3 hours ago
Showing posts with label Health and Fitness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Health and Fitness. Show all posts
Confession: I give my kids Marshmallow Mateys for breakfast sometimes.
Now that we've gotten that dirty little secret out of the way...
Lately I have been branching out a bit on breakfasts for the kids. When I went to the homeschool conference this summer, one of the speakers said that you can't really get mad if you gave your kids sugary cereal with nothing more substantial added in, and they act all crazy later.
As we've established, I have nothing against breakfast cereal, but I did think she had a point.
So while we still do Coco Puffs for breakfast occasionally, I've added a few other things into the rotation, with the intention of helping my kiddos get some brain-sharpening, focus-encouraging nutrients in, especially on school days! Here are a few of my current go-to's.
Oatmeal - One of the reasons I used to default to cereal was because it was a quick, easy breakfast for the kids - but I've learned that oatmeal is fairly quick and easy too! And it's healthier and more sustaining since they are getting the whole grain. I use old-fashioned oats, and add a little brown sugar, nuts, chocolate chips, raisins, apples, or cinnamon. The kids think I'm the best mom ever when I add in chocolate chips (but it's still less straight sugar than cereal!).
Muffins (made with freshly-ground flour) - I mentioned that I got a grain mill this summer, and I have to tell you, I love it! When flour is freshly ground, it still contains all the nutrients that the whole wheat berry contains, so it's more sustaining, has a lower glycemic index, and it's healthier. But beyond that, I like the way baked goods taste when they are made with fresh flour, and the texture is chewier (which I actually love!). I have a few go-to muffin recipes from this book. I try to make one batch every week so they can be our on-the-go breakfast, but that doesn't always happen.
Hard-Boiled Eggs with toast - Also quick to make, because I just pull them out of the refrigerator! (Are you noticing a theme here? I like quick and easy breakfasts.) I have to be careful with this one though, because sometimes I forget I boiled the eggs and we don't end up eating them.
Yogurt - We don't eat yogurt as often as I'd like, because with five kids and me that could get expensive really quick. But sometimes I buy a big container of plain yogurt, and I mix it with honey and frozen berries for the kids' breakfast. This is also one of my favorite breakfasts for me!
Cereal or Donuts - Everything in moderation, right? Sometimes cereal or donuts is just easier, and I don't shame myself or anyone else for going there. Having a sugary breakfast sometimes is fine in my book.
What are your breakfast go-to's? Any other quick-and-easy ideas for me?
Since having Gwen I've been asked a few times which I thought was better - delivering naturally, or having an epidural. I know this can be a controversial topic, but I thought I'd give my opinion, based on my experience.
First let me say that I have no real strong feelings about either giving birth naturally or having an epidural. I think both are just fine, and I think epidurals and delivering naturally both have their place. Hopefully this means I can give an objective opinion since I've delivered both ways!
I know some people have some pretty strong convictions about delivering naturally because of the possible effects of the medications (among other reasons), but I'm not going to get into all the statistics on that. And I don't really want this post to become a debate on that aspect. I'm just comparing both of my experiences for those who are curious.
For any readers who weren't around two years ago, toward the end of my pregnancy with Wyatt I developed pre-eclampsia, and I ended up being induced. I got an epidural about six centimeters in. You can read the full birth story here.
With Gwen things moved so quickly that I ended up delivering her in the ambulance on the way to the hospital - and I delivered her naturally. You can read that full birth story here.
So on to a few specific questions . . .
Was the epidural painful?
I think this depends largely on the anesthesiologist, and thankfully I had a great one! It just felt a little like the end of a pencil tapping on my spine, and then it was over, and there was no more pain (except for a "hot spot", but I liked having the hot spot, so it didn't bother me). Delivering naturally is much more painful then the momentary discomfort of the epidural (just saying it like it is).
Did you notice any effects on Wyatt after the epidural?
Nada. Both Wyatt and Gwen seemed equally alert to me right after birth, and both had no trouble nursing. Obviously this might be different for some babies, but we had no issues. (You can read about possible effects on babies here, though the research on the ways babies can be affected and the amount of babies that are affected is "somewhat ambiguous", since every situation and baby is different.)
Were you still alert when you delivered Gwen?
This was one of the biggest things I was worried about when I thought about delivering naturally. I heard so many stories of women "zoning out" when delivering naturally and almost not even realizing when the baby had arrived - it's a way some women deal with the pain I guess, but I did not want that to be me! I loved being alert when I delivered Wyatt and remembering every detail of the moment he entered the world, and the thought that I might not remember much of the delivery if I delivered naturally was worrisome to me.
Thankfully this did not end up being the case for me with Gwendolyn! I remember every little thing leading up to Gwen's birth, and I knew the moment she was born, which is exactly what I wanted. Obviously it was a bit more peaceful with Wyatt than with Gwen, but I remembered and was alert for both deliveries.
Now, if I had been in labor longer I might have "zoned out" when delivering naturally. There's no way to know for sure since (thankfully) both my labors were quick.
Was the recovery time different between delivering naturally and with the epidural?
I honestly don't know that I can really answer this, because the situation each time was so different.
The recovery with Wyatt was much harder, but I'm not convinced it had as much to do with the epidural as it did with the medications and fluids they had to give me because of my pre-eclampsia and the fact that I hemorrhaged. It also might have been worse because he was my first. But I was much more swollen and sore after having Wyatt.
After Gwen I felt great the next day - a little sore, but not that bad, and I wasn't swollen at all. I felt amazing after a week! I tore both times, and I think the tear was a bit more noticeable with Gwen, probably because I was exerting myself more and I probably over-did it a bit, and also because I was less sore in general so I could feel it more.
Were the pitocin-induced contractions more painful?
This doesn't have so much to do with the epidural itself, but I thought it was relevant. And I'm going to say yes and no.
The contractions with Gwen were just as painful as the contractions I had on the pitocin with Wyatt. I think the difference is that the contractions started out easier when I labored naturally - they weren't that bad except for the last hour and half (and then they got really bad really fast). Once the contractions started picking up they were the same as or worse than the pitocin contractions.
When I had pitocin, the early contractions were more intense than the early contractions during my natural labor. I don't know for sure how they would have felt toward the very end since I had the epidural by that point. The contractions started out more intense but they worsened more gradually as they turned up the pitocin (as opposed to going from manageable to unbearable in a half hour like they did with Gwen).
To be honest though, the contractions were still manageable on the pitocin - I got the epidural mainly because I couldn't stand the thought of being checked again - it was worse than the contractions! But that's beside the point.
Now some people have intense contractions all the way through when they deliver naturally too (like my blog buddy, Brittany). And some people have a much more gradual progression in their natural labors than I did. This is just the difference that I noticed for my body.
How will you do it next time?
Honestly, I like not having a definite plan when it comes to birth. Nothing can really take you by surprise if you are open to anything that might happen.
I am glad I had the epidural with Wyatt. I was unable to move around with Wyatt because of my pre-eclampsia. I had bad back labor, and it was very painful to be checked with Wyatt. I had a great experience with the epidural, no problems pushing. With not being able to move and being strapped down by so many monitors, I was much happier after the epidural and it made my labor experience a more pleasant one than it would have been.
I am glad I had the chance to deliver Gwen naturally. I like being able to see what it was like to labor naturally and give birth naturally, and I honestly feel confident that I could do it again.
Whether I want to do it that way again is another question, and I don't have an answer. I was happy having the epidural - I was happy delivering naturally.
I'm actually already worried about making this decision next time - because with the way my labor progressed so quickly with Gwen, by the time I would have actually wanted the epidural it would have been too late to get it, even if we were at the hospital. I think I'll have to decide beforehand next time, or the decision might be made for me. And there were aspects of both ways that I really liked. So I just don't know.
That's not a very definitive answer on the epidural vs. natural question, but it's where I am right now.
In closing though, I just want to say that after having delivered both ways, I firmly believe that any woman has what it takes to deliver naturally when it comes right down to it. You might not think you would be strong enough to deliver without pain medication, but don't doubt yourself - you could do it. Whether you want to is the question. It's just a matter of preference. So if you want to deliver naturally, proceed with confidence! If you decide to go for the epidural, don't let anyone make you feel like you are a wimp or you aren't strong enough, because you are.
Just choose whatever you think would be the best choice for you, and know that any way it happens, giving birth is an amazing thing, and such an adventure!
