Okay, thought here would be a good place to share some of the things I have learnt about birth control.

BIRTH CONTROL PILLS

Most doctors will tell women that these are contraceptives and prevent ovulation. This is not always the case. It is believed that birth control pills work in three ways:

a: prevent ovulation
b: prevent conception
c: prevent implantation

The first two are contraceptive. The third is abortaficient.

Therefore, birth control pills need to be marketed as both contraceptives and abortaficients.

Generally they are not regarded as abortaficients because the medical profession regards implantation, not conception, as the beginning of pregnancy.

While it is true that there can be no pregnancy without implantation, this is not an acceptable method of birth control to those who believe that conception is the beginning of life, not implantation, therefore the possible abortaficient nature of hormonal birth control needs to be clearly stated for those who (for whatever reason) do not believe it is right to prevent implantation. Some couples have issues lawsuits for not being told. I don't know if they were successful. It can be traumatic for a couple to realise what they thought was contraceptive may also be abortaficient.

It's thought they prevent implantation by shedding the lining of the womb so that when the zygote tries to implant, it can't. If they do state the abortaficient nature of birth control pills, then they will invariably describe it as "fertilized egg" which is a misleading term as from the moment of conception it is no longer an egg but already dividing and will go through a couple of stages of development by the time it is ready to implant. Split into twins etc can happen before or after implantation, so that is no guide.

Progesterone only pills like the mini pill are thought to have the highest abortaficient rate. There is still some debate over whether the combined oral contraceptive pill works as an abortaficient.

I found all this out by researching birth control pills. No doctor ever told me.

CONDOMS

Very much tied up to the myth of "safe sex". There is no such thing, despite the marketing of leaflets (like I picked up at a chemist to see what they were telling people) that tell people how to have "safe sex".

Safe sex, in the sense they mean it, would only exist if condoms were 100% reliable, and condoms are not 100% reliable. In fact, they are about 85-90% reliable.

This sounds good BUT there is a catch.

The condom is 85% reliable on FIRST time having sex with a condom. Accumulative probability comes into play, which some people have a hard time understanding. To get the odds of a condom breaking, accumulative probability mathematics has to be calculated.

In simple terms, for every 100 condoms used, the probability is 10-15 will fail.

This is very serious for those who have multiple partners because for every ten partners they have, there is risk the condom will break at least once - exposing them to the risk of HIV. They never can know when or where it will break. Therefore every time they have sex out of a committed relationship (and even in one if both have not been tested for HIV) they are gambling their life.

Further, there is no absolute guarantee that intact condoms will protect against HIV. Research has suggested that if the condoms are not in optimum condition (been kept in wrong conditions etc) the HIV virus can pass through the condom.

Therefore, the manufacturers and the medical and educational professionals who teach about safe sex are misinforming the public.

HIV is thought to be far more widespread than is thought.

ABORTION

Abortion doctors often misinform women (and their partners) about what abortion involves. They will often describe the embryo/fetus as "product of conception" or "lump of cells", where as by the time most abortions happen 6-10 weeks, the embryo has developing limbs and recognisable human characteristics. Women and couples deserve to know the truth.

They often don't tell women there is a risk of infertility and they often don't mention the possible psychological risks. If women are traumatised by abortion, there is often no support network only "it was your decision, live with it." Some women have abortions in panic because there is lack of support or help to be got. Depression and suicidal thoughts can haunt a woman for years later.

I include abortion under birth control because in both USA and UK 95% of abortions are done as a method of birth control. In both countries, rape, danger to the mother and fetal deformity account for only 5% of abortions (1-2% each).

OTHER MYTHS:

1. Can't get HIV from oral sex. Untrue. While it's difficult to get HIV from oral sex, it's possible.

2. Can't get pregnant from anal sex. Untrue. Again, while unlikely, it is possible for sperm to make it's way into woman's reproduction system, especially if stimulation of the woman's genitals occurs with semen on the fingers.

3. Can't get pregnant from non-penetrative sex - again while unlikely, not impossible due to reasons above.

I'm not trying to preach here, incase someone takes this the wrong way, I'm just passing on what I have learnt.

My advice is do your own research, don't believe blindly what is said by vested interest groups because your life is at risk, and the lives of any partners. Some people want to bury their head in the sand and not listen (I have had a hard time for telling people these things) - that's their choice. But knowledge is power, and in this case, might just be a lifesaver. People can't make informed choices when misinformed.

Demi, to add to that!-- I just heard on a radio program a few weeks ago that what they also dont tell people is abortions have been linked to an increase in breast cancer!

I think it somehow involves the hormones in the body- , and an abortion increases too much of something that eventually triggers the cancer a few years to much later in life.

Interesting, Boldy.Thanks for that.

I remember, a while back, I read a list of all possible complications from abortion. It was quite shocking - but of course not something women are generally told. The risks increase the further along the woman is. It's unnatural to force open the cervix, and my friend's cervix was damaged as a result of abortion at 22 weeks. She was told the baby was seriously deformed and at 16 years of age she was frightened into aborting. The pain of that decision haunts her even now. It's heartbreaking. And, having read up on what she was told was wrong with him, she found out that he probably wouldn't have been anywhere near as bad as what she was told he was going to be. There have also been cases of healthy babies been aborted believing them to be sick.

