is natural family planning an option for you?

participating in the Mommy Brain Mixer today. 

This girl is co-hosting this week! you should go check her out!

So much has happened since my last post and I'm sorry, buuuuut life happens.  Since October I've become an aunt for the first time and let me tell you... Being an aunt is just as special and amazing as being a mommy but it's a completely different love all at the same time. Is he not the most precious thing in the world?!!!?!!?

Ok, so now for the purpose of today's post. I've had some issues with my OBGYN lately and am looking for another one. One of these issues is the issue of birth control. I haven't tried EVERY birth control out there but I've tried plenty. None of which have worked for my lifestyle.

With my mother being a nurse, the minute I hit puberty it was off to the doctor to get on the pill to "regulate my cycle"! (I only wish you could hear the happiness disdain in my voice). Needless to say I've been off and on BC since I was 14. I've been on several brands of the pill, I've been on the patch, I've been on Mirena, and the DepoPreva shot. Each form of BC had different side effects on me. All have made me nauseous, all have made me moody and have affected my eating habits. Each time I would go back to my doc telling him that it wasn't working for me and I wanted to try something else. The only options given to me were hormonal contraceptives or barrier contraceptives.

About two years ago I heard from a friend that an acquaintance of ours was using natural family planning but at the time I thought this acquaintance was absolutely crazy and was playing with fire for not being on hormonal BC. Today is a different story because of all the health problems I've experienced because of unnecessary hormonal contraception.

I don't know how my husband has put up with me for as long as he has. I pray for that man everyday for his patience and unwavering love for me.

I was just curious one day and googled "Christian birth control" because ultimately I want to do the Lord's will and follow the path He has set out for me. I was astounded at the actual science behind my Christian Birth Control/natural family planning search.

One article mentioned that if a woman starts hormonal birth control before her first full term pregnancy that her risk of getting breast cancer raises to 40%.

As soon as I read that I threw my pill packet in the garbage, called my husband and told him I was done and decided that I was going to look for an OBGYN or midwife that would support MY wants as far as MY healthcare goes. I was also shocked to also read that the side effects I was experiencing was not "normal"... that it was actually my body fighting the chemicals in my body. My body was at war with itself and that scared me.

You might know a lot about NFP and not even know it. Using a fertility monitor or charting your temperature while trying to get pregnant is a form of NFP. But  it's not just for conceiving, it's for control as well. The days you would participate in your "marriage act" to conceive are the days you abstain from your "marriage act" in order not to conceive. It's not that simple but that's the math of it. You use your abstain days to court or be with the family.

I know this is a lot of information to absorb, but I want to empower you. I want to empower you because I want to give you options. Options that I wasn't given. I felt lied to, I still feel lied to. I know I will have a lot more posts about this topic because it's an ongoing issue in my life that I think is so VERY important.

It wouldn't surprise me to know that not a lot of people know about NFP because I didn't hear about it until a few days ago. I encourage you to do a lot of research in order to inform youself because you are your first and best advocate for health.

Ultimately it comes down to this for me. If a medicine is going to alter me in a negative way... I'm done. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Whitney