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Although I spend a lot of time talking about how to get pregnant, Iโm also a big fan of conscious conceptionโhaving your baby at the right time for your family.
Some form of contraception is therefore necessary for many women, but most of the popular methods out there are hormonal birth control options, which work by shutting down your own hormones and manipulating your ovulation and menstrual cycle โฆ
Which Iโm obviously not a huge fan of.
Thereโs a common story that I hear time and time again in my practice:
A woman has less-than-desirable periods. Her menstrual symptoms affect her day to day life. Maybe sheโs experiencing mood changes, pain, acne, PMS, breast tenderness, heavy bleeding, or any of the other myriad of symptoms that can go along with menstrual cycles.
So, she goes to the doctor.
She gets put on hormonal birth control to manage her symptoms.
End of story.
Itโs unlikely that thereโs any follow-up or guidance on how long to stay on the hormonal birth control, or what itโs capable of doing to her body over the long-term.
A few years pass and she wants to come off of birth control, maybe to try to conceive, or maybe it just no longer fits into her lifestyle.
And sheโs right back to struggling with those same initial symptomsโand often her fertility, tooโwhich is usually what brings her to me.
Then we begin the process of healing her body, optimizing her fertility, and fixing all of the issues that hormonal birth control has created within her body.
Oof.
Knowledge is power.
Itโs important to know ALL of the risks and potential side effects if youโre thinking about starting hormonal birth control (or, if youโre already on one). This way if you do decide to be on one of these forms of birth control, youโll have made a fully informed decision and know what to look out for if issues come up.
In the United States โ
ใฐ 98% of women have used birth control at some point in their lives.
ใฐ 62% of those of reproductive age are currently using hormonal birth control.
ใฐ The pill has been one of the most popular hormonal methods of birth control since 1982.
Birth control is prescribed for preventing pregnancy and to control acne, but also for a variety of fertility issues such as endometriosis, PCOS, ovarian cysts, pain associated with fertility issues, PMS, and irregular menstrual cycles.
While most people associate the term โhormonal birth controlโ with the pill, there are a variety of hormone-releasing birth control methods, which weโre about to deep dive into.
Are you ready?
Nexplanon is a birth control implant that goes in the arm. This small, thin rod (about the size of a matchstick) is implanted under the skin of the inner, non-dominant upper arm by a healthcare provider.
The implant is made of ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer (plastic).
ใฐ 99% effective
ใฐ lasts for 3 years and must be removed by the end of the third year
ใฐ can be removed at any time
68mg of etonogestrel, a type of progestogen (synthetic progesterone similar to progestin)
and
15 mg of barium sulfate + 0.1 mg of magnesium stearate which makes it “Radiopaque” aka visible on an X-ray.
ใฐ prevents sperm from reaching the egg by thickening the cervical mucus
ใฐ thins and changes the lining of your uterus
ใฐ stops an egg from being released by your ovary
Note: while itโs not likely youโll ovulate on Nexplanon, some studies show it is possible. However youโre still not likely to get pregnant due to points 1 and 2.
1 in 10 women stopped using Nexplanon because of an unfavorable change in their bleeding pattern:
ใฐ longer or shorter bleeding
ใฐ no bleeding at all when a period should be occurring
ใฐ spotting between periods
ใฐ varied amounts of time between periods
Other frequent side effects that cause women to stop using Nexplanon:
ใฐ mood swings
ใฐ weight gain
ใฐ headaches
ใฐ acne
ใฐ depressed mood
ใฐ vaginitis (inflammation of the vagina)
ใฐ breast pain
ใฐ viral infections such as sore throats or flu-like symptoms
ใฐ stomach pain
ใฐ painful periods
ใฐ nervousness
ใฐ back pain
ใฐ nausea
ใฐ dizziness
ใฐ pain at the site of insertion
Location and removal of the implant may be difficult or impossible because the implant is not where it should be. Special procedures, including surgery in the hospital, may be needed to remove the implant.
Implants have been found in the pulmonary artery (a blood vessel in the lung). If the implant cannot be found in the arm, your healthcare provider may use x-rays or other imaging methods on the chest.
Depo-Provera is a well-known brand name for medroxyprogesterone acetate, a contraceptive injection.
Itโs given as an injection every 3 months.
Depo-Provera is 96% effective in preventing pregnancy.
Most women who choose the shot do it so that they donโt have to remember to take a pill every day. Other reasons:
ใฐ you want or need to avoid estrogen
ใฐ you have health problems such as anemia, seizures, sickle cell disease, endometriosis or uterine fibroids
ใฐ you want to decrease your menstrual blood flow, or stop menstruation entirely
ใฐ progestin
ใฐ suppresses ovulation, keeping ovaries from releasing an egg
ใฐ thickens cervical mucus to keep sperm from reaching the egg
Common side effects include:
ใฐ abdominal pain
ใฐ decreased libido
ใฐ depression
ใฐ dizziness
ใฐ headaches
ใฐ irregular periods
ใฐ nervousness
ใฐ weakness and fatigue
ใฐ weight gain
After stopping Depo-Provera, it may take 10+ months before ovulation begins again. This is important to know if you plan on getting pregnant in the near future.
