Expert: Brigid Kowalczyk - 1/8/2006

Question
You've made good points, and I understand everything you've said to me, but what if I don't want children at all?

As of right now, I don't have the funding to endure a surgical procedure to avoid pregnancy, so should I still avoid use of contraceptives?



I just don't understand why sex should be limited to only those people who wish to have children.

Thank you for your advice, however.

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Followup To
Question -
For the past two months I've been taking the pill, not so much to avoid pregnancy but to regulate my period and avoid devastatingly painful cramps. However, twice my boyfriend and I have been placed in instances where we've had sex without a back up form of protection. Considering I'm on the pill and there's only a 1% chance I could get pregnant, I haven't worried about him ejaculating inside me. I thought nothing of this until mentioning it to a close friend and having her reaction be absolutely shocked. She too is on the pill but informed me that I still shouldn't be letting my boyfriend 'go' inside of me. I'm confused; I thought one of the points of being on the pill was to not have to worry about it. Comments?
Answer -
I object to the pill on several grounds:  it is a false sense of security because the pregnancy rate is 1-20% depending on how well you follow directions and take it exactly as it is prescribed; it causes many serious side effects; and doesn't cure anything.  

It's up to you.  No one knows what their own particular risk will be.  You could be very fertile, he could be very fertile and even on the pill you could get pregnant.  Which is why sex is for married people who are ready to have children and can support and take care of them.

On the other hand, what is the point of having sex if you don't do it the right way, completely without fear and anxiety and withdrawal doesn't fit into that picture as far as I'm concerned.  Doesn't sound like a wonderful bonding experience to me.  Here are some of the problems it causes and reasons not to take it:

Study Finds Adverse Sexual Side Effects of Birth Control Pills
The birth control pill can have significant adverse effects on sexuality and mood in some women, increasing the likelihood of early discontinuation, according to a study by the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction at Indiana University.

Of the women in the study who started on the pill, 38 percent were still taking it after one year, 47 percent had stopped, and 14 percent had switched to another pill. The women who stopped or changed to another pill were four times as likely to report adverse sexual, emotional and physical side effects as the women who continued with their oral contraceptive. Some of these effects included decrease in sexual thoughts, less frequent intercourse and negative mood changes.

There is no way of predicting which women are likely to experience adverse mood or sexuality effects from oral contraceptives, or which oral contraceptive formulations are more likely to be responsible.   Estrogen can clearly cause breast cancer. There is just no way around it. I cannot think of one clinical indication for birth control pills and believe that no one should use them.

Do birth control chemicals have unpleasant side-effects or health hazards?

Combined OCs

Side effects of birth control pills can include:

•   Increased risk of breast and cervical cancers
•   Increased risk of blood clotting, heart attack and stroke
•   Migraines and headaches
•   Gall bladder disease
•   Increased blood pressure
•   Weight gain
•   Mood changes
•   Acne and/or oily skin
•   Nausea/Vomiting (especially at the beginning)
•   Nausea
•   Irregular bleeding or spotting
•   Benign liver tumors
•   Breast tenderness
•   Yeast overgrowth and infection

Progestin-Only Methods
•   Common Side-Effects (not comprehensive)
o   Untimely bleeding or spotting between periods
o   Prolonged menstrual bleeding (8 days or more)
o   No bleeding at all (amenorrhea) for several months or over a year
o   Headache (very common)
o   Nervousness/anxiety
o   Lower abdominal pain
o   Dizziness
o   Loss of sex drive (libido)
o   Depression
o   Acne and/or oily skin
o   Change of appetite
o   Weight gain
o   Breast tenderness (mastalgia)
o   Increased facial or body hair growth (hirsutism) or hair loss
o   Whitish vaginal discharge (leukorrhea)
o   Excessive growth of body/facial hair or hair loss
o   Infection the implants site for Norplant
o   A brief period of pain or itching
o   Enlarged ovarian follicles
o   Bone density loss


•   Less Common Serious Health Hazards
o   Ectopic pregnancy
o   Cancer

The most important thing to remember about hormonal birth control methods such as the pill is that they are synthetic hormones. It isn't healthy for a woman to be exposed to them.


In fact, their long-term use will invariably increase a woman's risk of developing serious chronic illness. In addition to increasing health risks as dangerous as cancer and blood clots, birth control pills also deplete important nutrients, including vitamins B2, B6 and B12.


The use of birth control pills or synthetic hormones is actually rarely justified. If you're using birth control pills to control menstrual cycles, irregular bleeding, cysts or endometriosis, you are not treating the underlying dysfunction. Instead, you are simply increasing the risks to your health.


It is essential to balance the adrenal glands in these situations, as cortisol levels modulate and control the female hormones, especially progesterone. The pill only treats the symptoms instead of the disease, and causes its own side effects as your body continues to remain in an unhealthy state.


In addition, long term use of the pill will permanently damage your libido, your desire for sex.  Permanently.  It won't come back.

It may help you avoid cramps and heavy bleeding but what is the cost?  They will not be cured, they may still be there when you stop taking the pill.  Read the package insert that comes with the pack to find out how really serious a drug the pill is.

Answer
http://catholiceducation.org/articles/sexuality/se0002.html

This link I'm sending you is for an article about contraception, marriage and sex and babies.  I hope you will read it.  If you are not Catholic, it is still full of important information that may help you understand why sex is for people who want babies.  Babies make you a better person, for one thing.  Babies make your marriage stronger.  

Anyway, just read it and let me know if you get even one idea Dr. Janet Smith says, and understand what it means for you.  It's a very long article but I'm sure there will be at least one idea the will impact your life and make a difference in your wellbeing and happiness.  That is what is important to me.