Imagine this scenario; you have recently been introduced to the idea of using natural family planning to avoid pregnancy. You are taking a class with a qualified instructor, and you have begun to observe your fertility signs and chart your cycle. You feel like you are really getting in touch with your own internal rhythms, and you understand what your body is telling you about your hormones. You are even gaining confidence at your ability to determine if and when you are fertile! Since it’s been a while, you schedule your regular female exam with your doctor. When the date arrives, you pack your fertility charts, excited to share what you’ve been learning. However, when your doctor gets to the part of the exam when she asks about your birth control, the conversation goes something like this: “According to this you are due to renew your birth control prescription. Any problems or questions?” “Actually yes. I got sick of the side effects, so I stopped taking the pills several months ago. I use NFP now.” “Pardon me? What are you using?” “NFP. Natural family planning.” “Oh.” Pause. “So you don’t mind getting pregnant then?” “Well… I’d rather not at the moment actually. That’s why I’m using NFP to prevent pregnancy.” Another pause. “Well. Natural family planning is notoriously ineffective. If you continue using this method you will likely fall pregnant in the next year. Are you using condoms?” “No,” you say, growing uncomfortable. “I don’t need condoms. I use abstinence when I’m fertile. I took a class.” “Okay,” says your doctor, looking unimpressed. "But how would you feel about an unplanned pregnancy right now?" “Not great, but okay I guess…” “Then you should really think about going back on the pill. We can try a different prescription if the last one didn’t sit well with you.” You leave your appointment feeling deflated, disempowered, and even a bit embarrassed. You start to question what you’ve learned about NFP. If it’s supposedly so effective, why is my doctor certain that I’m going to get pregnant? Now, I’m sure there are plenty of medical providers who support the use fertility awareness-based methods of family planning. However, they're pretty hard to find. The above scenario seems to match the experience of the majority of NFP users. By why? Why do intelligent, caring, well-meaning doctors immediately poo-poo the idea of NFP as a viable form of family planning? I believe that there are three major reasons that this happens.
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Ah, periods; those lovely monthly visitors that all women have to deal with but few of us want to talk about. Many of us have negative feelings about our periods, whether we dread them, resent them, are mildly annoyed by them, or simply find them embarrassing. This is unfortunate, because a period is actually a truly incredible thing. Here are four facts about your period that might just help you feel a little more warm and fuzzy about that time of the month. 1. A period isn’t just a period Menses, which is a woman’s monthly bleeding, is actually only a small part of a woman’s menstrual cycle. The menstrual cycle encompasses everything that happens between the start of one period and the next. The 3-7 days of bleeding that happens in the beginning is clearly the most recognizable part of this cycle, but it is certainly not the only part nor the most important. Most women know that a period is when your uterus sheds the lining that it has been building up throughout the month. This lining is meant to sustain and nourish a baby; and if conception doesn’t occur and this lining isn’t needed, it simply sheds away and a new period begins. Between two periods, however, an incredible cycle takes place. Your brain and your reproductive organs communicate using chemical messengers called hormones, which have varying effects on your body. Your uterine lining grows and changes. A follicle in your ovary prepares and then releases an egg. Estrogen rises and falls. Progesterone appears. Your cervix alters shape and secretes a special fluid, which changes in consistency and chemical makeup as the weeks go on. Your body temperature fluctuates. All of these processes are connected to each other, depend on each other, and have a specific purpose in your body. And when it’s all over, your period comes and everything starts anew. This vibrant and delicate balance is what dictates your fertility, and the bleeding you see every month is only a very small part of the incredible work your body is doing. Pretty neat, huh? 2. Your period is good for you All of the hormonal changes associated with your cycle affect your reproductive system, but they have an influence on other bodily symptoms as well. Ovulation (the release of an egg) has been linked to bone health. Your hormone levels influence everything from mood, sleep, energy, metabolism, to creativity. Your period itself is part of your reproductive organs’ self-cleansing system, taking care of any built up tissue or bacteria that may have accumulated throughout the month. Allowing your body to cycle naturally, without being deterred or suppressed by the presence of hormone-mimicking chemicals or devises, is a wonderful to way to encourage