Another Birth Control Lecture
September 21, 2006 by kate baggott
Filed under Breastfeeding
I know, it was embarrassing when your mother and father told you about the birds and the bees. It was more than uncomfortable when we had “health studies” days instead of gym class. And, it still makes me uncomfortable now. Still, it needs to be repeated. New mothers and women who are nursing still need to worry about birth control.
Birth spacing is a controversial issue. Some people want their kids to have siblings who are close in age so that they can play together as soon as possible. Others seek to protect their health by spacing pregnancies between 18 months and 5 years apart. Some of us are more fertile than others and some mothers (someone, somewhere) still have libidos.
And taking responsibility for birth control means managing risk. Yesterday, the American FDA issued a warning on the birth control patch. Two different studies found very different levels of risk comparing the patch to the pill. One study, as reported in the Globe and Mail, found that women who use the patch face twice the risk of blot clots as women on the pill.
- “We cannot conclude there is in fact a greater risk,” Dr. Daniel Shames, of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, told the newspaper. “We are however concerned enough about this information and we think it is important enough information that it should be given to consumers and to health-care providers so they can make better choices.”
As is the case for synthetic hormone forms of birth control, women who smoke should not use the patch.
Coming at this from a different angle as an adoptive mom, I have nothing but full support for everything shared. There are few things in life more heartbreaking than kids who are at risk because of a lack of parenting planning. It’s a double hurt for women who want nothing more than to be able to conceive and it’s impossible to reconcile the injustice. PLEASE follow the advice of this post.
Hugs,
Holly
Thanks for sharing such a personal perspectiv Holly.
I agree.I am the “fertile myrtle” some women hate.(But for those who have a hard time conceiving here is a slight haha on me. Pregnancy,for me, sucks! Because I have so much pregesterone(spelling?)which makes it so easy for me to get pregnant, but I also throw up 24/7 during pregnancy. Healthy babies, miserable mother.But I digress..) I only take the pill.I have even been afraid of other methods simply because all forms besides the pill I have heard from my ob/gyn can cause irregular cycles,and stronger hormone fluctuations.No woman needs that. i figure God made my body to be on a 28day cycle for a reason.I worry eventually these new methods of B.C. may discover that messing with the 28 day cycle can cause problems we did not know about.So i choose to stick with the proven method.