Natural Family Planning for Muggles, No Witchcraft or Wizardry Here!

Natural Family Planning for Muggles, No Witchcraft or Wizardry Here!.

Natural Family Planning for Muggles, No Witchcraft or Wizardry Here!

I got my bachelor’s in Political Science and half of those classes comprised of Health Policy and Politics. If there is one topic that is a major issue, it’s allowing women to control their family size and when to have a child through contraceptives.  This concept has come to be called reproductive rights.  When it comes to NFP, such as the Creighton Model, there is no mention of it interestingly enough.  In fact, the closest I got to learning about NFP at UNM was ‘methods’ that predated the 1950‘s (except for the rhythm method). A lot of mysticism was involved as well as religion. Women drank (I’m pretty sure very unpleasant) herbal concoctions, performed ritualistic dances, or wore a tail of a weasel around their neck during intercourse.  Controlling fertility was based entirely on ‘magic’ or religion, which for the most part (like 98% and that’s just my guess) didn’t work to help women prevent pregnancy or do any real family planning.

But welcome to the 21st century, where women no longer have to do anything remotely weird or perform dances to avoid pregnancy. Unless, you are just weird and dance horribly, which may dissuade a man to seek a relationship, and ultimately, intimacy with you. Totally joking about that last sentence!

Although NFP doesn’t get the attention it deserves, in the last 60 years it has been broken down to a science and can fully be explained through biology.  This explains why NFP is actually just as effective as most forms of contraceptives. Which brings me to my next point, I will using words such as mucus and discharge in context to the functions of the female body. If you are a male, and simply do not want to know the biology of infertility and fertility of women and how that manifests itself, I suggest you stop reading right now.

 So let’s begin.

The three types of NFP models are the Creighton Model, the Sympto-Thermal method, and the Billings method. There may be more, but these appear to be the most common and scientifically sound. And as a disclaimer I am only giving a brief overview of these methods.  If you are seeking to learn more in-depth knowledge please refer to the links below. Also, below you will find a list of places that give classes for these methods. Classes are taught by instructors that are certified and very knowledgeable on the matter.  I am here to just inform you of healthier, safer, natural, and guaranteed non-abortificant method to prevent pregnancy (and its free!)- well, that’s for you to decide really.

The Creighton and Billings method are the most similar. Both methods teaches women to recognize her body’s natural signal for fertility by examining cervical mucus. Throughout the month there are different types of discharge, particularly during the menstrual cycle.  The methods identify the different kinds of mucus which changes according to the different levels of hormones in the body at that time. This allows women to know what kind of mucus it is in order for her to know if she is infertile or fertile. All three methods require you to chart the kind of mucus on a calendar to see from a monthly perspective how your body is functioning. Ultimately, the mucus in the cervix allows sperm in (when fertile) and prevents sperm from entering the uterus (when infertile).

The Creighton Model stresses for the spouse (partner) be involved in tracking and understanding the cycle of the woman.  Perfect use of this method is 99.5% effective and 96.8% effective for typical use.

The Billings Method has a user-friendly guide for their website and can answer most, if not all, questions a person has for NFP.  The effectiveness of this model is based on how many people got pregnant, or failure rate. In the most recent study, when followed correctly (prefect use essentially) the rate was zero. When used incorrectly the use-related pregnancy rate was 0.5%.  This method is noted to be as effective as the pill, and more effective than IUDs and condoms.  In fact, the information provided online address questions such as irregularity of menstrual cycles, what can cause the fertility cycles to become irregular such as stress, medication, etc.  This method also boasts that it was successfully trialled by the World Health Organization (WHO) which is pretty big deal. Believe me, I know. Being a PolicSci major the WHO and I have become the best of friends for research papers and health statuses of countries.

The Sympto-Thermal method has two parts, the second part essentially following the other two methods.  The first part is recording a temperature with a high-quality thermometer at the same time every morning.  The Basal Body Temperature (BBT) is an indicator of where you are in your cycle. Like the other methods women track this in the course of the month to identify the different cycle phases of fertility. This method has an annual failure rate of 13-20%, however among perfect users the failure rate is 2-3%.

What’s significant about these methods is that because one is tracking the cycles due to fluctuations in hormones, a woman can identify any reproductive issues such as PMS or postpartum depression.  Of course, at this point seeing a physician is necessary. For issues such as cramping, a woman can predict at what time in the cycle she experiences cramps and take ibuprofen before it happens alleviating pain.

The first thing you are probably thinking, especially as a female, is that these methods are inconvenient. Is that the point of the pill or an IUD? Convenience? Initially, adjusting to any one of these methods will be inconvenient in nature but like all new routines they eventually become easier. And if any thing, observing mucus, charting, and even taking your temperature will take 15 minutes. Fifteen minutes of your day is not a lot of time. Admittedly, it is certainly more time than taking other forms of contraceptive.