optimal health. (originally written for the Guiding Star Project ) A few weeks ago, my husband recounted a conversation that he had had with some coworkers over his lunch break. The topic was birth control; permanent sterilization, in fact. My husband was surprised to hear that several of the guys (in their early 30’s) had already undergone the procedure, and one was seriously considering it. It seemed to be the thing to do. Our culture tends to view children (especially ‘unplanned’ children) as a burden. Pregnancy is seen as only something to be undertaken by the financially well-off, at specific, well-planned intervals, and always in moderation. A loving man might see it as his duty to undergo permanent sterilization in order to ‘protect’ his wife from the unbearable fate of future pregnancies. Women too, are turning to permanent sterilization as a solution to long-term family planning. In fact, women are to be more likely to choose sterilization than men. But why? Again, society’s view of children as a burden certainly comes into play, but it seems to be far more than that. Our culture has divorced our fertility from our biology and sexuality. Thanks to modern inventions such as hormonal birth control, artificial reproductive technologies, commercial surrogacy, and egg and sperm donation, fertility is seen as something that can be turned on and off at will, an accessory or tool to be bought, sold, or discarded. But at what cost? Female sterilization procedures (even those designed to leave the ovaries intact) involve long term risks such as tubal ligation syndrome, premature menopause and hormonal imbalances. Even vasectomies, the supposedly safe and easy way to end the potential for fatherhood, have been linked to side effects such as lifelong autoimmune disorders. This makes sense when we realize that fertility is not some isolated feature of our bodies. Thanks to our hormones, our reproductive system is deeply connected with the rest of our biology. If you tamper with one part, it is bound to affect the other. But more than simply physically, I believe our fertility is an important part of who we are emotionally, sexually, and spiritually as well. Just ask someone who has struggled with infertility. Many of the resources and articles shared on this website are focused on improving fertility. For those of you who are primarily interested in preventing pregnancy, not achieving it, it might be tempting just to scroll on. After all, if you are trying to avoid pregnancy, the idea of trying to increase your fertility might seem unnecessary and counterproductive. But actually, there are some very compelling reasons why everyone of reproductive age, whether you want children now (or ever!) or not, should be concerned about preserving and even improving their fertility. 1. Improving your fertility means improving your health. First let’s define ‘fertility’. Fertility can be described as simply as the quality of a person’s ability to produce offspring. I think it’s safe to assume that a healthy person of reproductive age is designed to be able to reproduce. If they cannot, that must mean that there is something amiss. Sometimes it is something they were born with that can’t be cured (such as malformed reproductive anatomy or other structural problem), but usually when our reproductive system isn’t working right, it’s a sign of some level of ill health. Basically, if you can’t make babies, you might be sick. What comes to your mind when you hear the words natural family planning? If you've never heard the phrase before, perhaps you picture condoms, or strange herbal concoctions brewed over some ancient wise woman's hearth. That's more natural than hormonal contraception, right? Or if you have heard of natural family planning (NFP), maybe the Rhythm Method comes to mind. But believe it or not, the Rhythm method of family planning has very little to do with modern, fertility awareness based methods of avoiding or achieving pregnancy. Curious yet? I think it's time to set the record straight. The Rhythm Method To start with, what is the Rhythm Method? For centuries, people have made observations about the fertility of women and speculated as to when they seem to be most likely to conceive. But until the 20th century, there was little if any formal research done into the matter. In the 1920's, two different doctors (Hermann Knaus of Austria and Kyusaku Ogino of Japan) independently discovered that a woman ovulates (releases an egg from her ovaries) about two weeks before her next period begins. This soon lead to the development of the Rhythm or Calendar Rhythm Method, which incorporated several important facts: A woman only ovulates once per cycle, and once she does, her period shows up in about two weeks like clockwork. Doctors also knew that a viable egg, only present around the time of ovulation, is vital to conception. If no egg is present, no pregnancy can occur, even if a woman has unprotected intercourse. The Rhythm Method assumes that women ovulate on day 14 of their cycle, two weeks before their periods. Therefore to avoid pregnancy, a couple would avoid having intercourse for a number of days around day 14. This is a calendar based approach to