Today I just wanted to reflect on how powerful our God is. I've been continually amazed over the past couple months by how He's been working not only in my life, but in the lives of those around me.
As you all know, Derek and I had trouble getting pregnant with this baby. Nothing I've been through has been quite so stressful, or painful.
I recently read this on a new blog I found: "I don't know how to explain the feeling of thinking, fearing, that you might not be able to conceive a child as a woman. It's such a sinking feeling. It's easy to obsess over. It makes you feel inadequate." That's exactly right. It can be a dark place to be.
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28
I know the Lord accomplished great things in my life through those months of infertility. He taught me to lean on Him, and trust that His plans, whatever they might be, were best. He taught me to look for the ways He was going to use this situation, and I felt assured that there is always a purpose, even when it's hard to see. I wrote several posts on my struggles, and I trust that He has used those posts to encourage others when they needed encouragement.
(If you are interested in those posts, see Babies And Being Content, The Fertility Factor, and To Trust Him (And A Good Cry) - that last one was actually written after I found out I was pregnant, but it's full of the lessons I learned during that time.)
One thing that really helped me through all those months of waiting were my "infertility buddies" as I like to call them. These were ladies that were going through much the same thing that I was, and we would spend time talking or e-mailing, encouraging each other and brainstorming on what to try next. I know the Lord placed them in my life - He knew that I would need them.
One of my infertility buddies was Amber. Amber and I went through almost every step of this struggle together. Amber was my very first follower and blogging friend, and we hit it off and ended up e-mailing each other regularly after that. She was the one who told me about the effects of the birth control pill (if you're pro-life, you need to click on the link and read that post), and we went off the pill at about the same time. We both realized we were having problems ovulating, and then we both ended up talking with our hubbies and deciding to try for babies right away. We both prayed for each other.
Then, by the Lord's grace, I got pregnant. His grace and goodness, not only in giving us this baby, but in the countless ways He showed me His faithfulness in the months prior to that, still amaze me.
". . . Pray for one another, that you may be healed." James 5:16b
Being pregnant only made my burden for my "infertility buddies" heavier. I know so many of you had prayed for me through those frustrating months, and my heart was heavy for my friends who weren't pregnant, but wanted to be. I started praying even harder for those I knew who were still trying, including Amber, who was being told by her doctors that she probably wouldn't be able to get pregnant without fertility treatments. (I hope you know that I still pray regularly for my dear friends who are still waiting for the Lord to grant them a baby - you know who you are).
"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" Jeremiah 29:11
God is bigger than a prognosis. He can do anything He pleases, and He likes to surprise us.
Amber is pregnant! No, she didn't do any fertility treatments - in fact she had nearly given up hope of conceiving and had determined that she and her husband may just have to adopt all their children. But the Lord had other plans, and His plans are always the best plans!
(Amber just announced her pregnancy on her blog - head on over there and congratulate her, if you're so inclined!)
After I had written this post, I was made aware of another blogging friend with an amazing story of God's grace and plan in this area. You might all remember Jaime? She moved from a Blogger blog to a Wordpress blog earlier this year. She and her husband have walked through infertility for several years, and she became a mother to her sweet little boy, whom they adopted. I couldn't believe it when I read it, but after they had decided it was time to adopt again, Jaime found out she is pregnant! Amazing, what our God can do . . . head on over to Jaime's blog to read her full infertility and pregnancy story and congratulate her too!
These are just two stories (three, counting mine) of how the Lord has worked in mighty ways in the lives of ladies I know. There are other stories that I'm not at liberty to share right now. Maybe sometime in the future.
I just wanted to encourage you ladies who are still longing for a baby, and wondering if that day will ever come when it's your happy story on your blog. God is more powerful than a diagnosis. He is the Great Physician. He is the Giver of Good Things. Whether He chooses to open your womb, or whether He chooses to reflect His ultimate plan of love and redemption in your life through adoption, He knows what He's doing. He is powerful. And His plans and timing are always perfect.
"He raises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the ash heap;
He seats them with princes,
with the princes of their people.
He settles the barren woman in her home
as a happy mother of children.
Praise the LORD."
Psalm 113:7-9
As you all know, Derek and I had trouble getting pregnant with this baby. Nothing I've been through has been quite so stressful, or painful.
I recently read this on a new blog I found: "I don't know how to explain the feeling of thinking, fearing, that you might not be able to conceive a child as a woman. It's such a sinking feeling. It's easy to obsess over. It makes you feel inadequate." That's exactly right. It can be a dark place to be.
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28
I know the Lord accomplished great things in my life through those months of infertility. He taught me to lean on Him, and trust that His plans, whatever they might be, were best. He taught me to look for the ways He was going to use this situation, and I felt assured that there is always a purpose, even when it's hard to see. I wrote several posts on my struggles, and I trust that He has used those posts to encourage others when they needed encouragement.
(If you are interested in those posts, see Babies And Being Content, The Fertility Factor, and To Trust Him (And A Good Cry) - that last one was actually written after I found out I was pregnant, but it's full of the lessons I learned during that time.)
One thing that really helped me through all those months of waiting were my "infertility buddies" as I like to call them. These were ladies that were going through much the same thing that I was, and we would spend time talking or e-mailing, encouraging each other and brainstorming on what to try next. I know the Lord placed them in my life - He knew that I would need them.
One of my infertility buddies was Amber. Amber and I went through almost every step of this struggle together. Amber was my very first follower and blogging friend, and we hit it off and ended up e-mailing each other regularly after that. She was the one who told me about the effects of the birth control pill (if you're pro-life, you need to click on the link and read that post), and we went off the pill at about the same time. We both realized we were having problems ovulating, and then we both ended up talking with our hubbies and deciding to try for babies right away. We both prayed for each other.
Then, by the Lord's grace, I got pregnant. His grace and goodness, not only in giving us this baby, but in the countless ways He showed me His faithfulness in the months prior to that, still amaze me.
". . . Pray for one another, that you may be healed." James 5:16b
Being pregnant only made my burden for my "infertility buddies" heavier. I know so many of you had prayed for me through those frustrating months, and my heart was heavy for my friends who weren't pregnant, but wanted to be. I started praying even harder for those I knew who were still trying, including Amber, who was being told by her doctors that she probably wouldn't be able to get pregnant without fertility treatments. (I hope you know that I still pray regularly for my dear friends who are still waiting for the Lord to grant them a baby - you know who you are).
"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" Jeremiah 29:11
God is bigger than a prognosis. He can do anything He pleases, and He likes to surprise us.
Amber is pregnant! No, she didn't do any fertility treatments - in fact she had nearly given up hope of conceiving and had determined that she and her husband may just have to adopt all their children. But the Lord had other plans, and His plans are always the best plans!
(Amber just announced her pregnancy on her blog - head on over there and congratulate her, if you're so inclined!)
After I had written this post, I was made aware of another blogging friend with an amazing story of God's grace and plan in this area. You might all remember Jaime? She moved from a Blogger blog to a Wordpress blog earlier this year. She and her husband have walked through infertility for several years, and she became a mother to her sweet little boy, whom they adopted. I couldn't believe it when I read it, but after they had decided it was time to adopt again, Jaime found out she is pregnant! Amazing, what our God can do . . . head on over to Jaime's blog to read her full infertility and pregnancy story and congratulate her too!
These are just two stories (three, counting mine) of how the Lord has worked in mighty ways in the lives of ladies I know. There are other stories that I'm not at liberty to share right now. Maybe sometime in the future.
I just wanted to encourage you ladies who are still longing for a baby, and wondering if that day will ever come when it's your happy story on your blog. God is more powerful than a diagnosis. He is the Great Physician. He is the Giver of Good Things. Whether He chooses to open your womb, or whether He chooses to reflect His ultimate plan of love and redemption in your life through adoption, He knows what He's doing. He is powerful. And His plans and timing are always perfect.
"He raises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the ash heap;
He seats them with princes,
with the princes of their people.
He settles the barren woman in her home
as a happy mother of children.
Praise the LORD."
Psalm 113:7-9
Note: Once again, this is possibly a "too much information" post, and it's intended for female readers, especially those who are married. If you are a kid or a male reader, please skip this post. You've now been sufficiently warned.
Also please note that I am not a doctor or a medical professional, I'm just summarizing some of the research I've done. Please consult your medical professionals with concerns. These posts include information as well as my opinions based on research I've done and are for your information only. They are not intended to replace proper medical diagnosis or treatment.
