When my daughter admitted that her cycles are slightly irregular, her new
pediatrician offered to put her on the Pill. I remember one doctor after
another doing the same with me when I was her age. (Caveat: there are real conditions in which the Pill can be therapeutic and a valid remedy; but neither my daughter nor I had such a condition.) None of them ever told me about any
side effects. They just talked up the advantages.
None of them told me how it worked. They said it would make my cycles regular.
Well…yes, there would be “regular” bleeding, but it wouldn’t be a real cycle. The
Pill prevents one from ovulating at all, then produces an artificial monthly
bleed.
These doctors—excuse me, social engineers—seem to care more about preventing
pregnancy than the health of their patients. That’s evident since hormonal
contraceptives are pushed on adult women as well.
This is despite the fact that pharmaceutical contraceptives can cause a variety
of side effects, such as irritability, weight gain, nausea, depression,
migraines, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, even heart problems, blood
clots, cancer, and stroke.[1]
Janet Smith, in her popular talk “Contraception, Why Not?” points out that back
when scientists were developing the Pill, they were also experimenting with an
oral contraceptive for men. Never heard of it, right? In the early stages, one
man experienced shrinkage of the testicles, and all development for a male pill
ceased. In the experimental stages of creating the female pill, three women died. Development
of the Pill for women obviously went on. Death remains (fortunately, rarely) a risk of taking the Pill.
Another, not very well known, side effect is the risk of sterility. Chemical
contraception, in other words, may not only render you infertile when you don’t
want babies, but even when you do. It can also do this directly or indirectly. Girls
and women using any sort of hormonal contraception are more likely to have more
partners and less likely to use condoms … and therefore more likely to contract
a sexually-transmitted disease. (Plus, condoms don’t protect you from HPV, a
leading cause of cervical cancer.) One in four teenaged girls were found in
2008 to have an STD. Some STDs can render you permanently infertile; some
can cause cancer.
Some years ago, I pointed these risks out to the editors of Prevention, purportedly a magazine promoting health, especially women’s health
and including alternative methods. Nevertheless, they regularly included ads for
hormonal contraceptives and even an occasional article on the subject. I don’t recall seeing
anything about the risks. I know I never saw anything about a natural, safe
alternative—even though there is one and I gave them plenty of information and
sources about it. No response.
Hormonal contraceptives also seem to be having an environmental impact. Fish
have been affected—deformities and possibly sterility—by hormonal drugs that
have ended up in the waterways. There is concern that these synthetic
hormones—though the levels are very low—could also be affecting human health, as residues are
present even in treated tap water. One study linked the use of oral
contraceptives by women with an increase in prostate cancer in men, theoretically
through the water system.
The good news is that there is a natural alternative—Natural Family
Planning—with no dangers. Most people don’t know it exists, or believe a number
of myths about it.
Myth 1: Natural Family
Planning is the same thing as the Rhythm Method.
Fact: The only thing that Rhythm and NFP
have in common is that both are natural methods of regulating birth that have
been approved by the Catholic Church. But NFP is far more
effective. The Rhythm method was calendar-based, and so useful only to those
with regular cycles. NFP is based on the reliable signs in a woman’s own body
indicating fertility and ovulation.
Myth 2: Natural Family Planning doesn’t
work.
Fact: Used correctly, NFP is actually more effective than the Pill. NFP is based on new scientific
discoveries and backed up with much research and many success stories. It can
be used to achieve or avoid pregnancy.
A
1993 study found NFP to be 99.8% effective in preventing pregnancy;[2] only
sterilization or total abstinence have a higher rate of effectiveness.
Myth 3: Natural Family Planning is too
complicated and difficult to actually be used.
Fact: NFP has been successfully taught and
utilized by illiterate women in third-world countries as well as by busy
professionals in industrialized countries.
When my husband (then fiancé) and I were trained in using NFP, our instructor
told us that we were only among about 3% of her clients who were interested in NFP
for religious reasons. The vast majority of her clients came to her because
they had had health problems from using other methods and/or wished for a safe
and natural method.
Ever since I first heard about NFP, my reasons for preferring it have gone well beyond the religious. I wouldn't think of using anything else.
You hear a lot of talk about alternative health, natural foods, natural
options, taking care of the environment, and so forth. Why are both the
medical establishment and alternative health gurus mute on this one?
[1] "Oral Contraceptive Side Effects" and "Problems associated with Hormonal Birth Control"“ (both accessed July 14, 2013).
[2] "British Medical Journal on Natural Family Planning (accessed July 14, 2013).