 days until next milestone

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

February 12, 2009

Completed
1 day until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

February 13, 2009

Completed
3.8 years until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

December 1, 2012

Completed
1 year until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

December 1, 2013

Completed
Last Updated

September 24, 2015

Status Verified

September 1, 2015

Enrollment Period

3.8 years

First QC Date

February 12, 2009

Last Update Submit

September 22, 2015

Conditions

Keywords

fertility monitoringcontraception

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

  • Unintended Pregnancies

    Survival analysis of based on unintended pregnancies and correct use menstrual cycles (for perfect use analysis) and typical use (based on total number of menstrual cycles) -- to be calculated at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months of use. A Kaplan-Meier survival curve over that time period will be displayed to show change.

    1, 3, 6, and 12 months

Secondary Outcomes (1)

  • user satisfaction, ease of use, mutual motivation

    1, 3, 6 and 12 months; mutual motivation monthly

Study Arms (2)

Electronic hormonal fertility monitoring

EXPERIMENTAL

Use of an electronic hormonal fertility monitor that measures urinary estrogen and LH and provides users with low, high, or peak fertility readings.

Behavioral: Electronic hormonal fertility monitoring

Cervical mucus monitoring

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Self-monitoring of externally observed cervical mucus to determine level of fertility.

Behavioral: Self-monitoring

Interventions

Use of an electronic hormonal fertility monitor that provides three levels of fertility; low, high, and peak. Monitor is based upon urinary levels of E3G (estrogen) and LH. Monitor readings are placed in an electronic charting system on the Internet.

Also known as: ClearBlue Easy Fertility Monitor (Unipath, LTD).
Electronic hormonal fertility monitoring
Self-monitoringBEHAVIORAL

Self-monitoring of externally observed cervical mucus to determine level of fertility.

Also known as: Ovulation method
Cervical mucus monitoring

Eligibility Criteria

Age18 Years - 42 Years
Sexall
Healthy VolunteersYes
Age GroupsAdult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

  • be between the age of 18 and 42
  • be in a sexually active committed relationship with a man
  • have a menstrual cycle range of 21-42 days

You may not qualify if:

  • have not used Depo (injectable) contraception for the past 6 months
  • have not used oral or patch hormonal contraception for the past 3 months
  • have not breast-fed baby for at least three months
  • have no known fertility problems
  • not be using medications that interfere with fertility
  • not smoke cigarettes; and
  • not be pregnant.
  • For Male Participants
  • be between the ages of 18 and 50
  • be in a sexually active committed relationship with his lone woman partner.
  • have no known fertility problems

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (2)

Marquette University College of Nursing

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 53201-1881, United States

Location

Marquette University

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 53201-1881, United States

Location

Related Publications (4)

  • Fehring RJ, Schneider M, Barron ML. Efficacy of the Marquette Method of natural family planning. MCN Am J Matern Child Nurs. 2008 Nov-Dec;33(6):348-54. doi: 10.1097/01.NMC.0000341254.80426.32.

    PMID: 18997569BACKGROUND
  • Fehring RJ, Schneider M, Raviele K, Barron ML. Efficacy of cervical mucus observations plus electronic hormonal fertility monitoring as a method of natural family planning. J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs. 2007 Mar-Apr;36(2):152-60. doi: 10.1111/j.1552-6909.2007.000129.x.

    PMID: 17371516BACKGROUND
  • Fehring RJ, Schneider M, Barron ML, Raviele K. Cohort comparison of two fertility awareness methods of family planning. J Reprod Med. 2009 Mar;54(3):165-70.

    PMID: 19370902BACKGROUND
  • Fehring RJ, Schneider M, Raviele K, Rodriguez D, Pruszynski J. Randomized comparison of two Internet-supported fertility-awareness-based methods of family planning. Contraception. 2013 Jul;88(1):24-30. doi: 10.1016/j.contraception.2012.10.010. Epub 2012 Nov 12.

Related Links

MeSH Terms

Interventions

Long-Term Synaptic DepressionBlood Glucose Self-MonitoringOvulation Detection

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Neuronal PlasticityNervous System Physiological PhenomenaMusculoskeletal and Neural Physiological PhenomenaBlood Chemical AnalysisClinical Chemistry TestsClinical Laboratory TechniquesDiagnostic Techniques and ProceduresDiagnosisDiagnostic Techniques, EndocrineMonitoring, PhysiologicSelf-TestingSelf CareTherapeuticsInvestigative TechniquesOvarian Function TestsDiagnostic Techniques, Obstetrical and GynecologicalReproductive Techniques

Study Officials

  • Richard J Fehring, PhD

    Marquette University College of Nursing

    PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
phase 3
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Masking
NONE
Purpose
PREVENTION
Intervention Model
PARALLEL
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
PI Title
Professor

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

February 12, 2009

First Posted

February 13, 2009

Study Start

February 1, 2009

Primary Completion

December 1, 2012

Study Completion

December 1, 2013

Last Updated

September 24, 2015

Record last verified: 2015-09

Locations