Someone recently asked me to explain how I monitor my fertility signs, and that led to yesterday's post on the Fertility Awareness Method. So if you haven't read that post, you might want to start there, and this post will make alot more sense.
Also, I'd like to redirect you to what got me started doing FAM over a year ago. At the time I was taking the birth control pill, and I learned some disturbing information that every woman taking the pill should be aware of, especially if you're pro-life. Please see my post "Important Information You Might Not Know" for more about that.
So let's jump right back into it, shall we?
Some Additional Signs Of Ovulation
There are a couple other signs that you may or may not notice around ovulation:
1. Ovulatory pain. Sometimes you'll get one-sided pain as your ovary releases an egg.
2. Ovulatory spotting. Sometimes you'll get a little spotting right around the time of ovulation, but it should only last a day or two, and it should be extremely light.
3. Anything really. The more you chart your cycles and are aware of when you ovulate, the more you may notice some signs that are unique to you. If you notice anything out of the ordinary around the time of ovulation, make a note of it on your chart - it may be a helpful clue for future cycles.
Charting
You should be recording your signs on a chart for easy reference later. You'll want to be able to look back on previous charts to see if you can identify a pattern, or if something isn't functioning properly you want to have the information at your fingertips so you can talk about it with your doctor. Plus for the temperature rise you often have to have it spelled out in front of you before you can see it.
The Bump's version of a fertility chart (Resource 1) is one chart that I have used in the past. After a while of dealing with confusing cycles, I actually bought a computer program that helps with charting your cycles (see Resource 2), and that's been helpful for me as well. There's a web-based version (Resource 3) of the software that is free, but it wasn't working properly when I tried it - they may have improved it since then. There are lots of different charts out there if you search for "Fertility Charts". Just pick the one you are most comfortable with and go for it.
Here's an example of a way to chart - you'll notice the different rows to record different signs. The chart should also include a row for you to record when you have intercourse, even though this one doesn't have that row.
For more information on charting, please see "Taking Charge Of Your Fertility" by Toni Weschler (Resource 4). It has alot of good information on proper charting, and it also addresses special situations and how to interpret your chart correctly.
Menstrual Cycle Myth That You Should Know
You do not always ovulate on Day 14. In fact, many women do not ever ovulate on Day 14. So if you ovulate before then, that's perfectly fine. If you're on Day 22 of your menstrual cycle and you still haven't ovulated, that's perfectly fine. The beauty of this method is that you can actually know the precise day that you do ovulate, so when your doctor is all confused at how far along you are, you can let them know why (and they will be confused - doctors always expect you to ovulate on Day 14, even though they should know better).
Maybe I'm just a control freak, but I just like knowing. Every woman should know her body, and know her cycles - it does bring about a sense of control over things, as well as peace of mind, because you know what's going on with your body.
Plus, if you just assume that you'll ovulate on Day 14 and plan accordingly, you may totally miss your window of opportunity, or have a surprise and wonder how that happened. With this method you can know what's really going on.
If we had been planning on a Day 14 ovulation, we wouldn't be pregnant right now (I ovulated on Day 7). I wouldn't have expected to ovulate that early, but I was watching my signs, and I just had a feeling this was the real deal - and it was. And the Lord blessed us with this sweet baby.
When Things Aren't Working Right
If you start charting and things just aren't coming up right, it can be super-frustrating. Trust me, I know. It's even more frustrating if you're trying to get pregnant, because things need to be working right for that to happen.
A couple notes:
1. You can have bleeding even if you're not ovulating, but this doesn't qualify as a normal period, because a true period is always preceded by ovulation.
If you are having continuous bleeding, or very short lengths of time between periods, I'd recommend seeing a fertility doctor. Your body shouldn't be doing that, even if you just went off the pill. I'd recommend seeing a doctor you trust or a fertility specialist (because fertility specialists are more familiar with the way things can go wrong and the proper treatment than regular gynecologists are - at least that's been my experience).
2. You can have all the signs of ovulation and not actually ovulate - that's why it's important to chart all your signs. A shift in temperature or lack thereof, will confirm whether or not you really ovulated.
3. It's okay to be pro-active. If you haven't ovulated within 6 months of going off the pill, I say call up a fertility specialist and get going. I know they say if you're young, you don't qualify as infertile until you've been trying for a year - but if you're young, you shouldn't be gong six months without ovulating either. Your doctor might look at you weird at first, but stick to your guns, tell them why you think something's wrong, and don't let them make you feel weird about seeing them about your concerns. At this point you know your body, and it's not normal to go that long without ovulating. There's a little pep-talk for you.
Some Encouragement For When Things Aren't Working Right
1. You can ovulate any day. Even if you haven't had a period on months, you can ovulate on any day. Don't give up hope, be pro-active, and keep monitoring those signs.
2. Nothing is impossible with God. There is nothing He can't do, and miracles happen every day. If you've gone many months without ovulating it can be easy to get so discouraged that you throw in the towel, or have doubts about the Lord's plan - but He always has a plan. He always has plans to prosper you and not harm you (Jeremiah 29:11). The fear comes when you're worried that His plans might not match up with your plans - but His plans are always better, even if we never understand the reason why. And He always works things out for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28).
3. The Bible tells us to delight ourselves in the Lord, and He will give us the desires of our hearts (Psalm 37:4). It says that He will withhold no good thing from those walk uprightly, seek the Lord, and fear Him (Psalm 84:11, Psalm 34:10, Matthew 6:33). It also says that when two or more are gathered together in His name, He is there with them, and if two people on earth agree about anything that they ask the Lord, it will be done for them (Matthew 18:19-20).
The point of those verses - pray about it with your hubby! Pray as a couple that the Lord will grant you a child, and know that His plans are always better than our plans.
Cast your cares on the Lord (1 Peter 5:7), and then let it be. Trust in him fully, stop worrying, and you'll feel so much more at peace, with the kind of peace that only the Lord can give. Waiting and trusting in the Lord with a peaceful mind is a much better place to be than constantly worrying. And interestingly, if your more stressed you're more likely to have difficulty getting pregnant (Resource 5), so trusting the Lord is just better all the way around, for mind and body and babies.
Give it over to Him, and then let Him handle it. And know that I'm praying for you (ie. any of my followers who may be trying - and let me know if you want to and I'll add your specific name to my prayer list - I'd love to pray for you by name).
Some Closing Thoughts
There are so many benefits to using FAM, but one of the benefits that you may not expect when you first start out is increased appreciation for God's creation. When you think of creation, you tend to think of mountains and trees and oceans, but His creation includes our bodies.
Every time I go over this information again, I'm just struck with how perfectly the Lord designed our bodies. He designed it so that at the time of the month when you can get pregnant the sperm have a nice environment to live in, nice fluid to travel in, plus a nice lube to get the process of getting sperm in there easier. He designed it so that at the time that you can get pregnant, the sperm have an open path into your uterus and to your tubes. He designed it so at the moment that you may get pregnant, your body is already preparing a nice, warm environment to grow a baby in.
He certainly prepared everything perfectly so that we can fulfill His command to be fruitful and multiply. How anyone can look at the intricacies and perfect design of the reproductive process and not know there is a Creator is beyond me.
I guess that's why I like science and biology so much - every cell points to our Creator, and it never fails to leave me more in awe of Him. I hope you leave this series of posts with a renewed appreciation for the wonderful power of our Lord (and maybe a little motivation to get to know this aspect of His Creation better)!
Resources:
1. Fertility Chart, TheBump.com. http://images.thenestbaby.com/tools/pdfs/fertility_chart.pdf
2. Taking Charge of Your Fertility Software. www.tcoyf.com. I paid $40 for the software. Click here for a free 15 day trial of the software.
3. TCOYFweb, Web-based charting system. http://www.tcoyf.com/content/ApplicationDownload.aspx Still in the testing phase.
4. Weschler, Toni. Taking Charge Of Your Fertility, Copyright 2002, 1995.
5. High Stress Levels May Delay A Woman Getting Pregnant, Study Suggests. August 17, 2010, Sciencedaily.com. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/08/100817111658.htm Study performed by University of Oxford.
Also please note that I am not a doctor or a medical professional, I'm just summarizing some of the research I've done. Please consult your medical professionals with concerns. These posts include information as well as my opinions based on research I've done and are for your information only. They are not intended to replace proper medical diagnosis or treatment.
