Thursday, 30 June 2011

  • Postpartum Birth Control Options: What Are Your Favorites?

    My 4 week postpartum visit is coming up and I know one of the main things that will be discussed is birth control. 

    First let me just put out there that I absolutely cannot do the Implanon or Mirena. Those two are out for good. I also need something compatible with breastfeeding (I get that some of you may not know which birth control methods are okay while breastfeeding). 

    Abstinence is not an option. I'm sure Jeff would argue that condoms aren't either. and pulling out is just stupid.  

    So let me hear it, what birth control are you on? Why do you like it?

    Annnnnd GO!

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Comments (14)

  • bad_lana@xanga

    Why no Mirena??
  • beebizzle@xanga

    @bad_lana@xanga - i wish i could have edited this before published to add that haha. it's on my original blog but i'll go ahead and repeattt. i had the implanon and it made me bleed for 6 months with horrible cramping. apparently that's not the reaction i'm supposed to have! lol. i was told if the implanon did that then the mirena would too since it's the same hormone...or whatever. so both of those are absolutely out. :)
  • oscarthegrouch108@xanga

    @beebizzle@xanga - what about the copper based IUD (i think it's called ParaGaurd)? that's what i plan to ask for.
  • beebizzle@xanga

    @oscarthegrouch108@xanga - that's what my nurse suggested so i am going to look into it :) 
  • bad_lana@xanga

    oh that's horrible! 
  • SamiPolizzi@xanga

    Right now I use a diaphragm and homemade spermicide, which I love. After I had issues with Mirena and had to have it removed, I thought I had exhausted all my options. I also thought diaphragms were something that were completely obsolete, but boy was I wrong! I suspect that they aren't suggested because much pharmaceutical companies can't make a lot of money off them. A diaphragm costs about $50 and can be used for 2 years. There are no icky side effects like you get with hormonal birth control, and it doesn't ruin the moment like condoms (provided you plan ahead, which, of course, doesn't always happen.) 


    Natural Family Planning is another great option, although it requires a lot more research. I'm charting my cycles now, but I haven't been at it long enough to trust it as my birth control. In the future I hope to just abstain or use my diaphragm on my fertile days, and nothing else the rest of the time. 
    Hope that was helpful.
  • stringstomyheart@xanga

             Paragard IUD?! But the side effects are cramping and somewhat heavy menstrual flows but its a small price to pay when you think about the noncompliancy and cost-effectiveness of this method. A simple $175-800 for the Paragard IUD insertion is effective for up to 12 years. Its also as effective as a tubal ligation...and it works by creating a hostile environment for the egg to implant into the uterus or sperm from getting to an egg...
  • vain_apathy@xanga

    i would recommend a copper iud, i've considered getting that because i don't trust hormonal birth control. (this lady doesn't need ANY extra hormones... )
  • mydearparker@xanga

    I have Mirena... and while it is effective, it doesn't give any of the "perks" I was told I'd get. When I had my first period with it in, it lasted for 5 weeks. Now I get my period every 20 to 25 days and it lasts for 10 days.... which is what my period does when I am not using any birth control. I've had it checked out and it is fine, I'm fine, everything is fine, it is just not any fun.


    So I can understand not wanting to use Mirena... I hate to say it but you may be stuck with using condoms until you figure it out.


    Good luck! :)
  • akarui_mitsukai@xanga

    @SamiPolizzi@xanga - what's a diaphragm? o.O?
  • hollyswhirled

    I plan on getting the shots after I give birth. I plan on condoms for the first 4-6 months while I breastfeed but if it doesn't pan out then I can start the shots sooner. The hormones last for 3 months so its just 4 shots a month... there is also the impant method but thosre have to be surgically implanted and removed from your arm. ouch.
  • LupusInvictus@xanga

    @hollyswhirled - Depo provera is really not a long term solution - it is really bad for your body (more than any other hormonal birth control). Last I knew, it is not suggested that women use this method for more than a year or two over their lifetime. 
  • hollyswhirled

    @LupusInvictus@xanga - It depends on the hormones. Some women can handle them and some can't its just like the risks of ovarian cancers and blood clots with the pill. The only long term birth control that is considered "safe" and or "healthy" is celibacy lol.

    I plan on starting the shots 6 months after my baby is born, (condoms till then) and then stopping when the baby turns two so I can try to have another baby. We've been planning it that way since I entered my second trimester... We are avoiding the pill and the cervical ring because I've gotten pregnant on both the hormones weren't strong enough.

    =]
  • nyfemme@xanga

    I'd vote Diaphram or Copper (Non-hormonal) IUD.   The IUD is the best, especially if you don't want to have any accidental pregnancies, but you have to be responsible with it (go to the Ob/GYN if you have any signs of infection or the string isn't sticking out when you check it regularly).  I used both the diaphram and IUD for long periods of time, but found the diaphram to be a bit of a nuisance after child birth. You have to put it in leave it in for quite a while after intercourse (six hours or more) to make sure their are no live "swimmers."   With  the IUD, there's no pre-sex or post-sex anything to worry about.  The complication for me that "canned" the IUD was that I had a few positive Pap smears,  and the IUD had to be removed to scrape out pre-cancerous cells.  

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