Brith controll methods

mckayleesmom wrote: I just had my baby on April 22, 2003. I have already talked to my doctor about birth control and he has reccomended that I get an IUD instead of the mini pill. I was just wondering if anyone can give me some pros and cons about it. Thanks

maestra replied: I can! I have the Mirena IUD. I am horrible at taking pills and knew that if I had to, I would be pregnant again within six months! I didn't want to have the depo-provera, as I had had it before and didn't like some of the side effects.

With Mirena, you still have a menstral cycle and still get your period, but the hormone's in the IUD cause it to be so light you don't even notice it. I used to have af that lasted 5-6 days and was heavy for 4. I just recently had my first af, and it lasted two days and I hardly had any flow at all.

There is a small cord that hangs out of the cervix, which I thought would bother me and dh, but he has never noticed it, and I can check for it there (my dr advised me to check once a month, after af, to make sure I could still feel the cord). I didn't feel anything when it was put in, just a tiny bit of cramping, and then they did an ultrasound to make sure it was in the right place. And I love that it lasts for 5 years.

According to the company, your fertility resumes just as it was before once the iud is removed.

This is from Mirena's website- http://www.mirena.com
"What about side effects?" you ask.

Well, they're uncommon and may include a cyst on the ovaries, missed menstrual periods, irregular bleeding or spotting for the first 3-6 months, or lighter, shorter periods thereafter. Mirena does not protect against HIV (AIDS) and other sexually transmitted diseases.

Also from Mirena:
There is no single explanation of how
Mirena works. It may stop release of your
egg from your ovary, but this is not the way
it works in most cases. It may block sperm
from reaching or fertilizing your egg. It may
make the lining of your uterus thin. We do
not know which of these actions is most
important for preventing pregnancy and most
likely all of them work together.


Before I used the TCOYF information to prevent pregnancy. It worked for over a year, and was easy. Then one month I got careless and didn't write things down........hence my beautiful baby Jaci.

Hope this info was helpful to you!

+Zemirah+ replied: The IUD (intrauterine device) for preventing pregnancy is actually an abortion-causing agent (though it can work to debilitate sperm, it very often doesn't inhibit sperm effectively enough to prevent conception). IUD's truly do not prevent conception effectively when there is intercourse during a woman's fertile (ovulatory) phase; rather, they cause the uterus to be an unfriendly environment for the fertilized egg, thereby causing the fertilized egg to be expelled rather than it implanting into the uterine wall.

IUD's are known to cause an incredible amount of damage and scarring and difficulties for women -- frankly I can't believe doctors are still using and recommending them, and new products are on the market.... Ectopic pregnancies (pregnancy which implants either in the fallopian tube or other area outside the uterine cavity) occur more frequently in women who are using an IUD than in women who have never used an IUD. IUD's have been known to cause PID (pelvic inflammatory disease) and other infections, resulting in scarring, sterility, many other problems.... IUD's can and often do change your uterine bleeding patterns/cycles, can result in amenorrhea (no periods) in some women after a while (which condition, I assume, reverses when the IUD is removed) -- my point is, though, that any contraceptive which changes your own body's natural and HEALTHY balance and rhythms is not good for your body. The level of hormones released by IUDs is incredibly high -- and some of the newer IUD's can be left in place now for ten years before needing to be replaced.

While I am not a fan of EWTN personally, here is an excellent page they have compiled on the abortifacient effect of IUD's:

http://www.ewtn.com/library/MARRIAGE/CCLIUD.TXT

There is much, much more on the abortifacient action of IUDs -- just Google for IUDs abortifacient


More info on IUD:

http://www.fwhc.org/birth-control/iudinfo.htm


On the flip side:

http://www.rhtp.org/news_archive/news_iuds_fears.htm


HTH!

+Zemirah+ replied: BTW -- no offense meant to anyone who uses an IUD -- I am just about being informed and I try to share what I have learned. That's just me.








signed,
Zem the big mouth

maestra replied:
Thanks....because I did take offense.
Now I may really open up a can of worms, but I think it needs to be said, at least for my own conscious.

I went through and checked out your links. I didn't know what EWTN meant. I know know that it means Eternal Word Television Network, a Catholic Church broadcasting station. (Who are notorious about being against any form of birth control) But what was interesting to me was seeing this article on the same site-

http://www.ewtn.com/library/PROLIFE/OCSIUDS.TXT

which condemns every form of birth control as an abortificant. The only form acceptable is NFP. I thought that was important to know as you are reading the first article.

As with anything I seem to encounter, I try to read and listen to what everyone says and take all information with a grain of salt. What you do with it is up to you.

+Zemirah+ replied: Well, I certainly didn't mean any offense and if you took offense, I regret it. I am not a catholic, I don't personally think every form of artificial birth control is abortifacient (as a matter of fact, that assertion is ridiculous -- condoms certainly are not abortifacient, nor are sponges and spermicide, for example), and frankly if one will simply google for info on IUD or any other BC system, one can find loads of info, both pro and con, on any and all of them. That's all I did -- I googled it and just threw a few links out here that looked like they had some decent starting info -- sorry, didn't read all of the corresponding links and I am not exactly personally endorsing any site nor it's extra belief-systems -- just was linking to (and by the way, it is) relatively decent and accurate info on IUD. I didn't read the post before mine before I posted simply because it took me a few minutes to get it posted and apparently the second poster wrote while I was running down the links... so truly, no offense meant.

Hillbilly Housewife replied: It's all good! Just read what you choose to read. All info is welcome... it's your call what you do with it.