Use of Depo-Provera may cause you to lose calcium stored in your bone and decrease your bone mass. The longer you use Depo-Provera CI, the greater your loss of calcium from your bones. Your bones may not recover completely when you stop using Depo-Provera.
If you use Depo-Provera continuously for more than 2 years, it may increase the risk of weak, porous bones (osteoporosis) that could increase the risk of broken bones, especially after menopause.
You should not use Depo-Provera for more than 2 years unless you cannot use other birth control methods.
The NuvaRing contains the same kind of hormones found in certain combination birth control pills and they work the same way to prevent pregnancy, they are just administered differently.
Like the Pill, NuvaRing stops communication between your brain and ovaries, therefore stopping ovulation and the hormone fluctuations that come with it.
NuvaRing has been shown to be 98% effective.
Ethinyl Estradiol (synthetic estrogen)
and
Etonogestrel (a type of progestin – synthetic progesterone)
Once NuvaRing is placed in the vagina, it releases a continuous low dose of hormones: 0.120 mg etonogestrel + .015 ethinyl estradiol per day.
The ring is worn in the vagina for 21 days, taken out for one week, and then replaced with a new one.
Common side effects include:
ใฐ tissue irritation inside the vagina and cervix
ใฐ headache / migraines
ใฐ mood changes / depression
ใฐ nausea and vomiting
ใฐ vaginal discharge and discomfort
ใฐ weight gain
ใฐ breast pain
ใฐ painful periods
ใฐ abdominal pain
ใฐ acne
ใฐ less sexual desire
Serious side effects include:
ใฐ toxic shock syndrome (TSS)
ใฐ allergic reaction
ใฐ liver problems, including tumors
ใฐ high blood pressure
ใฐ gallbladder problems
ใฐ accidental insertion into bladder
NuvaRing may cause serious side effects, including blood clots.
Do not use NuvaRing if you smoke cigarettes and are over 35 years old. Smoking increases your risk of serious cardiovascular side effects from combination hormonal contraceptives, including death from heart attack, blood clots, or stroke.
First and foremost, getting in tune with your cycle, recognizing your fertile cues to know exactly WHEN youโre ovulating (and therefore very fertile) is my top recommendation.
The Natural Cycles app (recently approved by the FDA to be marketed as a contraceptive) uses a unique algorithm that combines specific fertile cues such as your basal body temperature (your temp taken first thing in the morning before you get out of bed), your personal cycle fluctuations, LH hormone tests, and even the survival rate of sperm to give you โgreen daysโ โ when youโre highly unlikely to conceive โ and โred days,โ when youโll want to abstain or use protection.
For those of you with irregular cycles, chronic anovulatory cycles or another issue that prevents your cycles from being reliable, my top pick would be the Hormone-Free Copper IUD.
You can read more about the Copper IUD here: Hormone-Free Copper IUD : Pros and Cons.
One disadvantage of simply tracking your cycle or an IUD is that while they can keep you from getting pregnant, they wonโt give you protection against STDs. A barrier methodโlike condomsโis still the best for both birth control and STD protection, but the kind you choose matters!
Many condoms contain synthetic fragrances, flavors, spermicides, and even carcinogenic chemicals. You donโt want any of that stuff near the delicate skin of your vagina!
Although theyโre technically non-hormonal, Iโm not a fan of diaphragms and cervical caps or sponges because they both require the use of spermicide to be effective. Spermicides contain chemicals that are hormone disruptors, and can cause vaginal irritation and urinary tract infections. In fact, the most common chemical in spermicides, nonoxynol-9, is widely known to cause vaginal irritation.
Condoms donโt require the use of a spermicide, and are just as effective (in some cases more effective) as other barrier methods.
There are so many effective and convenient non-hormonal contraceptives on the market, there truly is no need to use hormonal birth control, especially considering the slew of negative side effects associated with methods that use synthetic hormones to mimic your natural menstrual cycle.
There are many forms of hormonal birth control on the market, and they ALL contain synthetic hormones that throw off your natural hormonal balance.
Long term use of hormonal birth control affects not only your overall health, but can have lasting negative effects on your fertility health as well.
Trying a non-hormonal method of birth control is an important way to preserve your fertility AND your health until youโre ready to conceive.
Spread some dangers of hormonal birth control – what you need to know lovinโ! Sharing is caring, and I bet you have some friends who would love to read this too :).
Looking to have a more in-depth conversation about how to manage menstrual cycle symptoms naturally, without the use of hormonal birth control? Schedule a one on one consultation with me!
The Fertility Code is an evidence-based, on-demand, 12-week fertility course designed to get you pregnant! This course has helped hundreds of women, and it can help you too!
Research shows you have the power to shift your hormonal health and optimize your fertility with FOOD, and Iโll teach you how.
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1 Comment
Hi, I came across your blog article. No fluff, just helpful info. Keep up the good work.
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