Someone recently asked me to explain how I monitor my fertility signs, and that led to yesterday's post on the Fertility Awareness Method. So if you haven't read that post, you might want to start there, and this post will make alot more sense.
Also, I'd like to redirect you to what got me started doing FAM over a year ago. At the time I was taking the birth control pill, and I learned some disturbing information that every woman taking the pill should be aware of, especially if you're pro-life. Please see my post "Important Information You Might Not Know" for more about that.
So let's jump right back into it, shall we?
Some Additional Signs Of Ovulation
There are a couple other signs that you may or may not notice around ovulation:
1. Ovulatory pain. Sometimes you'll get one-sided pain as your ovary releases an egg.
2. Ovulatory spotting. Sometimes you'll get a little spotting right around the time of ovulation, but it should only last a day or two, and it should be extremely light.
3. Anything really. The more you chart your cycles and are aware of when you ovulate, the more you may notice some signs that are unique to you. If you notice anything out of the ordinary around the time of ovulation, make a note of it on your chart - it may be a helpful clue for future cycles.
Charting
You should be recording your signs on a chart for easy reference later. You'll want to be able to look back on previous charts to see if you can identify a pattern, or if something isn't functioning properly you want to have the information at your fingertips so you can talk about it with your doctor. Plus for the temperature rise you often have to have it spelled out in front of you before you can see it.
The Bump's version of a fertility chart (Resource 1) is one chart that I have used in the past. After a while of dealing with confusing cycles, I actually bought a computer program that helps with charting your cycles (see Resource 2), and that's been helpful for me as well. There's a web-based version (Resource 3) of the software that is free, but it wasn't working properly when I tried it - they may have improved it since then. There are lots of different charts out there if you search for "Fertility Charts". Just pick the one you are most comfortable with and go for it.
Here's an example of a way to chart - you'll notice the different rows to record different signs. The chart should also include a row for you to record when you have intercourse, even though this one doesn't have that row.
For more information on charting, please see "Taking Charge Of Your Fertility" by Toni Weschler (Resource 4). It has alot of good information on proper charting, and it also addresses special situations and how to interpret your chart correctly.
Menstrual Cycle Myth That You Should Know
You do not always ovulate on Day 14. In fact, many women do not ever ovulate on Day 14. So if you ovulate before then, that's perfectly fine. If you're on Day 22 of your menstrual cycle and you still haven't ovulated, that's perfectly fine. The beauty of this method is that you can actually know the precise day that you do ovulate, so when your doctor is all confused at how far along you are, you can let them know why (and they will be confused - doctors always expect you to ovulate on Day 14, even though they should know better).
Maybe I'm just a control freak, but I just like knowing. Every woman should know her body, and know her cycles - it does bring about a sense of control over things, as well as peace of mind, because you know what's going on with your body.
Plus, if you just assume that you'll ovulate on Day 14 and plan accordingly, you may totally miss your window of opportunity, or have a surprise and wonder how that happened. With this method you can know what's really going on.
If we had been planning on a Day 14 ovulation, we wouldn't be pregnant right now (I ovulated on Day 7). I wouldn't have expected to ovulate that early, but I was watching my signs, and I just had a feeling this was the real deal - and it was. And the Lord blessed us with this sweet baby.
When Things Aren't Working Right
If you start charting and things just aren't coming up right, it can be super-frustrating. Trust me, I know. It's even more frustrating if you're trying to get pregnant, because things need to be working right for that to happen.
A couple notes:
1. You can have bleeding even if you're not ovulating, but this doesn't qualify as a normal period, because a true period is always preceded by ovulation.
If you are having continuous bleeding, or very short lengths of time between periods, I'd recommend seeing a fertility doctor. Your body shouldn't be doing that, even if you just went off the pill. I'd recommend seeing a doctor you trust or a fertility specialist (because fertility specialists are more familiar with the way things can go wrong and the proper treatment than regular gynecologists are - at least that's been my experience).
2. You can have all the signs of ovulation and not actually ovulate - that's why it's important to chart all your signs. A shift in temperature or lack thereof, will confirm whether or not you really ovulated.
3. It's okay to be pro-active. If you haven't ovulated within 6 months of going off the pill, I say call up a fertility specialist and get going. I know they say if you're young, you don't qualify as infertile until you've been trying for a year - but if you're young, you shouldn't be gong six months without ovulating either. Your doctor might look at you weird at first, but stick to your guns, tell them why you think something's wrong, and don't let them make you feel weird about seeing them about your concerns. At this point you know your body, and it's not normal to go that long without ovulating. There's a little pep-talk for you.
Some Encouragement For When Things Aren't Working Right
1. You can ovulate any day. Even if you haven't had a period on months, you can ovulate on any day. Don't give up hope, be pro-active, and keep monitoring those signs.
2. Nothing is impossible with God. There is nothing He can't do, and miracles happen every day. If you've gone many months without ovulating it can be easy to get so discouraged that you throw in the towel, or have doubts about the Lord's plan - but He always has a plan. He always has plans to prosper you and not harm you (Jeremiah 29:11). The fear comes when you're worried that His plans might not match up with your plans - but His plans are always better, even if we never understand the reason why. And He always works things out for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28).
3. The Bible tells us to delight ourselves in the Lord, and He will give us the desires of our hearts (Psalm 37:4). It says that He will withhold no good thing from those walk uprightly, seek the Lord, and fear Him (Psalm 84:11, Psalm 34:10, Matthew 6:33). It also says that when two or more are gathered together in His name, He is there with them, and if two people on earth agree about anything that they ask the Lord, it will be done for them (Matthew 18:19-20).
The point of those verses - pray about it with your hubby! Pray as a couple that the Lord will grant you a child, and know that His plans are always better than our plans.
Cast your cares on the Lord (1 Peter 5:7), and then let it be. Trust in him fully, stop worrying, and you'll feel so much more at peace, with the kind of peace that only the Lord can give. Waiting and trusting in the Lord with a peaceful mind is a much better place to be than constantly worrying. And interestingly, if your more stressed you're more likely to have difficulty getting pregnant (Resource 5), so trusting the Lord is just better all the way around, for mind and body and babies.
Give it over to Him, and then let Him handle it. And know that I'm praying for you (ie. any of my followers who may be trying - and let me know if you want to and I'll add your specific name to my prayer list - I'd love to pray for you by name).
Some Closing Thoughts
There are so many benefits to using FAM, but one of the benefits that you may not expect when you first start out is increased appreciation for God's creation. When you think of creation, you tend to think of mountains and trees and oceans, but His creation includes our bodies.
Every time I go over this information again, I'm just struck with how perfectly the Lord designed our bodies. He designed it so that at the time of the month when you can get pregnant the sperm have a nice environment to live in, nice fluid to travel in, plus a nice lube to get the process of getting sperm in there easier. He designed it so that at the time that you can get pregnant, the sperm have an open path into your uterus and to your tubes. He designed it so at the moment that you may get pregnant, your body is already preparing a nice, warm environment to grow a baby in.
He certainly prepared everything perfectly so that we can fulfill His command to be fruitful and multiply. How anyone can look at the intricacies and perfect design of the reproductive process and not know there is a Creator is beyond me.
I guess that's why I like science and biology so much - every cell points to our Creator, and it never fails to leave me more in awe of Him. I hope you leave this series of posts with a renewed appreciation for the wonderful power of our Lord (and maybe a little motivation to get to know this aspect of His Creation better)!
Resources:
1. Fertility Chart, TheBump.com. http://images.thenestbaby.com/tools/pdfs/fertility_chart.pdf
2. Taking Charge of Your Fertility Software. www.tcoyf.com. I paid $40 for the software. Click here for a free 15 day trial of the software.
3. TCOYFweb, Web-based charting system. http://www.tcoyf.com/content/ApplicationDownload.aspx Still in the testing phase.
4. Weschler, Toni. Taking Charge Of Your Fertility, Copyright 2002, 1995.
5. High Stress Levels May Delay A Woman Getting Pregnant, Study Suggests. August 17, 2010, Sciencedaily.com. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/08/100817111658.htm Study performed by University of Oxford.
Note: This post is possibly of the "too much information" variety, and it's directed toward female readers, especially those that are married. It's really not for kiddies or males to read, so if you are a kid or a male, go ahead and skip this post. Okay, you've been sufficiently warned.
