TY - JOUR T1 - Response to Austad: Offering a Range of Methods, Including Fertility Awareness Methods, Facilitates Method Choice JF - Global Health: Science and Practice JO - GLOB HEALTH SCI PRACT SP - 346 LP - 349 DO - 10.9745/GHSP-D-16-00115 VL - 4 IS - 2 AU - Shawn Malarcher AU - Madeleine Short Fabic AU - Jeff Spieler AU - Ellen H Starbird AU - Clifton Kenon AU - Sandra Jordan Y1 - 2016/06/20 UR - http://www.ghspjournal.org/content/4/2/346.abstract N2 - When selecting a contraceptive method, women and men consider various attributes in addition to effectiveness, such as side effects, return to fertility, level of medical intervention, and interference with sexual activity. Offering a range of methods, including fertility awareness methods that meet the standard to be considered modern, helps to address these considerations, facilitating method choice.See related article by Austad.We appreciate the “Taking Exception” article by Austad and colleagues1 and their critical review of the important issue of contraceptive classification first introduced in our March 2016 Global Health: Science and Practice (GHSP) article, “Fertility Awareness Methods: Distinctive Modern Contraceptives.”2 We support the authors’ assertion that contraceptive effectiveness is a crucial concern for family planning program managers and potential contraceptive users. We also agree that, as with all other contraceptives, fertility awareness methods (FAMs) have limitations that make them less appropriate for some women. We firmly disagree, however, with the idea that the contraceptive needs of all women and their partners can be met by a limited set of contraceptives prioritized according to one attribute—effectiveness. Once again, we assert that family planning programming should be based first and foremost on voluntary and informed contraceptive choice. We further argue our position by discussing a few points raised by Austad et al.Austad et al. refer to the concepts put forth in our original GHSP commentary as reclassifying the Standard Days Method (SDM) and Lactational Amenorrhea Method (LAM) from traditional to modern contraceptives. In fact, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has never considered these methods traditional. They are scientifically based and tested approaches that draw on traditional practices. LAM and SDM have been classified as modern methods … ER -