Let's talk birth control

[ilovejeff]

for those mamas who plan on having another child/aren't ready to make a permanent decision yet, what are you using for b/c? I'm thinking of getting the paraguard iud (the non-hormonal one). I used to use Nuva Ring and loved it, but am worried about using anything hormonal while I"m bf'ing.

[NaturalMindedMomma]

I'm from Aug DDC (had my babe at the end of July)...

I was taking the mini pill at 2 weeks postpartum, using a back up barrier method. I had planned on having my tubes tied ASAP, but DH talked me out of it.

So I got the Mirena last week. I got glowing reports from a lot of women. WELL, mine is not so glowing!

The mini pill was fine, but I am extremely fertile and you cannot miss a pill or even be a minute late taking it. The Nuvaring, CAN be used during bfing, but if you are having supply issues it can make it worse so my particular Dr office would not agree to prescribe it, besides I do not trust myself with insertion. So.... I got the Mirena, the insertion was a piece of cake. Cramping was like a period that day. But since???? HEAVY HEAVY bleeding and pain when I stand and move. It feels like early labor! My body is trying to expel the foreign object and it just feels wrong to me. Plus my DH can feel it and it is hurting his penis so we cannot even have sex! He has to wear a condom and still hurts him, what is the point?

So I made an appt for removal and I will go back to the mini pill...

Sorry for the rant/vent... Just had to chime in here.

[dosergirl]

I too plan on getting the Paraguard because i have heard that the hormones can interfere with breastfeeding. also,i have plenty of hormonal issues already i don't need extra

[NaturalMindedMomma]

Originally Posted by dosergirl

I too plan on getting the Paraguard because i have heard that the hormones can interfere with breastfeeding. also,i have plenty of hormonal issues already i don't need extra

My midwife won't reccomend or prescribe the Paraguard. From what I understand it causes very heavy bleeding for a lot of women, especially if you already have/had heavy periods. Which I had/have.

FWIW, My supply did not suffer on the minipill and the Mirena IUD has the same hormones in it. Plus I was told (maybe this is silly) that the hormones remain more local to the reproductive system (silly, I know). But anyway...

Would it not make more sense for MEN to have birth control? I mean we are the ones who have to nurse, so wouldn't a hormonal BC work better for them??? HAHA I am dreaming out loud...

[saffrongirl]

(NAK & on the Blackberry)

I'm having this discussion with my midwife on thursday. I really, REALLY do not do well on hormonal birth control. I've tried ortho about 15 years ago and then Nuvaring a few years ago. Both times I really felt depressed and anxious - forget wanting to have sex. It was terrible. I swear I had almost immediate relief when I pulled that ring out. So now I'm looking for something non-hormonal but I've heard SO many horror stories about Paragard and bleeding. Plus I don't like the concept of not knowing exactly why it's working as birth control - just seems too vague and unnatural. Kind of freaks me out to think of this foreign object in my body that I can't just "quit" or take out if I make that decision. Makes me feel out of control of my body I guess.

I'm thinking my midwife is going to say we're stuck with condoms but I don't know...

[Guinevere]

Well, we are actually done this time around, and DH will be getting a vasectomy sometime next year, but still, having had 6 kiddos and 7 pg's, I've had lots of post-baby bc practice, lol!

Anyway, ever since we had our first, we have used FAM very successfully to both prevent and then to TTC. I also don't do well on hormonal bc, and we just plain don't enjoy condoms. Charting combined with checking CP and CM was infinitely preferable and has the added bonus of making you extremely knowledgeable about and aware of your own body.

Yes, I admit that charting while nursing holds its own special challenges, and perhaps I would have been less enthusiastic about FAM if an "oops" baby would have been a devasting thing, but since that wasn't the case, it has been a great solution for us. And for the record, we didn't have a single "oops" pg, although my period returned at different lengths of time (ranging from 3 mos PP to 13 mos PP) and I was nursing when I conceived every single time. So our family is living proof that it can be done successfully!

Guin

[ilovejeff]

nak

FAM was my original plan, but we CANNOT have another baby until dh graduates and although i charted to ttc, I'm not comfortable enough with my skills to rely on it for b/c. my cycles have always been really irregular, which adds another challenge. and i never got the hang of cm or cp, just temping....

my mw mentioned a diaphragm, but the are only 87% effective or something - not enough for me

[2boyzmama]

Well, a lack of good birth control options was ultimately what led us to vasectomy. After Ian I just relied on breastfeeding, then got pregnant when he was 9 months old, miscarried, and got pregnant when he was 14 months old.

After Connor, at first abstinence was our birth control but then we used condoms and I paid attention to my cycles once they started again. This pregnancy was the result of our anniversary falling on the day I ovulated, and even though we used a condom, tada here's a baby!!