Also please note that I am not a doctor or a medical professional, I'm just summarizing some of the research I've done. Please consult your medical professionals with concerns. These posts include information as well as my opinions based on research I've done and are for your information only. They are not intended to replace proper medical diagnosis or treatment.
I recently had a request to explain how I monitor my fertility signs, and I thought, well, why not do a blog post on the subject? I haven't really talked about this since last year, and it's good information for any woman to know. Whether you're trying for a baby, trying not to have a baby, or haven't even thought about this before, if you're a woman with menstrual cycles, you should know this stuff.
I'd like to say right here that I got most of this information from a book called "Taking Charge Of your Fertility" by Toni Weschler. If you are interested in using FAM, you should definitely read this book - it addresses proper charting, special situations, and more information on how to use FAM for a natural method of birth control. I'm just going to present you with the basic information in my own words here, but you all should really read the book. I'm not an expert, she is - I'm just giving you a summary.
So here we go.
Background Information
A little background first: Derek and I started using the Fertility Awareness Method (FAM) last year after we went off the pill. If you have never read that post, you should read it. It explains why Derek and I decided to go off the pill, and why we will never go on it again, and honestly, doctors should be telling any woman this before prescribing the pill, especially if they know you're pro-life. Okay, I'll get off that soap box now.
Anyway, we initially used FAM to try not to get pregnant, but once it became apparent that I may not be able to get pregnant, we decided to start trying for a baby. Then we started using the FAM method to get pregnant, and if I didn't know this stuff, it would have been very easy to miss our opportunity.
If my dear friend Amber did not tell me about the pill last year, and then tell me about the FAM method, we would not have this sweet child that we do now, so if I've never said it before, thanks Amber.
The Basics
So without further ado, I now pass the information on to you, my dear blogging buddies. I know alot of you already know this stuff, but just in case some of you don't.
Okay, let's talk about the basics first (I know you all know the basics, but just so we're on the same page). In order to get pregnant, two things have to happen: (1) Your body must release an egg from one of your two ovaries, and (2) the sperm must travel through the cervical fluid and join with the egg. Then (bam!) you have a baby.
There's a few numbers that the FAM method is based from. First, the egg can only be fertilized for the first twenty-four hours after it is released. Second, sperm can live inside your system for 3-5 days (closer to 3, but up to 5). Third, the sperm must be in your system for a certain period of time in order to be able to fertilize the egg (the process is called capacitation - see Resource 1). I don't think they've actually proven the exact amount of time it takes for sperm to become capacitated, but it generally takes several hours.
With this information, the thought is that if you can abstain from sex or use some other form of birth control for the 5 days before you ovulate and the 2-3 days after, you will most likely not get pregnant. Inversely, if you want to get pregnant, you should time sex to coincide with your fertile time, particularly the 3 days before you ovulate (because remember, the egg is only good for 24 hours at the most after it is released, and the sperm have to be in your system for several hours in order to fertilize the egg).
So the trick is to know when exactly you ovulate, and how do you know that? I'm so glad you asked!
Your body gives you several observable signs to let you know when you are fertile and when you've ovulated. The main ones are (1) a shift in basal body temperature, (2) a change in the consistency of your cervical fluid, and (3) changes in your cervix.
Shift In Temperature
After the egg is released the corpus luteum (which was previously encasing the egg) releases a hormone called progesterone which prepares your body for a potential pregnancy. One of the effects of this rise in progesterone is that your basal body temperature will rise. It’s usually pretty subtle, by 5/10ths of a degree or so. If you take your temperatures daily, you'll see an upward shift in your temperatures after you've ovulated, and your temperatures will stay up until you have your period. If you get pregnant, they'll stay up until you have the baby.
Here's an example a temperature shift in an ovulation cycle, and this is also a pregnancy chart. You'll notice how the temperature stays up well past the 14 days . . .
How To Check It: Your basal body temperature is your temperature at rest. You determine your basal body temperature by using a basal body thermometer (which has smaller graduations of measurement) to take your temperature directly after waking up in the morning, before you get out of bed or move or speak (because too much movement or speech can throw it off).
You should try to take it at the same time every morning. I take mine at 4:45 AM, which sounds really early, but that's when I have to get up on the days that I work, and during the rest of the week I still take it at 4:45 AM and go back to sleep afterward. You should also try to get at least 3 hours of continuous sleep before taking your temperature, to ensure that your body is completely at rest.
Lots of people think that this would be impossible to do every morning, but once you get into the habit of it, it's no big deal. I don't even think about it anymore - the alarm goes off, I reach for my thermometer, snooze while the thermometer is computing, look at the temperature, go back to sleep. Easy as pie. After three weeks of temping you'll be there too.
Once your temperature goes up, you'll get your period in about 12-14 days after that. If you don't and your temperature stays up for 18 consecutive days, you're most likely pregnant.
Temperature charting lets you know that you've ovulated after the fact. The main benefit of charting your temperature is to determine whether you did, in fact, ovulate, and it also gives you a heads up of when your period is coming (or not coming). This is especially helpful for people with irregular cycles, like myself, It's also great for determining if your body is actually functioning properly.
If you are just going off the pill, don't be surprised if your temperature chart looks like a bunch of spikes. For several months after I went off the pill, my temperatures kept going up and down every couple of days. My chart looked like a mountain range. It'll probably take a little while for you body to normalize, but charting can also tell you if you're not ovulating.
Charting alone, however, will not help you get pregnant or prevent pregnancy in any given cycle, because as I said before, it doesn't let you know you've ovulated until after the fact. By the time your temperature actually goes up the egg is already dead and gone, or you're already pregnant. The next two signs are the ones you really want to pay attention to, because they let you know when ovulation is imminent.
Change In Cervical Fluid
You all know what I'm talking about with this one, whether you realize it yet or not. Your body produces cervical fluid, and it produces it in different amounts at different points in your cycle. Cervical fluid can range from white and sticky to clear and watery, and it changes in consistency the closer you are to ovulation.
Cervical fluid has different functions, the most important one for our purposes being that it allows sperm to live inside you and travel to the egg. If your cervical fluid is thick and sticky and white, the sperm can't live in that. They can only live in the clear, watery variety.
It's amazing how perfectly the Lord has designed our bodies. The closer you are to ovulating, the more fertile your cervical fluid becomes. Fertile cervical fluid is of an egg-white consistency, clear, watery, and it peaks right around the day you ovulate - so you'll get lots of wet cervical fluid. You know how sometimes in the middle of the month you get that gush of something, and you run to the bathroom to check, and your underwear are just wet? That would be it, and (aha!) that would be the day to try for a baby.
If you can monitor the consistency of your cervical fluid, you can know when you're about to ovulate, and you can plan accordingly. Keep in mind that you can have the fertile cervical fluid 1-3 days before the day you ovulate as well, so if you're trying not to get pregnant, you should do something else on those days. If you are trying to get pregnant, make sure you take advantage of those days. Either way, you need to be checking this sign, because it's the most important one for both groups. This one is not optional, it's vital.
How To Check It: You can check your cervical fluid either by taking charge and reaching in for a sample, or just by wiping with toilet paper and seeing what you got.
Alright, enough said about that.
Changes In Your Cervix
This sign is optional, but it can be nice to have a third confirmation of the other two signs. It's also the most awkward to describe and the most difficult to understand.
Your cervix is the lowest part of your uterus, and you can actually feel it with your fingers. It feels like a small, round protrusion, with a small dent in the middle. You want to check for three things - firmness, openness, and position.
When you get close to ovulating, your cervix becomes softer, more open, and higher (to allow for sperm to enter easily so they can reach the egg). When you are not fertile (example: after you ovulate) your cervix will feel firm, low and closed.
The change in firmness is subtle - "Taking Charge Of Your Fertility" describes it as the difference between touching your nose and touching your lips. The small dent in the middle is the opening to your cervix, and it will feel more open the closer you are to ovulating. You'll also notice through consistent checking that your cervix will be higher the closer to ovulating, and lower after ovulation.
How To Check It: The cervix is rather awkward to check, because you need to reach a finger inside of yourself and try to find it. You should also make sure your standing in the same position each time you check, because the way you stand affects it's position. Make sure your hands are clean.
It's going to take you a while to figure this one out, and if the whole thing just sounds scary, just skip this one. It's not entirely necessary, especially if you have regular cycles. But if you have crazy cycles, or you don't think you're ovulating, it might be a good idea to check it. It just gives you more information to use to estimate ovulation.