family planning, relying on counting days of a woman's cycle. Sounds pretty simple, right? The problem is, not all women have 28 day cycles, and they don't necessarily always ovulate on day 14. Not only can cycles vary greatly from woman to woman, but each particular woman can have great variety in the length of her cycles and the timing of ovulation. This would seem to make the Rhythm Method largely useless - if a woman was abstaining from intercourse on days 10-16 with the purpose of avoiding pregnancy, she'd be in for a surprise if one month she actually ovulated on day 17, thus allowing for the possibility of pregnancy. If you are a savvy internet user who is interested in fertility and natural family planning, chances are you have found yourself on forums or in social media groups discussing these topics. You come to a website to learn and to contribute to conversation, and then are immediately bombarded by an array of unintelligable abbreviations and acronyms. Never fear, I have assembled some of the most commonly found acronyms related to natural family planning, fertility, and pregnancy and translated them for you! NFP - Natural family planning. Using knowledge of a woman's fertility cycle to avoid or achieve pregnancy. FAM - Fertility Awareness Method. Basically the same as NFP, but allows for barrier methods or other forms of contraception during the fertile time to avoid pregnancy, unlike NFP which advocates for abstinence. HBC/BC - Hormonal birth control or birth control. Usually referring to any one of many methods of contraception using artificial hormones, whether delivered by pill, implant, shot, vaginal ring, intrauterine device, etc. BBT - Basal body temperature. The 'waking' temperature taken every day, first thing in the morning. One of the signs used to determine a woman's fertile time. CM/CF - Cervical mucus or cervical fluid. One of the signs used to determine a woman's fertile time. EW M/EWCM/EWCF - Egg-white mucus, egg-white cervical mucus or egg-white cervical fluid. The most fertile quality of cervical mucus, so named because of it's resemblance to raw egg whites. If you are sexually active and wish to avoid pregnancy, you will need to practice some form of family planning. In today’s modern society there is an enormous variety of options available; there’s hormonal birth control, non-hormonal barriers and devices, sterilization, natural methods, and many options within each of those categories. It can be overwhelming to know how to choose! Here are four questions that are useful for couples and women to consider while making their decision. 1. Is it safe? This is obviously a very important consideration when selecting a form of birth control. Any prescription medication is going to have certain risks and side effects, some more than others. Non-hormonal devices such as copper IUDs can have various effects on the body. And some women are also more at risk for certain complications from hormonal birth control than others (such as those who smoke or who have a history of breast cancer). Whatever form of contraception you are considering, make sure to carefully read all package inserts from the pharmaceutical company, relevant studies, and current research so you fully understand all risks and the possible short term and long term side effects of use. (This post may contain affiliate links) One of the most common reasons I hear women give for taking birth control pills is to 'regulate their periods' or 'balance their hormones'. Anyone who wishes for a more convenient period experience can take this magic pill. If you are someone who has struggled with irregular cycles, painful periods, or heavy bleeding, chances are your doctor has suggested that you try oral contraceptives. But does the Pill actually 'cure' these conditions? What's so special about a period, anyway? Fake Periods
Believe it or not, that regular monthly bleeding that occurs when someone is taking the Pill is not actually a period. I know that sounds strange, but listen: true menstruation is the shedding of the uterine lining (the endometrium) that occurs after the final, progesterone-influenced phase of a woman's cycle that follows ovulation. If conception does not occur, the endometrium is not needed to nourish a new life and so it is shed, beginning the next cycle. The 'period' associated with taking the Pill is not actually menstruation, but rather withdrawal bleeding, caused when the artificial hormones are suddenly taken away during the sugar pill or off week of your pill-taking.
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You may be familiar with raspberries as a favorite summertime treat. But you may not know that the red raspberry plant (rubus idaeus), particularly its leaves, has long been celebrated for its reported health benefits. Naturally full of nutrients such as vitamins A, B, C and E, this versatile plant is especially appreciated as an effective support for many aspects of women’s health. This plant is considered to be safe for women of childbearing age, including pregnant and breastfeeding women.
Here are just a few of the ways that red raspberry leaf has traditionally been used:
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