Am I the only one here who chooses to not use birth control?

I'm not going to preach at anybody about this. I just wanted to know if there are any other women here who don't use birth control. (I am married with children.)

Have a great day.

Doesn't use anything at all? Not just hormonal birth control, but any and everything? Family planning method?

Right now, I'm not stable enough to bring a kid into the world, nor have I completed some of the goals I'd like before having a kid. So, yes, I will definitely be using at least two forms of birth control for, at least, the next four years.

How many kids do you have? And just to be clear... You're not trying to get pregnant, right? Just sort of a.. if you do, you do, sort of situation?

You are not alone and know many who do not use anything or only the cyclic method of monitoring their cycle for BC. I wouldn't feel comfortable taking that risk however. I wish though on one hand it was on option for me that I could go without BC pills or hormone treatments but with endometriosis and fibroids, it is too important to control the pain and other symptoms.

i use the only truly reliable method of birth control .... celebacy!

Same here.

If you do not use birth control, you will end up with children who are too closely spaced. Even if you breastfeed each child exclusively for the full 6 months (which is what is necessary, barring psychiatric medications, HIV in mother, or other serious circumstances), and, not conceive within those 6 months (exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months is a very effective birth control method), you will still end up with children who are too closely spaced.

Spacing the children too closely has a whole host of negative consequences, both physical and psychological, for a number of people involved - the child who was conceived too soon after the immediately preceding child was born (physical and psychological consequences), the mother (physical and psychological consequences), and all the older siblings (psychological consequences). Possibly, there are even negative consequences for the father if he gets overwhelmed with having children so frequently, and if his own needs end up being perpetually on the back burner.

I wouldn't dare give up my BC unless I wanted to pop out babies every other year, and that aint gonna happen. I don't have the money or the inclination, 1 child is good enough for now, and maybe 1 more in a few yrs, but no, I would never chance being unsafe...

I always find unsafe sex an interesting choice...

When I was married, there was a choice to not use BC. My then husband, did end up having surgery when I was pregnant, the third time.

There's plenty of families that choose not to use bc.

I use birth control but I only use it because my period is very unregular and I "normally" get it only two or three times a year. I wouldnt need it or use it otherwise.

I think its perfectly normal not to use it. Not everybody needs it or wants it, WHATEVER the reason may be. It is your choice and no matter what, it's okay!


I hope this helps!
...Blue

bluegirl, that's a little like a family member who had very heavy periods and I think that's why she took the pill. I don't know if either is related to when she later had to have a hysterectomy.

I think it's interesting when people call sex without birth control "unsafe sex". I mean, that's how it was before birth control was around, and I don't think they called it unsafe.

bluegirl, I recommend looking into red raspberry leaf herbal tea. I wasn't having periods (I suspect it was because of psychiatric meds I took) and that didn't feel right/normal to me so when someone told me about it and my husband bought it for me, I started drinking at least one cup almost every morning and after a few months, my period came back. That was over a year ago and I'm not pregnant yet, by the way. But I drink it when my period comes each month.
If I remember right, we bought it from Good Herbs, Inc. and when I get home, if you're interested, I'll look at what brand we have now.

I only call it "unsafe" because I'm "protecting" myself and a baby from an unwanted pregnancy by practicing "safe sex".

I guess the no BC option befuddles me because I'm a control freak I believe I have the right to have a say in everything that affects me, and having babies spontaneously would definitly affect me But thats just me, I can't speak for others, same with the method of BC I choose. I choose it specifically because I refuse to be inconvenienced by a menstrual cycle. I hated having it, and honestly thank God I'm rid of it None of my friends agree with me on that one, but to each his own

Really, your friends do not agree with you on that one?

I have not had a period in ten years and do not complain. (Mirena IUD -induced). At least I am saving money on menstrual products! And I did not even hate menstruating - as in "actively hate" - but I cannot complain about the convenience of having no menstrual cycle.

