In this detailed article, we are going to share with you what you need to know about how to avoid pregnancy naturally.
An unplanned pregnancy can often bring stress, disturbance in your plans, and overall unhappiness about pregnancy. It has a substantial negative impact on life’s social, economic, and psychological aspects.
Being sexually active is not a crime, but exercising your full sexual rights without results you are not ready for must be addressed. I must say that birth control is a personal decision, but it is also a medical one. You and your partner must decide which birth control method works for you for a happy marriage or relationship.
The natural contraception method involves understanding your body concerning your menstrual cycle and controlling your sexual desires. To understand your body, you must understand your monthly cycle: fertile days and the high chance of getting pregnant.
The hormonal-induced monthly or periodic blood flow via a woman’s vagina is known as menstruation. The average cycle length is 28 days. Regular cycles longer or shorter than this, from 21 to 40 days, are normal. It has three phases;
Follicular phase: As the name implies, it is the phase in which ovarian follicles develop. It begins on the first day of menstrual bleeding and ends just before ovulation (egg release). It lasts for 14 days but may vary depending on your cycle length.
During this phase, dryness is expected in the first three to four days after your period ends. You may experience three to five days of white, cloudy, or sticky discharge. With these signs, every woman should understand that they are in their follicular stage and the body is preparing to release an egg.
Ovulatory Phase: It typically lasts about 16 to 32 hours and is marked by a dull pain on one side of the lower abdomen called MITTELSCHMERZ. This is the egg releasing stage, influenced by the Luteinizing hormone. This stage is marked by a clear, stretchy and sticky discharge like egg white, and it is the most fertile stage for pregnancy.
Luteal Phase: Begins after ovulation and ends just before a menstrual period, and it lasts 14 days unless there is fertilization. A surge in estrogen and progesterone prepares the uterus for possible implantation, and the breasts also become tender.
This article aims to enlighten you on the possible best ways to avoid pregnancy naturally.
Rhythm Or Fertility Awareness Methods
These are ways to keep track of your menstrual cycle to know when there is a high chance of getting pregnant. With this, you need to know your fertile window. During your fertile window, sex without any form of protection or contraceptive is considered unsafe and will likely result in pregnancy.
Fertile window are days near your ovulation or the period when an egg is released from the ovaries. The day an egg is released from the ovary and five days beforehand. If your cycle is 28 days, from days 10 to 14 and if possible, 2 days after ovulation are your fertile window. This method is complicated to predict your ovulation and fertilization days accurately.
It needs a combination of discipline and methods to know the signs associated with your ovulation and fertilization. This method involves checking your cervical mucus, basal body temperature to know if there is a rise and accurately charting your menstrual cycle on a calendar. I must add that this method provides about 76 to 88 per cent effectiveness against pregnancy and provides no form of protection against sexually transmitted diseases.
Withdrawal Or Pull-Out Method
This form of natural contraception does not provide 100 per cent effectiveness against pregnancy and no protection against STD’s. With this method, the male partner must pull the penis away from the vagina or vulva just before ejaculation. The withdrawal method needs good timing and, of course, effectively control your sexual desires near climax.
A single drop of semen on the vagina or vulva can cause fertilization and pregnancy. For effective protection against pregnancy, this method works better with a condom or an emergency contraceptive pill. This natural contraception method has no health risk and no preparation before or after sex. If you have reasonable control, this method suits you and your partner.
Breastfeeding As A Contraception Method. (Lactational Amenorrhea)
Breastfeeding provides your newborn with nourishment and provides close to 98 per cent effectiveness against pregnancy. This is a hormonally induced pathway, and it works if you feed your baby exclusively on breastmilk for the first 6 months. Your body stops ovulating if you feed your baby at regular intervals (every 4 hours a day and 6 hours at night).
If you do not ovulate, then no pregnancy and no menstruation. You must note that this method is effective for 6 months after delivery. After 6 months, pregnancy is possible to occur as this method becomes less effective. This method has no adverse effect on sex life, it needs no doctor’s procedure or prescription, and it doesn’t prevent STD’s too.
Abstinence
This method is the only one that guarantees no risk of getting pregnant and protects you from contracting an STD. People interpret abstinence differently, and it is complete avoidance of sex. Other couples can decide to abstain from vaginal sex during their fertile window period but may indulge in other forms of sex like oral sex.
Oral sex can give you an STD. Abstinence from sex and its related activities is the only 100 per cent way to avoid pregnancy and STD’s as there is no chance for a sperm to meet an egg. This method depends highly on self-control. As a couple, you must be transparent regarding what you want and how to protect yourself.
Herbal Birth Control
Some herbs are widely speculated to be able to avoid pregnancy. There is not much research to back up these claims, and the FDA has not yet approved them. Neem, castor bean and evodia are among these herbs. These herbs are said to;
- Prevent implantation
- Prevent sperm from fertilizing an egg
- Prevent ovulation.
You must, however, consult your doctor if the need arises for you to use any of these herbal birth control methods.
Conclusion
In this article, we provided all you needed to know about how to avoid pregnancy naturally.
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