I was astonished when I learned about these specific natural contraceptives at the age of 24! I wondered "why is this not taught to us in school, better yet by our mothers?" We learn everything from a woman's monthly menstrual cycle, contraception, birth control pills & patches, but the all natural approach was left out. I want my readers to know that there is a more natural approach to birth control. There's dangerous side effects with the use of pharmaceutical/synthetic birth control. In this blog, I want to teach you the ways you can read your body's natural signals indicating your ovulation time, your higher times during the month in which you're most likely to become pregnant, plus natural birth control contraceptives.
I know some of my readers may have already known about these contraceptive methods, but as I sat & talked to many woman about this subject they seemed to be just as amazed as I was when I first heard about them.
Feel free to read my personal birth control story or scroll down to see the untold birth control methods:
Before I get into the must-knows of our ovulation times-I want to explain a personal situation with you, that I feel many young woman can relate with. In high school I got into a serious relationship and like many high school love stories, sex was inevitable. Not saying with every high school relationship, but many. As a parent I'm sure you try in raising your teen to not act upon this matter so young, but "being in love" even at 17 empowers all. I was a teenage girl not even having my first kiss till my 16th birthday. Holding the religious standards I was taught of not dating till 16 was an honor. Raised with the morals of the church, but then being hit with one of life's greatest gifts- the feeling of mutual love & with that a powerful moment with him & the thought of giving myself away felt right. Being raised with these certain standards that my parents portrayed over me lead me to hold the truth from them. It's important to not only try to raise our children with great mannerism and morals, but also not be blind to the world and know what teenage love looks like. Even after 3 years of dating this guy, my parents hadn't known of our sexual activities. As a parent, I feel it's important to have an open/honest relationship with your teen about sex, while being understanding is key.
So like many of my fellow high school girlfriends, we would go behind our parent's backs out of fear. We would take monthly trips together to planned parenthood (where you can get free birth control without parent's consent.) I tried the condom thing for a while with my partner, but in reality many couples choose to go the birth control route & stop the use of condoms. I'm hoping that with sharing my experience, the parents reading this with teens should not be unaware to this serious matter and know that it is likely happening within their teen's "serious" relationship. I'd like to express that I wish I had the openness & understanding of my parents during that time. It's better to be open with your children so that they are educated and not subjected to high school pregnancy.
Dangers of Birth Control
After my fair share of using typical birth control. I started researching the side effects and the dangers of birth control. Birth control is a prescription drug and comes with many side effects. I was amazed at what westernized birth control can cause, such as weight gain, mood swings, thyroid dysfunction, decreased libido, missed periods, eyesight problems, headaches, the list goes on and on. Causing us to miss our periods, it's not normal to be missing our periods. They're in sync with our body & our body's natural way to regulate hormones. Birth control is proven to cause significant hormonal imbalances. Our hormones are everything to us; they are responsible for things like growth, mood, and fertility. They influence the function of the immune system, and even alter behavior.
Why would we want to be messing with our bodies' natural hormones? Our bodies, if taken care of works in perfect harmony. When I learned this, I no longer wanted to take the synthetic hormones that were altering with my being, but also didn't want to get pregnant...so I tried the pull out method ;) Not the smartest I know ha ha but luckily for me I didn't become pregnant. I'm getting ahead of myself here, we're almost to the methods of natural contraception, but first more on the dangers!!!! Cause it's so important to understand why you choose to use the natural ways that are given to us.
Cancer, stroke, infertility, thyroid issues... the dangers of birth control are endless. Studies have shown that it destroys beneficial bacteria in the intestines, making you more susceptible to yeast overgrowth, lower immunity and infection. Yeast overgrowth (candida) is particularly dangerous to your overall health. In some cases it has lead women to take antidepressants, because of their mood swings (another drug that affects libido). After years of taking birth control pills and creating an imbalanced inner ecosystem (with an overgrowth of bad bacteria and yeast), it is no wonder that women are at greater risk for infections as well as chronic diseases like cancer.
As women, we have the capability to feel a connection to Mother Earth because of our menstrual cycles. Dr. Michael Smolensky’s research on circadian rhythms (biological cycle lasting 24-hours) and the sleep/wake pattern found that:
"Our words, 'menstruation,' 'moon,' and 'month,' all come from the Greek word for 'measure of time.' A woman's menstrual cycle runs its course in about twenty-eight days, one lunar cycle. Periods usually start spontaneously in the week of the full moon in women not using birth control pills or hormone replacement therapy, particularly those with ample exposure to natural daylight and dark cues.
--Dr. Michael Smolensky, author of The Body Clock Guide to Better Health📷
Dr. Smolensky’s research showed that the more we use bright lights at night, the less regular our periods.
Our bodies were created to follow the natural flow of light and darkness. Some key advice for a regulated period is to dim your lights in your home after it gets dark out. This will also help heal adrenal fatigue and help you sleep.