Some babies have even been born alive and left on the side to die, although a law was recently passed in the USA to say that if this happens the baby must be given intensive care. That still isn't the case here in the UK. As 2000 babies are aboted over 16 weeks here every year, it's rather scary to think how many of them might be born alive.

I've heard from women that the pain can be very bad too. One woman was sent home and was told she'd pass the "product of conception" out naturally. She went to the bathoom, felt something come out, and screamed when she saw a little baby in the pan. It traumatised her and caused severe depression. Another woman I know has had depression for twenty years since her abortion.

Thankfully, the psychological traumas of abortion are becoming more widely known now, and there's a lot of concern here now that women are properly informed of all consequences.

for you ladies wild yam herb is used as an all natural birth control.and works on the female Glandular System. My wife uses this herb and she loves it.

"Wild Yam [Glandular] has been used for centuries by women seeking nutritional support and optimal balance for the glandular system. Wild yam contains diosgenin, a steroidal saponin that is used commercially to produce steroid hormones. Wild yam is used widely to address menopausal concerns".

How does it work as a birth control? If it works in the same way as progesterone pills, then it may be abortificient - i.e. i it doesn't suppress ovulation, aid the shredding of the lining of the womb so the zygote can't implant.

Wild yam is a diverse herb with many uses, how it is taken determines the effect on the body, it also makes a difference in what form the herb is taken, the tea has a different effect than the powder or tincture, just as taking it as a hot tea has a very different effect than taking a tincture in cold water, as you saw in the examples for possible uses above. Wild yam can be used to both promote and decrease fertility, the different effects are achieved by the amount taken and when and how long the herb is used each cycle. When wild yam is used in moderate doses, for the first half of the menstrual cycle, from menses to ovulation then discontinued for the remainder of the cycle, the effect is to increase fertility. When wild yam is used in contraceptive doses, and is taken daily throughout the cycle, the effect is to reduce fertility and when taken correctly, can act as a contraceptive.


http://www.sisterzeus.com/wildyam.htm

you will read it hear but i heard it from a natual Dr.. and it has to be taken every day and you cannot miss a dose or you have to start over it takes a month or so to take effect like most birth controls

^^^^^^^^^^^^ last posting was writen by me i see i wasnt logged in sorry about that.

Thanks for the link. I personally wouldn't use this any more than I would use birth control pills to prevent a pregnancy.

Anything where they are "not sure" how it works and needs to be discontinued if a pregnancy occurs wouldn't be for me.

I don't personally believe in messing with natural body functions unless it's absolutely essential for medical reasons. It alarms me how much women mess with their hormones to prevent pregnancy and how little concern their partners show.

I have to have progesterone pills three times a year to clear out the lining of my womb, and I hate that, but it's better than the alternative which is the pill every day.

I would personally use only barrier or NFP, but everyone has to make their own choices.

PS, sorry if I have offended anyone. I'm just a naturalist pro-lifer who believes life begins at conception - and an obsessive compulsive who always "errs on the side of caution" <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> . I appreciate, though, that other people see things differently to me and I respect other peoples choices.

I heartily agree.

CHILDREN aren't a bother - they're a blessing!

In Western countries, the birthrate per couple is now below two. This means we are not replacing ourselves. It also means we have an ageing population unable to be supported by the decreasing work force.

When the contraceptive pill first came out, society thought we had to protect our standard of living by restricting the number of children we had.

But the ideology backfired on us - and it is now actually threatening our future standard of living in Western society.

Whilst we think we are better off not even replacing ourselves (population-wise) - Muslims continue to reproduce and multiply.

Western societies have traditionally been the bastions of world peace, democracy and human rights.

Therefore if this trend continues, what will the world demographics look like - politically, economically, domestically, internationally, and religiously - in future generations?

If its so bad having a large family, how come every woman I've met so far seems to have an above-average level of happiness and fulfilment in life?

"For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts," saith the Lord.

"But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus".

hi demi: my daughter recently had a IUD installed and seems to be doing good ,It is the type that has no hormones and uses copper to kill sperm ,last year she had tried the birth control ring and with in a week she was crawling out of her skin due to the estrogen in it (anxiety), my concern now is the use of copper in the iud I hope that it does not cause some type of copper toxicity in the future for her

Mikey,
In the pst IUD's caused infections which often lead to pelvic inflamatory disease and sterility . Maybe the new devises are better.

Abortion done by a licensed MD will not cause infertility . HPV and clamydia cause infertility

You can't say in all cases that abortions done by licensed MDs will not cause infertility. When you are doing something so violent to a woman's body, there is always the chance of infertility and other issues regarding the reproductive system.

I believe IUD's can prevent implantation, so thus have moral concerns to those who believe life begins at conception.

But of course people have different views, so what isn't morally acceptable to one couple is to the next.