This one just takes alot of practice, and if you're totally overwhelmed and freaked out about checking it, just skip this one.
To Be Continued
Those are the three main signs you want to monitoring with FAM. Now you know the basics; tomorrow I'll post some additional information you should know about a couple other signs you may have, some resources, and some information on when things aren't functioning properly.
Note: You can use FAM for birth control or to increase your chances of conceiving in any given cycle. Plus it's just good to know what's going on with your body. If you perform FAM properly, it is just as effective as the birth control pill in preventing pregnancy - a 99.5% success rate (see Resource 4). I didn't address the proper way to use FAM for birth control in this post, so if you would like more information on that, please look into Resources 2-4, listed below.
Resources:
1. Medical Dictionary by The Free Medical Dictionary. Definition of Sperm Capacitation. http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/sperm+capacitation
2. Weschler, Toni. Taking Charge Of Your Fertility, Copyright 2002, 1995.
3. Taking Charge Of Your Fertility Website. http://www.tcoyf.com/.
4. Frank -Hermann, P.; Heil, J.; Gnoth, C.; Toledo, E; Baur, S.; Pyper, C.; Jenetzky, e.; Strowitzki, T.; Freundl, G. The Effectiveness Of A Fertility Awareness Based Method To Avoid Pregnancy In Relation To A Couple's Sexual Behavior During The Fertile Time: A Prospective Longitudinal Study. February 20, 2007. http://humrep.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/dem003v1.
Also please note that I am not a doctor or a medical professional, I'm just summarizing some of the research I've done. Please consult your medical professionals with concerns. These posts include information as well as my opinions based on research I've done and are for your information only. They are not intended to replace proper medical diagnosis or treatment.
I recently had a request to explain how I monitor my fertility signs, and I thought, well, why not do a blog post on the subject? I haven't really talked about this since last year, and it's good information for any woman to know. Whether you're trying for a baby, trying not to have a baby, or haven't even thought about this before, if you're a woman with menstrual cycles, you should know this stuff.
I'd like to say right here that I got most of this information from a book called "Taking Charge Of your Fertility" by Toni Weschler. If you are interested in using FAM, you should definitely read this book - it addresses proper charting, special situations, and more information on how to use FAM for a natural method of birth control. I'm just going to present you with the basic information in my own words here, but you all should really read the book. I'm not an expert, she is - I'm just giving you a summary.
So here we go.
Background Information
A little background first: Derek and I started using the Fertility Awareness Method (FAM) last year after we went off the pill. If you have never read that post, you should read it. It explains why Derek and I decided to go off the pill, and why we will never go on it again, and honestly, doctors should be telling any woman this before prescribing the pill, especially if they know you're pro-life. Okay, I'll get off that soap box now.
Anyway, we initially used FAM to try not to get pregnant, but once it became apparent that I may not be able to get pregnant, we decided to start trying for a baby. Then we started using the FAM method to get pregnant, and if I didn't know this stuff, it would have been very easy to miss our opportunity.
If my dear friend Amber did not tell me about the pill last year, and then tell me about the FAM method, we would not have this sweet child that we do now, so if I've never said it before, thanks Amber.
The Basics
So without further ado, I now pass the information on to you, my dear blogging buddies. I know alot of you already know this stuff, but just in case some of you don't.
Okay, let's talk about the basics first (I know you all know the basics, but just so we're on the same page). In order to get pregnant, two things have to happen: (1) Your body must release an egg from one of your two ovaries, and (2) the sperm must travel through the cervical fluid and join with the egg. Then (bam!) you have a baby.
There's a few numbers that the FAM method is based from. First, the egg can only be fertilized for the first twenty-four hours after it is released. Second, sperm can live inside your system for 3-5 days (closer to 3, but up to 5). Third, the sperm must be in your system for a certain period of time in order to be able to fertilize the egg (the process is called capacitation - see Resource 1). I don't think they've actually proven the exact amount of time it takes for sperm to become capacitated, but it generally takes several hours.
With this information, the thought is that if you can abstain from sex or use some other form of birth control for the 5 days before you ovulate and the 2-3 days after, you will most likely not get pregnant. Inversely, if you want to get pregnant, you should time sex to coincide with your fertile time, particularly the 3 days before you ovulate (because remember, the egg is only good for 24 hours at the most after it is released, and the sperm have to be in your system for several hours in order to fertilize the egg).
So the trick is to know when exactly you ovulate, and how do you know that? I'm so glad you asked!
Your body gives you several observable signs to let you know when you are fertile and when you've ovulated. The main ones are (1) a shift in basal body temperature, (2) a change in the consistency of your cervical fluid, and (3) changes in your cervix.
Shift In Temperature
After the egg is released the corpus luteum (which was previously encasing the egg) releases a hormone called progesterone which prepares your body for a potential pregnancy. One of the effects of this rise in progesterone is that your basal body temperature will rise. It’s usually pretty subtle, by 5/10ths of a degree or so. If you take your temperatures daily, you'll see an upward shift in your temperatures after you've ovulated, and your temperatures will stay up until you have your period. If you get pregnant, they'll stay up until you have the baby.
Here's an example a temperature shift in an ovulation cycle, and this is also a pregnancy chart. You'll notice how the temperature stays up well past the 14 days . . .
How To Check It: Your basal body temperature is your temperature at rest. You determine your basal body temperature by using a basal body thermometer (which has smaller graduations of measurement) to take your temperature directly after waking up in the morning, before you get out of bed or move or speak (because too much movement or speech can throw it off).
You should try to take it at the same time every morning. I take mine at 4:45 AM, which sounds really early, but that's when I have to get up on the days that I work, and during the rest of the week I still take it at 4:45 AM and go back to sleep afterward. You should also try to get at least 3 hours of continuous sleep before taking your temperature, to ensure that your body is completely at rest.
Lots of people think that this would be impossible to do every morning, but once you get into the habit of it, it's no big deal. I don't even think about it anymore - the alarm goes off, I reach for my thermometer, snooze while the thermometer is computing, look at the temperature, go back to sleep. Easy as pie. After three weeks of temping you'll be there too.
Once your temperature goes up, you'll get your period in about 12-14 days after that. If you don't and your temperature stays up for 18 consecutive days, you're most likely pregnant.
Temperature charting lets you know that you've ovulated after the fact. The main benefit of charting your temperature is to determine whether you did, in fact, ovulate, and it also gives you a heads up of when your period is coming (or not coming). This is especially helpful for people with irregular cycles, like myself, It's also great for determining if your body is actually functioning properly.
If you are just going off the pill, don't be surprised if your temperature chart looks like a bunch of spikes. For several months after I went off the pill, my temperatures kept going up and down every couple of days. My chart looked like a mountain range. It'll probably take a little while for you body to normalize, but charting can also tell you if you're not ovulating.
Charting alone, however, will not help you get pregnant or prevent pregnancy in any given cycle, because as I said before, it doesn't let you know you've ovulated until after the fact. By the time your temperature actually goes up the egg is already dead and gone, or you're already pregnant. The next two signs are the ones you really want to pay attention to, because they let you know when ovulation is imminent.
Change In Cervical Fluid
You all know what I'm talking about with this one, whether you realize it yet or not. Your body produces cervical fluid, and it produces it in different amounts at different points in your cycle. Cervical fluid can range from white and sticky to clear and watery, and it changes in consistency the closer you are to ovulation.
Cervical fluid has different functions, the most important one for our purposes being that it allows sperm to live inside you and travel to the egg. If your cervical fluid is thick and sticky and white, the sperm can't live in that. They can only live in the clear, watery variety.
It's amazing how perfectly the Lord has designed our bodies. The closer you are to ovulating, the more fertile your cervical fluid becomes. Fertile cervical fluid is of an egg-white consistency, clear, watery, and it peaks right around the day you ovulate - so you'll get lots of wet cervical fluid. You know how sometimes in the middle of the month you get that gush of something, and you run to the bathroom to check, and your underwear are just wet? That would be it, and (aha!) that would be the day to try for a baby.
If you can monitor the consistency of your cervical fluid, you can know when you're about to ovulate, and you can plan accordingly. Keep in mind that you can have the fertile cervical fluid 1-3 days before the day you ovulate as well, so if you're trying not to get pregnant, you should do something else on those days. If you are trying to get pregnant, make sure you take advantage of those days. Either way, you need to be checking this sign, because it's the most important one for both groups. This one is not optional, it's vital.