Natural forms of birth control
Natural methods are based on being aware of the changes your body experiences during the menstrual cycle. As a woman our bodies actually tell us when we're fertile. In the last 50 years scientific research has helped doctors understand with great precision how to pinpoint the time of a woman’s ovulation even when she has irregular cycles. Just by bringing more awareness into our day to day lives is all it takes.
1.) Check your temperature every morning. It's as simple as that! Your body temperature naturally changes a tiny bit throughout your menstrual cycle. It’s lower in the first part of your cycle, and then rises when you ovulate. For most women 96-98 degrees F is their typical temperature before ovulation. After you ovulate, it goes up to 97-99 degrees F.
To use the temperature method, you must take your temperature the same way every single morning, before you do anything else. Write it on a fertility awareness chart. Your temperature can change when you’re upset or don’t get enough sleep. Smoking, drinking alcohol, jet lag, being sick or stressed can mess with your normal temperature.
2) Hormonal changes- Right around the time of ovulation, two key hormones are produced: luteinizing hormone and estrogen. These can be detected in your urine with a simple at home pee test.
3) Checking your vagina mucus. By observing our vagina secretions everyday will show us when we are most likely to get pregnant. Have you ever noticed that some days your secretions are either white/cloudy, clear & stringy or dry?
Your cervical mucus changes throughout the month, depending on where you are in your menstrual cycle:
During your period, the blood flow covers your mucus, so you won’t notice any. Days when you’re on your period are unsafe days.
After your period, you usually have a few days without mucus and discharge in your underwear. These are called “dry days,” and they may be safe days if your cycle is long.
Your body creates a natural mucus to clean the vagina. This mucus is usually yellow, white, or cloudy, and it feels sticky or tacky. These days are safe for sex.
Usually, you have the most mucus right before ovulation. It’s clear and it feels slippery kind of like raw egg whites and can be stretched between your fingers. These “slippery days” are your fertile (unsafe) days, when you’re the most likely to get pregnant.
After about 4 slippery days, you may suddenly have less mucus and it’ll get cloudy and sticky again, followed by a few more dry days, these are also safe days. Then, your period starts and the cycle repeats.
“Safe” and “unsafe” days vary from person to person and depend on the length of your menstrual cycle. In general, safe days start after the most slippery mucus goes away and your discharge is cloudy and sticky again and the dry days that follow are even safer. Combining the temperature and mucus method is more effective in preventing pregnancy.
Ayurveda herbs to help prevent pregnancy
Some of the preparations have been tested scientifically and some are yet to be tested. To confirm scientific validity of these herbal and herbo-mineral preparations, a number of pharmacological and clinical studies have been carried out by scientists of different faculties of life sciences.
Single herbal drugs mentioned in Ayurvedic texts are found to have anti-ovulatory and anti-implantation activities on pharmacological screening.
Vidanga (Emblica ribes) – Research studies show that it possesses 83% anti-fertility activity.
Talisa (Abies webbiana) – Research showed that it possesses 51% anti-implantation activity.
Chitraka (Plumbago zeylanica) – It showed anti–fertility, anti -implantation, anti-oestrogenic, anti-ovulatory, anti–gonadotrophic activities.
Nimba (Azadirachta indica) – Its bark extract possesses spermicidal activity.
Japakusuma (Hibiscus rosasinensis) – Research studies showed that benzene extract (total) has 100% anti- fertility effect. It also possesses anti-spermatogenic, anti-ovulatory, anti-implantation, abortifacient properties. It exhibited post coital anti-fertility effect in 80% treated rats.
Tulsi leaves – They significantly reduce sperm count and motility, increase testosterone levels and decrease LH and FSH. They possess spermatogenic effect. Studies showed that the contraceptive effect of Tulsi in male was comparable to female contraceptive pills, which were also reversible.
Local contraceptives for females
The seed of shireesha- is a potent spermicide. It immobilizes the human sperm in one minute. It possesses anti-ovulatory and anti-fertility effect. Females can use it as local application.
Neem oil- when applied locally, acts as vaginal contraceptive. It possesses spermicidal, anti-ovulatory and anti-implantation effects.
Dong quai can help with infertility, hot flashes and menstrual pain. It also promotes the proper balance of hormones and a regular menstrual cycle.
I'm no Dr. I'm someone who wants to encourage a more healthy lifestyle to all. Choosing whichever form of birth control is a personal choice, but what these synthetic hormones are doing to our bodies and how they're polluting our drinking water is a scary thing. I feel that women need to be more educated on the subject of all birth control methods synthetic, natural, medicinal... Knowledge is power and by educating our woman we can have less moodiness ;), less disease and hormone imbalances. We can feel good about being in tuned with our bodies and having more regular periods.