Non-Hormonal Birth Control Options

After my instagram post “What you’re told about the pill VS What you should be told about the pill” went viral (if you missed it click here), the biggest question I received was…

“If not the pill, then what are non-hormonal birth control options?”

I’m going to be answering this question for you!

But first a disclaimer. I am not your doctor nor am I giving medical advice, the information below is for educational purposes only and it is up to you to seek further guidance & research about your options. I share resources below to help you out as well 😀

There are so many different forms of birth control – hormonal or not, and what works for one person, may not work for another. This is about empowering yourself with the information and having informed conversations with your doctor so that you can discover the best option for you and your health.

At the end of the day, when it comes to the pill, the implant, the patch, the depo, the hormonal IUD – these forms are effective at birth control, however they don’t come without their side effects and are not real solutions for fixing hormonal imbalances and period problems.

I wish all women were provided with more education around how their hormones work so that a deepened understanding is held around common signs and symptoms, what causes them and how to effectively manage them naturally instead of being prescribed hormonal birth control which is the conventional blanket prescription for anything hormone related.

Same goes for preventing pregnancy. Instead of using synthetic hormones, can we learn the inner workings of our own natural hormones to better understand our bodies, periods and prevent pregnancy? It is absolutely possible – we’ve just never been taught how!

So, let’s dive in to the different non-hormonal forms of birth control:

Fertility Awareness Method

Fertility Awareness Method (FAM) is something I wish I had known from when I had my first period, and I encourage all women to learn fertility awareness method as a valuable tool for not only planning for or preventing pregnancy but for those working to master their hormones & live life more in sync with their cycles. There are a few different versions of FAM, I personally recommend the Symptothermal Method as its most effective.

So, what is FAM? It is a non-hormonal approach to birth control designed to teach you how to recognise your body’s signs of ovulation. You’re then able to predict the days in the month in which you’re fertile and can either act to avoid or plan for pregnancy.

Before you dismiss this option, distrust it, put it in the too hard basket or confuse it with the rhythm method it's important to be open minded, get up to date with the research, how it really works and how effective it can be at preventing pregnancy.

Even if its not the right method for you, using it as means of connecting with your body & internal cyclic rhythm is incredibly empowering as it allows you to gain insights and be in control of your own body. It’s exciting stuff!

This method involves monitoring your bodies proven signs of fertility which include:

1. Measuring & recording changes in your basal body temperature – consistency of cervical fluid changes in response to different levels of oestrogen and progesterone.

2. Observing cervical fluid pattern 

3. Monitoring the changing position of your cervix (not everyone does this, but the more you know the more effective this method will be!)

Understanding these signs can help to avoid or achieve pregnancy. All you need is a basal thermometer, a period tracking app or paper chart & a little help on how to effectively use this method.

FAM is based on the following factors:

In each menstrual cycle you only ovulate one egg
The egg can only live for 24 hours maximum after ovulation and the sperm must meet the egg within that period for pregnancy to occur
Sperm can survive on average up to 5 days (but in some cases 5-7 days) in highly fertile cervical fluid.
What this means is that women are potentially only fertile for around 7-8 days (being conservative) out of their entire cycle. If you’re avoiding pregnancy you either abstain from sex or use protection such as a condom during this fertile window.

FAM may seem overwhelming at first but once you know it, it is LIFE-CHANGING and absolutely worth it. It’s also important that you learn FAM before rushing into using it as a form of birth control so to ensure you are doing it correctly.

Effectiveness of the Symptothermal Method:

With perfect use, the Symptothermal Method is about 98-99% effective. When typical use is 80% to 88%. Here is a study for you to read. So when used correctly, the symptothermal method has been shown to have a first year pregnancy rate of 1.8 per 100 women. The same study shows that after 13 cycles the pregnancy rate was only 0.6 per 100 women with no unprotected sex in the fertile window.

When it comes to the Double Check Symptothermal Method its 99.4-96.6% effective with perfect use and 98.2% typical use. These stats are from this study here.

Next steps & additional resources:

For guidance on Fertility Awareness Method purchase the books Taking Charge Of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler, and The Fifth Vital Sign by Lisa Hendrickson. Toni Weschler estimates her book that the method she outlines is approximately 98% effective with perfect use.

I recommend a Fertility Awareness Method Practitioner to teach you how to practice this method effectively. You can find one here or Association of Fertility Awareness Professionals.

IMPORTANT: if you are going to self-teach yourself FAM - you must use barrier protection for the first 3 menstrual cycles whilst you learn to effectively implement the method.

RECOMMENDED DEVICES & APPS

The Tempdrop Smart Thermometer: a wearable device worn on your upper arm that takes your temperature multiple times throughout the night. It then puts those temperatures through an algorithm to tell you what your true basal temperature is each night.