Natural Birth Control: Exploring the Options
Unprotected sex and pleasure come with the risk of unwanted pregnancies.
According to a report by NCBI, about 60 percent of all pregnancies are unintended in the US.
Natural birth control methods came to the forefront to serve the need to maximize pleasure without getting pregnant.
In contrast to the expensive or uneasy contraceptive methods, natural birth control is a cost-efficient method known to understand the dynamics of the reproductive system to avoid pregnancy or plan them well comfortably.
This article will explore all such possible natural birth control options along with their effectiveness and disadvantages, offering a mindful choice for pleasurable encounters.
Natural birth control methods
Natural birth control methods are used by those who do not wish to opt for hormonal or barrier birth control methods.
This method does not affect hormones and does not have physical side effects.
It involves techniques like considering fertility awareness, tracking the menstrual cycle, noting the basal body temperature, and avoiding sex or ejaculation.
Each of its techniques has a different efficiency, and these may not be at par with hormonal or barrier methods.
Fertility Awareness Method (FAM)
This method is also known as the natural family planning method, which involves a woman keeping track of her menstrual cycle.
It considers fertility signals like the length of the menstrual cycle and the consistency of cervical secretions or mucus and notes the basal body temperature.
All three aspects are important and should be noted to form a chart to understand the menstrual cycle.
These signs help track the fertile window where a woman has the highest chance of conceiving.
In the US, about 1 percent of women use this method for birth control.
Rhythm method
The rhythm method involves keeping track of ovulation.
Menstrual cycles of women can range from 21 to 35 days out of which 28 days is the average.
One cycle begins from the first day of getting the periods and lasts until the day before the next period.
Roughly, in the middle of the cycle, an egg is released from the ovary, and this phase is called ovulation.
The egg remains alive for about 24 hours and can get fertilized by a sperm during this time. So, a woman can conceive two days after ovulation.
However, sperm can stay alive for seven days inside the female body after intercourse. Hence, unprotected intercourse a week before ovulation also poses the risk of pregnancy.
Avoiding unprotected sex in this phase helps avoid pregnancy.
If one has a regular cycle and keeps track of the ovulation phase for 12 months, it gets easier to know about the fertile days.
Basal body temperature
Basal body temperature is not a stand-alone birth control measure, but it is effectively used along with other fertility awareness methods to avoid pregnancy.
Basal body temperature is the temperature of the body at complete rest.
The body temperature rises a bit due to ovulation, and the two to three days before the temperature rises are the most fertile days.
During this time, unprotected sex should be avoided to avoid pregnancy.
This method has no side effects and is an inexpensive way to avoid conceiving.
Cervical mucus method
It involves keeping track of the changes in cervical mucus and noting them to predict the ovulation days.
The mucus consistency is clear and slippery around the ovulation days.
It gets cloudy, thick, and sticky in the days after.
The days the discharge is clear and slippery are fertile days, which makes them unsafe for unprotected sex.
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The days later with cloudy and sticky discharge are safe days that have low pregnancy risk.|
During periods, the mucus is not visible due to blood flow, but these days are also unsafe.
Pull out method
The pull-out method is also called the withdrawal method.
In this, the penis is withdrawn or pulled out before ejaculating to prevent the sperm from entering the vagina.
Even if this method is used precisely, the risk of pregnancy remains because sometimes sperm is also present in the precum.
It has no side effects and is about 80 percent effective.
Lactational Amenorrhoea Method (LAM)
LAM is a method where mothers to newborn babies use breastfeeding to avoid pregnancies.
Lactational Amenorrhea is a phase where a mother is breastfeeding and does not get her period.
The breastfeeding hormones prevent the ovaries from releasing eggs avoiding pregnancy for a short period.
This method can be used by new mothers who:
- Have a baby under six months old
- Breastfeed every four hours a day and 6 hours at night
- Haven’t started their periods again
However, even during this period, a risk of pregnancy remains as ovulation occurs two weeks before the period.
Post ovulation, unprotected sex, even before starting the periods again, can result in pregnancy.
Abstinence and outercourse
Outercourse activities like kissing, oral sex, masturbating, dry humping, and anal sex are 100 percent effective in avoiding pregnancy.
Practicing abstinence (avoiding sex) is another assured natural birth control method if practiced correctly.
Herbs and fruits
For ages, several herbs and fruits have been used as a contraceptive.
One such widely used fruit is papaya.
A study found that the enzyme papain present in Papaya has anti-fertility properties because it suppresses progesterone (the hormone that is vital for maintaining a pregnancy).
Even papaya seed extract has anti-implantation and anti-fertility properties.
Neem is one of the herbs with reversible antifertility effects in men without impacting sperm cell production.
Turmeric is another option that exhibits antifertility properties by reducing or blocking sperm motility due to curcumin present in it.
Disadvantages of natural birth control
Natural birth control is a great way to avoid unintended pregnancies, but it has drawbacks like:
- Less effective than others when not followed accurately
- It does not protect against STIs
- Need for other contraceptive methods during fertile days
- Requires to keep a daily record
- Factors like illness, stress, and hormones affect most of these methods
- Not suitable for all
Conclusion
The natural birth control method is a cost-efficient way to avoid pregnancies without physical side effects.
Methods like the Fertility Awareness Method, pull-out method, abstinence, and outercourse are natural birth control options.
Consuming certain herbs and fruits like neem, turmeric, and papaya can also work as a natural contraceptive.
These methods have varying efficiency rates and vary according to precision, lifestyle, and stress.
They are not as effective as other birth control methods, but their biggest drawback is that they do not offer protection against STIs.
Still, it is better than not using any contraceptive method.
For better results, it can be used along with barrier methods like condoms on unsafe days to avoid pregnancy and for preventing STIs.
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