How To Check It: You can check your cervical fluid either by taking charge and reaching in for a sample, or just by wiping with toilet paper and seeing what you got.
Alright, enough said about that.
Changes In Your Cervix
This sign is optional, but it can be nice to have a third confirmation of the other two signs. It's also the most awkward to describe and the most difficult to understand.
Your cervix is the lowest part of your uterus, and you can actually feel it with your fingers. It feels like a small, round protrusion, with a small dent in the middle. You want to check for three things - firmness, openness, and position.
When you get close to ovulating, your cervix becomes softer, more open, and higher (to allow for sperm to enter easily so they can reach the egg). When you are not fertile (example: after you ovulate) your cervix will feel firm, low and closed.
The change in firmness is subtle - "Taking Charge Of Your Fertility" describes it as the difference between touching your nose and touching your lips. The small dent in the middle is the opening to your cervix, and it will feel more open the closer you are to ovulating. You'll also notice through consistent checking that your cervix will be higher the closer to ovulating, and lower after ovulation.
How To Check It: The cervix is rather awkward to check, because you need to reach a finger inside of yourself and try to find it. You should also make sure your standing in the same position each time you check, because the way you stand affects it's position. Make sure your hands are clean.
It's going to take you a while to figure this one out, and if the whole thing just sounds scary, just skip this one. It's not entirely necessary, especially if you have regular cycles. But if you have crazy cycles, or you don't think you're ovulating, it might be a good idea to check it. It just gives you more information to use to estimate ovulation.
This one just takes alot of practice, and if you're totally overwhelmed and freaked out about checking it, just skip this one.
To Be Continued
Those are the three main signs you want to monitoring with FAM. Now you know the basics; tomorrow I'll post some additional information you should know about a couple other signs you may have, some resources, and some information on when things aren't functioning properly.
Note: You can use FAM for birth control or to increase your chances of conceiving in any given cycle. Plus it's just good to know what's going on with your body. If you perform FAM properly, it is just as effective as the birth control pill in preventing pregnancy - a 99.5% success rate (see Resource 4). I didn't address the proper way to use FAM for birth control in this post, so if you would like more information on that, please look into Resources 2-4, listed below.
Resources:
1. Medical Dictionary by The Free Medical Dictionary. Definition of Sperm Capacitation. http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/sperm+capacitation
2. Weschler, Toni. Taking Charge Of Your Fertility, Copyright 2002, 1995.
3. Taking Charge Of Your Fertility Website. http://www.tcoyf.com/.
4. Frank -Hermann, P.; Heil, J.; Gnoth, C.; Toledo, E; Baur, S.; Pyper, C.; Jenetzky, e.; Strowitzki, T.; Freundl, G. The Effectiveness Of A Fertility Awareness Based Method To Avoid Pregnancy In Relation To A Couple's Sexual Behavior During The Fertile Time: A Prospective Longitudinal Study. February 20, 2007. http://humrep.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/dem003v1.
Recently I started reading a book called Start Your Family: Inspiration For Having Babies by Steve and Candice Watters. It's basically a book that addresses the blessings of parenthood and our culture's increasingly negative attitude toward becoming a parent.
Chapter Five contained some startling statistics. I wouldn't consider myself ignorant of infertility at all - after all, I've been dealing with ovulatory infertility for the past ten months. But some of these stats were even surprising for me.
-For women, fertility begins to decline at age 27, the decline quickens after age 35, and by the time a woman is 40 her ability to get pregnant plummets. See Resource 2.
-At age 40, half of a women's eggs are chromosomally abnormal. By age 42, 90% of her eggs are chromosomally abnormal. See Resource 3.
-For men, fertility begins to decline after the age of 35. See Resource 2.
-Only about a third of couples who seek fertility treatment actually leave with a baby, and "that number can fluctuate dramatically depending on the reason a couple can't conceive naturally and the woman's age." See Resource 4.
-In-vitro fertilization treatments (the most technologically advanced method of conceiving, if all else fails) cost around $12,400, and women may need several rounds of IVF to concieve, if they conceive at all. "IVF simply may never work for some older women." See Resource 4.
Derek and I decided when we first got married that we'd like to wait two or three years to have children, just to give us time to get some debt paid off and get used to being married before adding a baby into the mix.
I think most couples today look at a variety of factors when considering when to have children. Those factors may include when they'll be in a good financial situation, when they'll be emotionally ready, where they want to be in their careers before they have children, and it sometimes includes a list of things that they would like to do or explore before having a baby.
But how many of us really consider fertility in our decision of when to have children?
No one really likes to talk about this for some reason, and those who do may be considered pessimistic. But the chances of conceiving decrease the older you get. You won't be infinitely fertile, and the hard fact is that you won't be able to have a baby whenever you want in life.
Why is it that we micro-analyze every other factor of when to have children, but we somehow overlook the most important and practical aspect of that decision - the question of "Will I still be fertile at the time when we want to have our first baby?"
I must admit that I am guilty of this myself. Before we were married, when Derek and I discussed our timeline of having children, the concept of how our fertility would decrease over time didn't even enter the equation. I can't believe I never thought of that before, as I think of it now.
Twenty-seven. Fertility starts to decrease for us women at the age of twenty-seven. I don't know where the rest of you young married ladies are, but that only gives me a few more years before it becomes even harder to have a baby. As if I weren't having enough trouble now.
Sure, there are alot of celebrities who have babies after age forty. But they are the exception, and we don't know how much time and money went into making that possible. Sure, there are many women who get pregnant without any help after 35, but the chances of that happening are far less than if they had started earlier (about 30% as opposed to 50%, Resource 2). And for many couples it just never happens, because they waited too long.
As for me, a woman in my early twenties who is already having struggles with her fertility, I urge you young married ladies out there who are in the midst of deciding when to have children to seriously consider your own fertility as an aspect of that decision. You may be one of those women who can conceive easily at a later age. But then again, you may not be. It's something every couple should have in their minds when making the decision of timing, and the goal of this post is just to get you all thinking about it.
I want each of you to experience every joy that life has to offer, and every blessing the Lord has to give you, but especially the gift of children. And I would hate to see anyone miss out on that blessing because no one brought the fertility factor to their attention when they were still young enough to do something about it.
I'd like to end this post with a quote from Start Your Family. I found this quote to be very encouraging, especially for those of us already struggling with fertility problems. We should be wise concerning our fertility and the timing of babies - but God is still (and always will be) in control, in spite of the struggles we face, even when they result from our own mistakes.
"As I wrote this chapter I thought my fertility window was closing - or more accurately, slamming shut - but then something happened.
Psalm 103 praises the God, "who satisfies your years with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle." "He Himself knows our frame," the psalmist instructs, "He is mindful that we are but dust . . . But the lovingkindness of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him." (5, 14, 17, NASB). We serve a wonder-working God. That's what my doctors - all three of them - concluded when, after three sets of blood tests that confirmed my childbearing years were over, I got pregnant. They all said the same thing: "It's a miracle."
And so as my belly swells, even as I finish the edits on this chapter, I'm reminded that it's our job to be faithful to learn the facts about our bodies and make the most of our fertility. But I also know that God is sovereign over all. It's up to us to do what we can. Then we can trust Him for the rest. We are not without hope."
-Candice Watters, Start Your Family, page 89. Emphasis mine.
Resources:
1. Watters, Steve and Candice; Starting Your Family: Inspiration For Having Babies. Moody Publishers, 2009. Buy the book here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0802458300?ie=UTF8&tag=helgetmar-20&linkCode=xm2&creativeASIN=0802458300.
2. de Vries, Lloyd; "Fertility: Less Time Than You Think", CBSNews.com, April 30, 2002. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/04/30/health/main507580.shtml .
3. Gibbs, Nancy; "Making Time For A Baby". Time.com, April 15, 2002. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1002217-2,00.html.
4. Stenson, Jacqueline; "Have Kids? Sure . . .Someday". MSNBC.com, June 6, 2007. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17937795/ns/health-pregnancy//.
5. Image from the American Society For Reproductive Medicine Ad Campaign. Image has been cropped for easier viewing on this page. See original ad here: http://www.protectyourfertility.org/pdfs/4up.pdf.
I haven't written alot of posts this week, because something came up on Wednesday that required some research and prayful consideration.
On Wednesday evening I was browsing through all of the new blog posts, and I came across a new post on my friend Amber's blog. If you'd like to read her post, check it out here.