I think it's wonderful to have different views on birth control. Even abortion. I don't think (and please correct me if I'm wrong) that anyone here is PRO abortion, although maybe some are completely against it.

Personally, I went through a bad time in my life, and when I was 17, I had an abortion. Mainly because I was taking drugs, drinking, and so was my ex. We lived illegally in someone's basement, in one of the welfare communities. I wasn't taking any birth control, and fortunately I was found CLEAN of STD's after several tests. So there I was, barely 17 and pregnant, and it hit me that I wasn't the best person to bring a life into the world, especially not MY world. So I scheduled a time with an abortion clinic, and went in for the procedure.

Looking back, I would certainly have done anything to avoid going through that abortion, and I am, in a way, glad that that happenned to me, because if my life hadn't taken that turn at that point, I'd most likely still be in that less than desirable situation.

While I take in account the dangers of all birth control, the pill included, I also realize that maybe sometimes the risks of danger is less in some people's minds, considering themselves. I don't think it is selfish to want to avoid a pregnancy. For example, if I would not be in a good enough financial situation to have a second child, I probably would have opted for a IUD, or other form of more permanent birth control. Why? Because I already HAVE a child. If something were to ever (God forbid) happen to my son, no other child could ever take HIS place. They would have their own. If damage to my body prevents me from having another child, there is NOTHING stopping me from adopting one of the poor unfortunate children that are left without parents, only because the parents chose NOT to use birth control, and couldn't handle a child.

As far as I'm concerned... there is nothing wrong with birth control, as long as the user makes an informed choice, and is aware of all the dangers. I don't see myself using 10 millions forms of birth control...cuz let's face it... all that preparatory stuff just kills the mood....

So again... I thank everyone for their opinion, but let's please keep it at that...an opinion.

KatieLeigh79 replied: Im trying to debate as to what to do for birth control after this little one appears as well - I looked at the IDU but the dr. said with the scar tissue etc that i have from my accident (and partially what made getting pregnant so hard) that it may not be the best choice - until we decided to get pregnant i was on the pill and that "worked" for what i can tell - granted after getting off it took over 2 years so im not sure if it was the pill preventing it or just my messed up body not letting it happen. Is a pill or "mini" pill still sucessful as long as you take it every day after being pregnant? - DH is already stressing about the new little one and seems really unsure about everything and has already said he doesnt know if we (he means himself im already worried about missing the little kicks and movement!) will ever want another one he "wants to see how this one goes (?)" and i at least want to wait 2-3 years before trying again - I know he wouldn't want to do the quick and easier method of prevention last comment on that issue was "i got married so i wouldnt have to use one!" Any opinions or facts anyone has on any pills that will do what i need them to and not kill the chances i hope i still have for BF? Even if it makes AF horrid its okay - i was one of those girls throughout highschool etc that would be curled up on the floor crying from how bad my body cramped etc, so that would be nothing new.

TIA
~Katie

Hillbilly Housewife replied:

Well.... I'd say it is pretty successful, but my Zach is a pill-baby...

And I think also that it completely depends whether you are planning to breastfeed or not...and of course, depends on your doctor. My Doc refused to give me a pill prescrption while I was breastfeeding, because he wasn,t comfortable with the hormones going through my milk, but he recommended using other methods, which I found to be too much trouble... so I went to the walk-in clinic a couple months later and got a prescription from another doctor. Woopdidoo, big deal, but I wasn't breastfeeding anymore by then anyways, I had problems.

supermom replied: My OB (who is very pro BF) had recommended either the mini-pill or the depro-provera - I used both....the pill for a while (but was horrible about remembering to take it) and then I went to the shot. The only kinda bad thing about the shot is that it seemed like to took me longer to get PG this last time after stopping using it than it did when I stopped the BC Pill.........just my own experience, and it may be because of my age, too, that could have had something to do with it....

MomToMany replied: I was on the Depo shot for about 3 years. My periods stopped completely. I gained weight with it, too . I read that it also takes a long time to get PG again after you stop taking it (like over a year). I personally wouldn't recommend it, based on MY experience with it.

Here's a link from Kelly's site about birth control and BFing.

http://www.kellymom.com/meds/birthcontrol.html#mini

She has good information on her site.

HTH!!

KatieLeigh79 replied: Thanks so much was able to print out what i wanted from that site and i can take that into the dr. with me when she decides to let me talk about it again *laugh* i asked about birth control after to keep from getting pregnant right away and the response i got was "after you deliver i want nothing going in there for 6 weeks, at your 6 week apt we will discuss it" so im pretty sure its going to be something i have to hold onto until then because it seems she doesn't want me to worry about it yet.

MomToMany replied:
Glad you found the info helpful! She's probably right! I know I wasn't ready for that right away, !

Hillbilly Housewife replied:
I sure was....

Dh had to *resist my tempting body* (snort..yeah...road map to blubber city!)... we didn't even last 2 weeks!!! My doc wasn't too pleased though.... rofl

dhoppygirl replied:

I am thinking about using the TCOYF information instead of taking pills. I just stopped taking the mini pill because I am just tired of taking pills!! Did you just read the book? Did you take classes?
Thanks for your help!

maestra replied:
I just read the book, and used to keep my information at www.fertilityfriend.com

It was pretty self explanatory- the book looks really big but there's a lot of pictures. I read it all in one day!

Good luck!

dhoppygirl replied: Thanks Michelle for the information!!!

ashade75 replied:
I was on the Depo shot for reasons other than birth control. It made me gain a lot of weight also. I just didn't like the way I felt on it. I wouldn't recommend it either.