Furthermore, any one using these methods would have to take a class. They are not all day, but only a few hours. However, the time taken up the class is equivalent as going to the doctors for contraceptives. Also, the class is a one time thing, not something that you will on occasion have to go to.

Another potential draw back is the days you are fertile, most methods will say to avoid sex.  It makes sense, but how can you account for an impassioned moment? Well, I am not going to say what is right or what is wrong as I know some religious denominations do not allow the use of condoms. It is between you, your partner, and your conscience.
Also, these methods really want the man and the woman to be involved. This is because these methods promote abstinence until marriage, however, they certainly do not discriminate against moral beliefs. When both are on the same page then planning or abstaining from sex is easier.  Additionally, there is only about 9 days that a woman is fertile, so there are about 21 days to happily engage in sex.

These methods can be used by any women and are just as effective as contraceptives when followed correctly, like any contraception. If you are considering NFP it is important to research which method will work best for you women.  These are scientifically supported, and even WHO supports one of these methods.  To reiterate, these methods do not have any side effects or risks attached and they allow women to truly connect with their bodies. Kind of life yoga. Why should you be risking your health?

If you have any questions or concerns, comment below or email SFL UNM at studentsforlife@yahoo.com
 

Information on all Models http://www.1flesh.org/forums/#/

Creighton Model
http://www.creightonmodel.com/effectiveness.htm
Billings Ovulation Method
http://www.thebillingsovulationmethod.org/how-does-the-billings-ovulation-method%E2%84%A2-work/changing-pattern-of-fertility.html
http://carrotsformichaelmas.com/2013/04/04/women-speak-on-nfp-one-girls-experience-with-the-sympto-thermal-method/
Sympto-Thermal Method
http://carrotsformichaelmas.com/2013/04/04/women-speak-on-nfp-one-girls-experience-with-the-sympto-thermal-method/
http://christiancontraception.com/symptothermal.php

Birth Control: Contraceptives and Natural Family Planning Part 1

If you are in college and are a female, it is very likely that you are on some form of contraceptive.  There are a few, like myself, who has never used birth control and/or practiced abstinence, but this post (and by extension the nature of all blogs by SFL UNM) does not discriminate.

For those taking contraceptives it is mainly for the reasoning of NOT getting pregnant. So why would I begin discussing Natural Family Planning (NFP)?  In truth, you are already “family planning” by using a contraceptive because, well, you aren’t looking to start a family. So it is important to discuss this topic while briefly discussing implications of these two models of family planning.

Part One of this discussion will evaluate the birth control method of contraceptives. Part Two will discuss Natural Family Planning such as the Creighton Model.

Let us begin.

What surprises me the most is that there is not more of an outcry for the dangers of birth control.  We all make fun of medicine/allergy commercials because more than half of the advertisement is dedicated to listing harmful and sometimes deadly side effects, but that joking has undertones of truth, yet it doesn’t seem to translate to birth control. There are also those people that refuse to take pain killers because they don’t like putting “unnecessary” medications in their body because of the chemicals, etc., but for at least the females in that category, take birth control. Organic food items are also beginning to be more popular  as we are beginning to wonder what the herbicides, pesticides, and antibiotics have on our bodies in a life-span of ingestion. Last but certainly not the least of my examples, I will play on a stereotype: how about those female college students who do yoga, ride their bikes all the time, eat healthy to promote an overall sense of well-being and cleanliness in their life but put artificial ingredients, chemicals or foreign objects in their bodies?

I think by now you get the point. And so now I will provide scientific evidence for my point.

Here are some facts.

In 2000 the National Toxicology Advisory Panel put estrogen on its list of carcinogens. By 2005 (and has been maintained even until 2013 by the American Cancer Society) oral contraception was classified by WHO as Group 1 carcinogens (Group 1 being the most dangerous from Groups I-IV).  And the UN’s International Agency on Research of Cancer reported that estrogen-progestin combination drugs (the Pill) was a Group I for breast, cervical and liver cancer.  Although the risk for uterine and ovarian cancers were lower on the pill, there is 6 times more breast cancer in women than uterine and ovarian cancer.  There are metabolites  (defined at the end of this post) of estrogen which directly damage DNA causing mutations and cancer.

In 2006, a meta-analysis (essentially a study) in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings showed a 44 % increased risk of breast cancer in women who took the pill before having a child.

