I had all my children early in life. I had planned that I would raise them while I was young and have my midlife years to enjoy life. There’s my plan and then there is a greater plan.

No matter what your age, having a baby should be your choice. Since I had my babies early, I wasn’t thinking about having more. I wasn’t menopausal but I also heard that fertility decreased as you got older. Apparently in everybody but me.

How did I get pregnant? I wasn’t taking the pill or chemical methods. I would rather risk getting pregnant than screw up my health. I didn’t know about all the natural birth control options that were available.

Here is the break down of birth control methods:

Big Pharma
Chemical contraceptives, aka birth control pills or The Pill, have some nasty side effects. Many women would like to get off of it but also don’t want the risk of becoming pregnant.

It is estimated that 150 million women worldwide take birth control pills. That’s a large number of women. Most women are not aware of the birth control side effects or long term effects caused by using the pill.

While the pharmaceutical companies put out the warning and dangers data sheet with the prescriptions, most women don’t bother reading it because they feel that it must be safe if their doctors are prescribing it. That can’t be further from the truth.

Birth control pill side effects include:
• Heart attack
• Stroke
• Blindness
• Blood clots
• Bone density loss
• Breast cancer
• Cervical cancer
• Gallbladder disease
• Liver tumors
• Migraines
• Weight gain
• Circulatory problems
• Gastrointestinal upset

The synthetic chemicals, estrogen and progestin, are used in higher doses than what is found naturally in your body. While this prevents ovulation, it stimulates some of the side effects above.

Authority figures such as, Dr. Bob Marshall, believe that if a woman has ever taken the birth control pill, she will always have to supplement her diet with B6 because the pill depletes the reserves of this valuable nutrient.

Vitamin B6 is not the only nutrient that needs to be supplemented during and after birth control pill use; B2, B12, Folic Acid, Magnesium, Zinc, and Vitamin C, E and K all need to be added to your daily nutritional regimen.

The pharmaceutical company, Bayer paid out millions of dollars in settlements for the side effects concerning the Yaz birth control pill. That’s a drop in the bucket considering that in 2008 alone, Bayer earned almost $2 billion from the sale of YAZ.

Condoms
Everyone knows about condoms. They work at 98% effective but are a little annoying to use in the heat of the moment. Many women experience irritation from the spermicide or lubricants on certain condoms. If you have sensitivity to latex, you will have to choose your condoms wisely.

Also if you are a vegan or vegetarian, many latex condoms are processed with casein. There are a few vegetarian and vegan friendly varieties: Glyde, Durex, Condomi, Boots, Lifestyles, Pasante, Safex, Sir Richard’s, and NVS.

Incidentally, condoms were what I was using when I got pregnant and no, there was “no technician error”.

Lemon Juice or Apple Cider Vinegar Sponges
Citric acid has shown to have spermicidal properties. Soak a natural sponge in lemon juice or apple cider vinegar and insert it after sex. This method has been shown to be very effective for many women for decades.

This is a very natural method that also works well to kill bacteria if you struggle with bacteria type of infections after sex.

Queen Ann’s Lace Extract
This extract blocks progesterone synthesis and disrupts implantation. This literally makes the egg not able to implant because of the slipperiness of the uterus. If the egg has recently implanted, it will cause the uterus to release the egg.

Queen Ann’s Lace is used around the time of ovulation and can also be used like the morning after pill within 8 hours post sex and repeated for 3 days.

Fertility Awareness Method
There are apps out there that can help you track your ovulation and menstrual cycle. Pick one that fits your needs and download it. I have an app and I love it.

Getting to know your body; get to know the changes in your vaginal fluids during various times of the month.

In combination with a fertility app, use a saliva based fertility scope. I bought a well-known brand and this worked like a charm. You do have to use this small handheld scope consistently though.

There is a really good book that will teach you about your fertility named, “Taking Charge of Your Fertility” by Toni Weschler.

The Lady Comp
This is a little machine that is more expensive, but very worth it. It is simple to use and 99% accurate.

The Lady Comp recognizes when you are ovulating. It will forecast your most fertile days and track hormone imbalances. It comes equipped with an integrated pregnancy test and stores all your data.

Special Mention
I do want to mention Neem as a method for birth control. I would apply it internally before sex.

Here were the drawbacks:

• My husband complained of the peanut-like smell.
• I did get pregnant but it ended up being a ghost pregnancy. When I went to my doctor at 10 weeks, everything showed a baby was growing normally on the ultrasound but there was no baby there. I had to wait for my body to catch up and miscarry on its own.

I have since learned that women and men should both be taking neem orally as well to prevent that type of situation.

I haven’t found anything that the doctor can do that is without health risks so I continue to monitor my own fertility and use the lemon/citric acid method.