People do not call sex without birth control "unsafe sex", unless they use non-standard terminology. In standard usage, "unsafe" refers to lack of protection from STI's; see the definition on Wikipedia, which reflects standard usage of the words in modern parlance:

"Safe sex is sexual activity engaged in by people who have taken precautions to protect themselves against sexually transmitted infections (STIs) such as HIV/AIDS.[1] It is also referred to as safer sex or protected sex, while unsafe or unprotected sex is sexual activity engaged in without precautions. Some sources prefer the term safer sex to more precisely reflect the fact that these practices reduce, but do not completely eliminate, the risk of disease transmission.[2] In recent years, the term "sexually transmitted infections" (STIs) has been preferred over "STDs", as it has a broader range of meaning; a person may be infected, and may potentially infect others, without showing signs of disease.[3]"

I admit its mostly ignorance and fear on their part. They say what I'm doing is unnatural, but so is probably 90% of our society, in one way or another, houses are unnatural, the internet is unnatural, money is unnatural, hell adoption is unnatural, but nobody frowns upon those

I pay them no mind tho, I know I would be miserable if I go back to being "natural", just like I know I would make myself and future offspring miserable if I wasn't ready for them.

What is "too closely spaced" to you? It may be different to me. It could be said that siblings born "too far apart" could also suffer consequences.

My mom had my sister and I 16 months after our brother. Consequences, sure, but there could have been consequences if we were farther apart as well.

I had my kids 3 years apart, with no birth control in between. In my opinion, the spacing of children that is all right or all wrong. What works for some may not work at all for others. Everybody is different.

That. And, cyanide is natural, but if large quantities of natural substances are believed to be good, then we should all die from cyanide, right?..

Imagine not just you and your sister 16 months after your brother, but, as Trippin aptly called it, popping out babies every other year, over your whole span of childbearing years?

I disagree, I have 4 children and I had them close together, Ages are 21, almost 20,17 and 15.. Mine are perfectly fine accept my youngest who recently was diagnosed with ASD.

Where did you get this from anyway?

I have no worries about getting pregnant now my husband has had the snip.

There is a lot of research that supports spacing 21/2-3 years apart. Among many reasons, traditionally, has been a link to underweight in subsequent babies.

Apparently there is now some linking to autism risk (a link to a report by CNN as I have not been able to find the original study, being in a rush)
Closely spaced pregnancies increase autism risk – The Chart - CNN.com Blogs

Autism is on ASD.

Note that statistical data are accumulated over large samples.

Three years apart used to be considered a gold standard for spacing, in the States.

But taking that long to conceive without BC suggests somewhat diminished fertilityon either or both sides of the couple. I am glad things worked out just fine.

I don't use birth control, but I'm very regular, so I use the rhythm method. You know counting the days when I start to ovulate and then abstain from having sex during that time period. I don't want to take birth control pills because of the side effects, including pulmonary embolisms. It's bad enough I have to take psychiatric meds. hehe. But if I weren't regular, I would use some form of birth control no matter what, even if it's just a condom.

I don't like the idea of not having a period solely because I know myself and know that I would probably freak out and take a pregnancy test every month. It has nothing to do with being natural or unnatural. Just avoiding unnecessary anxiety for myself.

Birth control has been around since the 1800's. Not to mention, women who never used birth control were more likely to die in childbirth. So while the sex itself was not considered "unsafe," there were still "unsafe" consequences. This is one of the reasons women starting pushing for birth control and sexual control in relationships.

But I still agree that to each his (her) own holds true.

My OB/GYN recommended BC, because it's preventative for Ovarian Cancer. I am now in the high risk category for that illness. And I am not currently, active, either.

I take no BC. I have had the shot, I have had the patch, I have taken many pills, they all had terrible side affects from weight gain to nausea, I have even had a blood clot. I am also allergic to latex. The Dr suggests no BC if that is what I choose.

I have 3 kids. I have a 15 year old who was completely planned for, I have a 13 yr old who we toyed w/ creating and in the heat of the moment we agreed yes we would like for child #1 to have a sibling. 8 years later we had the oops. The last little blessing is now 5 yrs old.

We totally use the withdraw method. It has been successful. We also use the rhythm method and that is how we got the last child. As a 34 year old that method of tracking is NOT no fail.