I LOVE my birth control – but I didn’t always. I was one of the MANY teenagers that thought THE pill was THE only birth control option I had. Filled with media ideas that condoms frequently break and pregnancies occur when least desired, I decided I NEEDED something that worked.
The Pill
I flipped through several pills. Some made my breasts hurt, some made me feel bloated or larger in size than I was. Some made me feel sick in the mornings, making me avoid breakfast like the plague.
Luckily for me (and my reproductive system!), I got to see my older sister make different choices. I wasn’t always ready for them when she was making them, but her need for information inspired the part of me that grew ready to look into these choices for myself. I saw her filter through hormonal rings and eventually a low-hormone IUD (intra uterine device).
The IUD
In month three or four of living with her newly-inserted IUD, I saw my strong, independent older sister rolled up in the fetal position on the couch because she was experiencing major cramping, unrelated to her period. She had not previously suffered from menstrual cramping.
“Taking Charge of Your Fertility” by Toni Weschler
Her next steps are what have changed my relationship to my birth control for good. She eventually got her IUD removed, and found a life-changing book called, “Taking Charge of Your Fertility” by Toni Weschler, MPH (Buy It Here!). In this book, Toni writes about the natural changes your body makes during your menstrual cycle; the preparation it goes through every month to make your body safe and capable of holding and carrying a baby. It was truly amazing to read just how much my body was doing – EVERY month!
Reading Your Body’s Signals
Then she talks about becoming a master reader of those signals. As your body goes through its cycles, it gives you signs. It gives you ways of recognizing where you are in your cycle, and whether or not you could get pregnant!
You see, before I read this book, I just figured I COULD get pregnant at any point. That my body was a ticking time bomb, and that one day it would explode with a baby! This could not be further from the truth, and anyone who has suffered with infertility or a short-term inability to conceive would know best how hard it can be to make a baby.
One Day a Month Women Ovulate
There’s one day a month when a woman ovulates. This is when the (usually only one) egg is released from the [usually only one] ovary, travels down the corresponding fallopian tube, where it will be fertilized, and eventually makes its way into the uterus, where the fertilized egg [again, usually only one] will implant. This is the only time when you can get pregnant.
Now, there is evidence that sperm can live in the vagina for up to 5 days, so there’s a time-frame around when you’re ovulating where sperm could still make it into the uterus and impregnate your egg. And the egg, can survive 24-48 hours, increasing that time-frame as well. That’s why it’s not as simple as abstaining from sex only on your ovulation day. You have to learn how to properly read your body’s signs so that you can correctly PREDICT your ovulation.
Whoa! Telling my body’s future?
Absolutely! So what are these signs?
Cervical Fluid
Your cervical fluid (or dryness/lack of) can tell you a lot about your current fertility. Have you ever wiped after using the bathroom and found a clear, globular (almost snotty) substance? Or found that your underwear was lined with white or clear liquid? That’s a sign that you’re about to ovulate or are extremely fertile (able to conceive).
Cervical Position
You can also check your cervical position. This can be done by inserting your clean fingers into your vagina and feeling where the hard, circular part at the top is. With practice, this can help you find out where you are in your cycle. If you’re still at a point (I totally was) where this is gross for you to think about, this step doesn’t have to be essential to natural contraception.
Basal Body Temperature
The last step in natural contraception is taking and charting your basal body temperature. This means taking your temperature before you physically get up in the morning, as quickly as you can after you’ve first woken up. This is SUCH an important part of natural contraception! As your hormones change around ovulation, you’ll find that your temperature changes. You’ll be somewhat consistent during the first phase of your menstrual cycle – your temperatures will be low. Then, upon ovulating, your temperatures will be consistently higher than they previously were.
The Justisse Method
Symptom-reading (called The Justisse Method or Fertility Awareness Method) is where I started my journey into natural birth control. Then, following my sister again, I researched and bought a small but INCREDIBLE device called The Lady-Comp.
The Lady-Comp
This machine is shaped like a discman (remember those?) and it has a built-in alarm to wake you up in the morning, so that you can take your temperature using the attached thermometer. It tracks your temperature, and gives you green lights if it’s safe for you to have sex without risk of pregnancy, or red lights if you’re ovulating and it’s unsafe. Studies testing this device showed that the rate of successful contraception out of 16,464 female cycles is 99.3%. Woo hoo!! That means it’s 99.3% effective at preventing pregnancy by READING your body and telling you, instead of CHANGING your body.
For me, the $485 price tag has been completely justified. It simplified my decision to use natural birth control. It took some of the guessing out. It meant that I could still learn to read my body, but have extra validation that I was right. This is just one option, though, and the one that I found. There are apps that chart your cycle, there are amazing books that teach you how to chart, and there are even trained counselors to teach you how to use natural birth control!
I wanted to let you know that the information is available to you. I wanted to spread this information as widely as I could so that YOU know your options! If I didn’t have my sister, I don’t know where I’d be along my birth control journey. But I wanted to be a sister to you, to help end the thinking that hormonal birth control is the only option for women.
What do you use as your birth control? Do you love it? I’d love to hear about your journey, too! Sharing is the best way to learn – and women are so deserving of this life-changing knowledge!
Further Information:
Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler, MPH
The Justisse Method Manual
The Red Tent Sisters (www.ecosex.ca)
Sources:
Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler, MPH