For me, hormonal options were not something I was comfortable with, not because of breastfeeding, but just because the whole concept of messing with my body's natural hormones has never sat well with me.

I didn't like the copper IUD, it seemed like an ethical "gray area" for me, it's designed to kill the sperm, but if a sperm gets past and fertilizes an egg, the copper also makes the uterine environment "inhospitable" to that fertilized egg. I wasn't comfortable with that, it felt like I was denying a fertilized egg the chance to implant and become an embryo. I have no problem with stopping fertilization, but once it happens, it becomes gray area to me.

SO...that left barrier methods. We were doing great with condoms and watching the calendar, dang that anniversary! LOL!

[kittyhead]

i still havent figured it out. hormonal birth control is not my friend so no pills etc. i am TERRIFIED of becoming pregnant again. i had hyperemesis both pregnancies and the second was way worse. i want to switch to a cheaper health insurance that has no maternity coverage... so if i did accidentally get pregnant i dont know if i would be able to get the Zofran that kept me out of the hospital. urgh. luckily i wasnt able to get pregnant until my first son was almost 2 1/2 so hopefully breastfeeding will keep my fertility away for that long again.

[ein328]

Before Lucy we used FAM, but I wasn't totally comfortable with its reliability while nursing. My midwife suggested paying more attention to cm than temps, so we're combining that with a diaphragm when I know I'm in the ballpark of ovulating.

[Masel]

I'm at a loss. We've not used any sort of BC in 11 years. DD 1 is adopted. DD2 required some minor fertility treatment. I was having ovulatury cycles for the past couple years and while DH has a less than ideal count it isn't zero. After finally getting normal hormones I don't want to mess with them. I'm 38 and feeling really old these days. I'm not enthused about ever being pregnant again but might consider it after some sleep. It will probably end up using charting though it will be weird after all this time to use it to avoid.

[pastrygirl]

I'm back to using NFP (Creighton model, which is mucus-only, no temps!). I'm 100% confident with it. I would not be nearly so confident with anything else, since it's sex that leads to pregnancy.

[bright-midnight]

I got my Mirena IUD on Monday.

We've used condoms exclusively for 8.5 years and never had one break and never got pregnant using them. Honestly though, I HATE THEM and I have a mild latex allergy. I cannot remember to take a pill at the exact same time every day, so the mini pill is out for me. The Paraguard IUD had too many nasty (possible) side effects for me, so I chose the Mirena.

So far I haven't noticed anything different and I had zero cramping/spotting after insertion. The insertion itself was easy and did not hurt, though the clamp was uncomfortable. It actually stopped my really heavy PP period that I just started the day before (at 6w 6d PP and EBFing ). My OB said i'll probably be lucky and not get a period again while I have the Mirena.

[elisheva]

DDC crashing but this topic is heavy on my mind. I'm due in just a few weeks with baby #3. Of course we are thrilled to have her but there's no denying she wasn't planned (by us, anyway

I don't want anything hormonal and am considering using FAM in combo with the Today sponge for times when I'm not 100% certain. With this pregnancy, I was sure I had already O'd on CD14 when I didn't O until CD27...oops. Anyway, I do have a diaphragm but I hate it and would almost rather not have sex than have to deal with it. The only problem with the sponge is that they are expensive. And I hate spermicide. There are no good solutions, are there?

[fertilemyrtle]

Just a note to reconsider the Paraguard Copper T. I had heavy-ish periods, and they have stayed the same/diminished some. I have slightly more cramping than I used to. Otherwise, it's amazing! Completely effective!

The most important thing is having someone put it in who has put in hundreds. Most of the problems associated with today's IUDs come from improper insertion. When I got a whiff that my doctor was a bit uncomfortable with insertion, we immediately talked and she happily referred me to another woman in her practice who has inserted many. It was only mildly uncomfortable to have inserted, and it stayed put.

I love it, I love knowing that there are no strange hormones, and I love knowing that I'm immediately fertile as soon as its taken out. The information about eggs being fertilized is fairly inaccurate as well. It's mildly possible, but not the way an IUD works. If that's a concern of yours, you can look up modern research about IUDs and talk to your doctor about it.

[fertilemyrtle]

My bad. I did some quick research, and religiously, some people choose not to use an IUD (Catholic church considers it an act of abortion).

I didn't mean any above offense by saying a previous post was "inaccurate." I will stand by that current research indicates an IUD is basically a spermicide, but the minute chance that a sperm and egg could come together may make this method unusable for some.

[angelachristin]

I will be using FAM--I used it after DS, I knew I didn't want to get pregnant again until he was at least 2 years old--he turned 2 11/30/08, I got pregnant in January 09 with no oopses before that. I got my period back at 14 months PP.