A new era for birth control

Words by Aimee O'Keefe

Along with recent cultural shifts to more natural, conscious living, there has also been a rise in the number of women choosing more natural methods of contraception for themselves, especially amongst the younger generation.

As this shift becomes more widespread, it is important everyone is educated on these methods of natural contraception, and that we ask the question- do they really do the job? Natural contraception methods most commonly include withdrawal and fertility awareness, in contrast to hormonal and medical contraception methods such as the pill and implants like the IUD. There are also barrier methods, such as condoms.

While it is important to understand that despite hormonal contraception doing amazing things for women’s reproductive rights and women’s liberation, there are a lot of risks associated with it and it’s not for every woman, as every women’s body is different!

In light of more women looking towards natural ways of caring for their bodies, A 2016 study out of Monash University revealed that natural contraception methods are making quite the comeback.

84 percent of respondents taking part in the study reported using some method of contraception, and nearly half of these men and women reported the use of short term methods such as condoms, withdrawal and fertility awareness-based methods.

Research fellow at Monash and co -author of the study, Sarah Holton, expressed her surprise and concern regarding the amount of people using what she believes to be the more ineffective methods of contraception.

The most common methods of natural contraception include withdrawal and fertility awareness methods. Withdrawal is a risky form of birth control due to pre- cum, as it is possible for an egg to become fertilised from preejaculate fluid. Therefore, the withdrawal method is generally not considered a very effective form of birth control. Another popular form of natural contraception, and perhaps more effective are types of fertility awareness.

The most common and effective is symptom-thermal monitoring. This is a type of fertility awareness in which a sexually active woman monitors their stage in their menstrual cycle along with various body changes including temperature and cervical mucus secretions.

There are apps for this, but more reliably, there are certain devices such as the LadyComp. This is an electronic cycle computer which uses a combination of temperature readings of the basal body temperature and cycle data, to predict ovulation and when the female is fertile or not.

But- warning!! Whilst these methods are kind to our hormones and non-intravenous, they are not as effective as methods of medical and hormonal intervention. As Kathleen McNamee, senior lecturer of obstetrics and gynaecology at Monash Health states, "Although some of the natural family planning methods can be used with a high degree of efficacy if they are used perfectly, all them have a high level of typical use failure."

However, Kathleen offers a middle ground. Whilst believing natural methods like the ones mentioned have high enough typical use efficacy, she recommends these methods used in combination with professional assistance in learning how to use them correctly, rather than using an app or a formula-based method.

So, natural methods of contraception are on the rise. As they don’t involve medical or hormonal intervention, they are kind to our bodies, and we like this!

However, if you choose these natural methods you must balance that against the higher attention to detail and effort that natural contraception methods require.