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8 Reasons why Natural Childbirth is Worth it
We are a part of a culture that perpetuates the narrative that birth is scary, that women are dependent on the experts to bring a baby into the world, and that a woman should accept all interventions at the advice of said experts. Unfortunately, the increase of interventions has increased the incidence of negative outcomes. There are, of course, situations in which intervention is necessary and life-saving. But for most women, a natural birth - a vaginal birth void of conventional interventions - could lead to a more positive birth experience. The caveat? One must be ready and willing to embrace the pain. Which is hard. Believe me, I know:…
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Fertility Awareness – How To
Fertility Awareness, or Natural Family Planning, is the most natural way to prevent pregnancy or to attempt pregnancy. The amazing thing is, anybody can do it. The most important thing you need to use it as a method of birth control? Knowledge. A Woman’s Cycle As you know, the female body works in reproductive cycles. Though it may vary from person to person, let’s use the average 28-day cycle as a point of reference. The first day of menses is day 1. It is also the same day that the follicular phase begins; in other words, the time when an egg is maturing. Estrogen is the key player during this…
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Fertility Awareness Part 4 – Our Continuing Story
This is the conclusion to a four part article on Fertility Awareness. Part 1 – The Beginning of Our Story Part 2 – Birth Control and its Effects on Reproduction Part 3 – Personal Interviews I believe in fertility awareness and know that it works. There isn’t a day that goes by that I am not grateful for the choice that Kevin and I made. It has brought a depth of respect to our sex life that has resulted from the shared responsibility and consistent communication. It also gave me a peace knowing that when we did have children, whether planned or unplanned, my body would be in its natural,…
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Fertility Awareness Part 2 – Birth Control and its Effect on Reproduction
Since I wrote this article 4 years ago, some of the information I had quoted directly from sources has changed. I believe this is because of biases in media shifting the way information about birth control is presented, which I find actually pretty scary. I decided to keep some of the old information there, so you can see the shifts for yourself. Brand new information is italicized. I totally believe that women have the right to know about their bodies and be correctly informed. That’s why I wrote this article in the first place, and that’s why I’m including it here. Spoiler alert: I believe that life begins at…