In 2009, one study showed a 320% increased risk of triple negative breast cancer.
Since 1975, the risk of in-situ breast cancer for premenopausal women has increased 400%.
Furthermore, women who use oral contraceptives for five to nine years have twice the risk of cervical cancer and it’s more than three times that after 10 years.

You are probably thinking, well that’s ok, I’ll just switch to another kind of birth control. Well, these harmful and deadly effects are not just limited to oral contraceptives. The same ingredients found in oral contraceptives are found in IUDs, another popular form of contraceptive.

Extensive documentation of shortcoming and dangerous side effects of the IUD include device expulsion, pregnancy complications, ectopic pregnancies, pelvic inflammatory disease, uterine perforations, migration to the abdomen, embedment in the uterus, and potential for behavior as an abortifacient.

As of September 2013, the only two types of IUDs available in the US are Copper  T and Mirena. June of last year, ABC news affiliate NewsChannel5 obtained complaint records from the FDA reveals 7,072 complaints about Mirena have been filed since 2000. Many complaints involve serious complications like device dislocation.  Dislocation refers to several incidents, such as embedment in the uterus, moving from its initial placement, or migration outside of the uterus. Since 2008, 4,775 women reported device relocation and 1,332 women have reported uterine perforations.

Mirena’s marketing confirms medical studies that have documented the “IUD is not considered safe for women if they have not first given birth to at least one child, have a history of or had breast cancer, or have multiple sexual partners”

What is also concerning and often overlooked is how many contraceptives are abortifacients.  This may refer to several things, but generally contraceptives affect the uterine lining i.e. by thinning it which doesn’t allow the fertilized egg (AKA human zygote; human embryo; a whole, distinct human being with its own unique genetic code) and therefore killing the fetus.  Ultimately, these contraceptives perform abortions.

I do understand that contraceptives, generally the pill, have some positive side effects but it is hard to consider taking the pill to clear acne, etc when your exposing your body to carcinogens, aborting human beings, and the list may go on.  In Part Two, I will discuss NFP, how it may be just as effective as medical contraceptives, and can offer more natural benefits to problems women may experience that draws them to the pill in the first place.

References
Kahlenborn, C et al Oral contraceptive use as a rsik factor for premenopausal breast cancer: A meta-analysis 2006 Mayo Clinic Proc 2006 81(10): 1290-1302
Dolle,J et al  Risk factors for triple negative breast cancer in women under the age of 45              cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Preve 2009; 18(4) 1157-1165
Moreno V et al  Effect of oral contraceptives on risk of cervical
http://www.lifeissues.org/abortifacients/
http://www.newsnet5.com/news/local-news/investigations/thousands-of-women-complain-about-dangerous-complications-from-mirena-iud-birth-control
http://www.drugwatch.com/mirena/
http://www.mirena-us.com/safety-considerations/
http://www.webmd.com/sex/birth-control/intrauterine-device-iud-for-birth-control
http://www.news-medical.net/health/Metabolites-What-are-Metabolites.aspx

Here is a more formal but understandable definition of metabolites, copy and pasted from new-medical.net
Metabolites are the intermediates and products of metabolism. The term ”metabolite” is usually restricted to small molecules.
A primary metabolite is directly involved in normal growth, development, and reproduction. Alcohol is an example of a primary metabolite produced in large-scale by industrial microbiology.
A secondary metabolite is not directly involved in those processes, but usually has an important ecological function. Examples include antibiotics and pigments.
Some antibiotics use primary metabolites as precursors, such as actinomycin which is created from the primary metabolite, tryptophan.
Examples of primary metabolites produced by industrial microbiology:
The metabolome forms a large network of metabolic reactions, where outputs from one enzymatic chemical reaction are inputs to other chemical reactions.
Metabolites from chemical compounds, whether inherent or pharmaceutical, are formed as part of the natural biochemical process of degrading and eliminating the compounds.
The rate of degradation of a compound is an important determinant of the duration and intensity of its action.
Profiling metabolites of pharmaceutical compounds, drug metabolism, is an important part of drug discovery, leading to an understanding of any undesirable side effects.

Ring in the New Year!

Hello!

My name is Dominique, a 2013 UNM Alumni who has been part of  Students For Life at the University of New Mexico since its founding.  I am speaking on behalf of the SFL UNM, but it cannot be said that I directly reflect the views of all members or SFL America.

Although we, I,  take on a pro-life view, our goal is to promote a universal and intellectual discussion on women’s health and rights issues. In these posts I strive to uphold the following:

“In grace and love, we uphold Truth. Courageously abolishing abortion, passionately empowering women, fiercely protecting family.”

I look forward to your responses.

Follow us on Twitter @SFL_UNM and Facebook
And here is our website!

http://studentsforlifeunm.wix.com/preg-on-campus-