| Fertility Monitor | The "Pill" | Sympto-Thermal | |
| Method effectiveness | 99% (1)* | 99% | 99% (2)* |
| Works with any cycle | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Useful for planning conception | Yes | No | Yes |
| Multiple levels of control | Yes | No | Yes |
| Some abstinence | Yes | No | Yes |
| Temperature taking | Yes | No | Yes |
| Mucus self examination | Yes | No | Yes |
| Fertility awareness | Yes | No | Yes |
| Useful for diagnosis | Yes | No | Yes |
| Automatic record keeping | Yes | No | No |
| Completely private | Yes | Yes | No (3)* |
| Formal classes | No | No | Yes (4)* |
| Often works by causing abortion | No | Yes (5)* | No |
| Harm to developing baby | No | Yes (6)* | No |
| Health risks and drug side effects | No | Yes (7)* | No |
| Cost | $95.00 | $216 per year (8)* | $60 |
| 90 day no-risk refund period | Yes | No | No |
* Footnotes:
1. The Fertility Monitor incorporates the logic of the Sympto-Thermal Method into its programming and has been rigorously tested and compared for accuracy against Sympto-Thermal charts.
2. Josef Roetzer, "The Sympto-Thermal Method: Ten Years of Change," Linacre Quarterly, 45:4 (Novermber, 1978), 358-374; Maclyn E. Wade, Phyllis McCarthy, et. al., "A Randomized Prospective Study of the Use-Effectiveness of Two Methods of Natural Family Planning," American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 141:4 (October 15, 1981) 368-376; G. K. Doring and A. Socher, "Erfahrungen mit einer Sympto-Thermalen Methode zur Familienplanung," Gebertsh. u. Frauenhelik, 48(1988) 106-108.
3. Natural family planning groups have "teaching couples" oversee the charts of beginning couples.
4. Natural family planning groups typically have formal classroom teaching and assigned reading.
5. Physicians' Desk ReferenceR 1994. See clinical pharmacology section for each brand name.
6. Physicians' Desk ReferenceR 1994. After quitting the pill, women are advised not to become pregnant until their menstrual cycles return to normal. The Food and Drug Administration pregnancy category for the pill is "X" i.e. harmful to the fetus.
7. Patient package insert enclosed with the pill warns against risk of developing blood clots, heart attacks, strokes, gallbladder disease, liver tumors, and breast cancer. Side effects may include vaginal bleeding, fluid retention, inability to wear contact lenses, darkening of the skin, changes in appetite, headache, nervousness, depression, dizziness, loss of scalp hair, rash, vaginal infections, nausea, vomiting and high blood pressure.
Physicians' Desk ReferenceR 1994. Conditions believed to be pill related are: abdominal cramps, bloating, amenorrhea, cholestatic jaundice, breast tenderness, and weight gain.
8. Based on approximate cost of $18 per month for average brand name product.