Liesbeth Lambeets (VUB Dilemma) debunks persistent myths about fertility and the female hormonal cycle

From 3 to 7 March, VUB will be dedicated to Gender Equality. The programme includes numerous presentations and activities aimed at raising awareness of gender equality under the motto: Breaking Barriers. Liesbeth Lambeets, psychosocial counsellor at VUB Dilemma, will host a workshop on the female hormonal cycle during the week. "You’d be surprised how many misconceptions still exist."

View the full Gender Equality Week programme here

You’ve been working as a midwife and psychosocial counsellor at VUB Dilemma for several years. What exactly does your role involve?

Liesbeth Lambeets: "Together with my colleagues, I support women—and sometimes their partners—who have questions about an unplanned pregnancy. I also provide psychosocial counselling for those considering an abortion. There are five abortion centres in Flanders, and we are one of them."

In early March, you’ll be giving a workshop on the female hormonal cycle during VUB’s Gender Equality Week. What motivates you?

"More and more women are questioning the use of hormonal contraception, and some even consider stopping it altogether—for a variety of reasons. For these women in particular, it’s crucial to understand how their cycle actually works.

You’d think this would be basic knowledge, yet in practice, that’s often not the case. That’s what we aim to address in this workshop: how the female cycle works, what the different phases are, how to recognise them, when a woman is fertile and when she isn’t, how to prevent pregnancy, or when there’s actually a higher chance of conception.

By sharing this knowledge, I want to help women understand their bodies better—so they can feel more confident and empowered."
 

"The morning-after pill is primarily meant to delay ovulation, not to undo fertilisation"

There are plenty of apps that track fertility and suggest when you’re ‘safe’ or most likely to conceive. But unfortunately, many of them are based on the assumption of a standard cycle—making them far less reliable than people realise."

Will your workshop also debunk other myths?

"The morning-after pill is often seen as the ultimate backup plan if contraception fails. While it can be an effective option, it doesn’t always work as expected. The primary function of the morning-after pill is to delay ovulation, preventing fertilisation from happening in the first place. However, if ovulation has already occurred, the pill won’t undo fertilisation.

People often assume that women who visit us with an unplanned pregnancy didn’t use contraception. But in reality, it’s usually more complex. Sometimes, the morning-after pill fails simply because of the timing of when it was taken in the cycle."

Living by your cycle—without hormonal contraception: why do some women choose this?

"Some books describe the female cycle in terms of the seasons: summer represents ovulation, when women tend to feel more attractive and energetic, followed by autumn, when energy levels drop. For many women, one of the biggest advantages of not taking hormonal contraception is that they feel more in sync with their body’s natural rhythm. Some even organise their social life and work schedule around their cycle."

What would make your workshop a success?

"If I can help remove the stigma around choosing for or against hormonal contraception. Every woman deserves to make the decision that feels right for her at that moment in her life. And if someone chooses natural contraception, such as the calendar method, I want to make sure they do so in a well-informed and thoughtful way."*
 

*This is a machine translation. We apologise for any inaccuracies.