Amber wrote saying that one of her friends had recently brought to her attention a fact about the birth control pill that she had not been previously aware of. She wrote that the pill works in three ways to prevent pregnancy:
1. Prevents ovulation (we all knew this one, right?)
2. Thickens the cervical fluid to make it difficult for the sperm to reach the egg.
These first two effects are contraceptive - they prevent conception, that is, the joining of the egg and the sperm. However, there is also a third effect that I had not heard of before.
3. Thins the lining of the uterus so that if an egg is fertilized, the feritilized egg will not be able to implant in the uterus. The fertilized egg would then die and be lost with the next menstrual cycle.
I am very pro-life, and I believe that life begins at conception. But this third effect means that the pill can cause a fertilized egg (which I believe to be a human being) to be lost. It's an abortive effect.
This information sent me reeling. I hadn't ever heard of this before, and I was pretty skeptical. I knew some methods of birth control, like IUDs (intra-uterine devices), caused fertilized eggs to be lost, but I had never heard of the birth control pill doing the same thing.
I'm very scientifically minded, so I decided to do some research on this before making a decision. Here's what I found out.
First I tried to find other resources that would give me information on whether or not this effect actually occurs, or whether it was just one of those theories that some anti-birth control person had come up with that didn't have alot of supporting evidence.
Every medical website that I checked listed all three effects of the pill. I checked out my specific birth control, and though the website for my birth control didn't list that third effect, it was confirmed to me by the other medical websites I checked that said low-dose hormonal birth control (which is what I take), does thin the lining of the uterus. I couldn't find one website that said that the pill does not thin the endometrium - every website either listed that as one of the effects, or didn't refer to it at all, but I couldn't find a source refuting it.
In addition, the statement that the lining of the uterus is thinned with hormonal birth control made sense to me. Don't most birth control pills broadcast that they can give you shorter, lighter periods? The lining of the uterus, or endometrium, is what is shed during your period, so if the period is lighter, the lining of the uterus must have been thinner.
I found a good paper on this topic written by a couple pro-life doctors, as well as an abbreviated version of the information in a book entitled Does the Birth Control Pill Cause Abortions? by Randy Alcorn. Please see resources 1 and 2 for links to those resources.
I was pretty disturbed by this information. I didn't want my birth control to have that effect. I like the pill - my periods were extremely irregular and heavy before I started the pill, and I liked the lighter periods and knowing when my period would be.
I wondered how often "break-through ovulation" occurs on the pill. I mean, the pill makes your cycles regular, and if ovulation almost never occurs on the pill, Derek and I could just guess the time that I would ovulate, if ovulation were to occur, and we could abstain during that period.
However, after a little more research I found out that in a study performed by Dr. Don Gambrell, JR. 4.7% of women on high dose birth control had breakthrough ovulation (meaning they ovulated even though they were on the pill), and 14% of women on low-dose birth control (50 mg or less) had breakthrough ovulation (see Resource 3). And apparently the only hormonal birth control that is really available today is of the low-dose variety. That means that you'll probably ovulate a couple times a year, even on the pill. If you ovulate and don't get pregnant, it's because one of the other two mechanisms kicked in. If the sperm never reached the egg, there's no problem, but if it did reach the egg and there was no pregnancy, then the egg was unable to implant and was lost.
What about staying on the pill and just trying to guess when you ovulate and abstain during that time? Unfortunately it seems that it is possible to ovulate any time during the month (see Resource 4). Even if you try to monitor ovulation through taking your basal body temperature or cervical mucous, those methods really can only tell you when ovulation has already occurred, or when it is imminent. In order to ensure that the egg isn't fertilized you have to stop having sex about seven days before ovulation, because sperm can survive for up to seven days inside the woman's body. I couldn't find a reliable way to predict ovulation that far in advance.
My conclusion from all this information hunting was that, yes, hormonal birth control of any kind (ring or pills) can prevent a fertilized egg from implanting, which, in effect, is very early abortion. Breakthrough ovulation can and does occur on hormonal birth control, and it is difficult to determine if and when ovulation occurs until after the fact, making the option of abstaining when ovulation is suspected to occur unreliable. *(Note: See update to this information after the Resources section.)
Update 8/2010: Since writing this post I have done alot more research on the signs of ovulation and how to predict ovulation in order to prevent , which appears to be alot more do-able than I originally thought. However, I still think it would be difficult to predict ovulation when taking the birth control pill, because of the additional hormones that the pill introduces to the body and the effects of those hormones on the quality and amount of cervical fluid (see the above list of the effects of the birth control pill). Changes in cervical fluid consistency must be observed in order to predict ovulation and prevent the fertilization of the egg. It would be very difficult to identify changes in cervical fluid when taking hormonal birth control because the pill causes a dry-up of cervical fluid, and that sign would then be obscured. Therefore, my previous concerns with adequately predicting ovulation when taking hormonal birth control are still valid.
I thought all you married, pro-lifers out there had a right to know this information. Each couple has to evaluate the information and decide for themselves. Hearing about this has resulted in a few restless nights, a ton of time spent researching, and quite a bit of prayer, but we finally came to a decision.
Knowing all this information, Derek and I could not justify continuing to use hormonal birth control. If the abortive effect of the hormonal birth control were to occur it would most likely be extremely rare, and may not even happen at all; however, there is a possibility it could happen, and there is no way to reliably prevent an egg from getting fertilized, should breakthrough ovulation occur.
If there is even a chance that a human life could be ended because of our choice to take birth control, can we really justify it? Derek and I couldn't. And believe me, I tried. I researched every avenue and excuse I could think of, but nothing can assure me that losing a fertilized egg won't happen. I really don't want to stop taking the pill - it makes my life so much easier and better, and I honestly don't think I'm ready to be a mother.
But do I want to answer to God someday for continuing to take the pill, even though I knew there was a possiblity that I could be losing babies by taking it? I don't want to be judged for that someday.
I believe every human life is precious, and I believe human life begins as soon as that sperm fuses with that egg. I have to try to do what is right, even though it's not what I want to do right now.
I prayed before I even began my research that the Lord would show us the right choice, that He would make the choices so clear that there wouldn't be a way that I could pick the wrong one. And I feel like He made His opinion on it pretty clear to me.
To be honest with you, I'm absolutely terrified! I don't want to get pregnant right now, and even though Derek and I have a pretty good plan for not getting pregnant, the chances are certainly higher that we might. But there was a fork in the road - choose my own way, follow my own desire and stay on the pill? Or do what I know is the right choice, take a leap of faith, stop taking the pill, and trust in the Lord to take care of us? If I really call myself a follower of Jesus, I have to choose the second. And I think my Jesus will continue to take care of me, whether we get pregnant right now or not. He's never let me down so far, and I really have no reason to believe He will now!
For a little more information on how we plan to try not to get pregnant, check out Resource 5 and 6. I'll do another post ASAP on our game plan, just in case any of you are interested.
My original post stopped here, but another question was brought up in the comments section which I spent some more time researching. My response and conclusions are below.
Brittany, my dear blogging friend, brought up a point in the comments section that referred to how some doctors think the research is inconclusive on whether the thickness of the endometrium in pill-users can cause fertilized eggs to be lost. So yes, I did more research! Here's some more stuff I found out.
I did a little more research on why some doctors think the research is inconclusive for the third effect. I found a research paper (see Resource 7) that stated that some doctors think that if breakthrough ovulation does occur in women who are taking birth control, the associated increase in estrogen will help to thicken the lining of the uterus at that time. There are no studies that show that the endometrium does thicken after breakthrough ovulation, but there's no studies that show that it doesn't either. That's why some pro-life doctors are okay with birth control, because there hasn't been a study done to see what the endometrial thickness is in women on birth control after breakthrough ovulation.
I did a little more research on the average pre-ovulatory endometrial thickness in women who are not on birth control. If the difference in thickness between women who are in the pre-ovulatory phase and women on birth control is pretty significant, that would be some information that I would consider helpful in my own decision-making process.
The average pre-ovulatory endometrial thickness in women who are not on birth control is anywhere from 3-8 mm (I found one page that said it could be 3 mm, but I lost that page - one resource I found says 4-8 mm usually before ovulation - see Resource 8). In the ovulatory phase (right before and after ovulation) it is usually 6-10 mm thick, and post-ovulation it increases again to anywhere from 7-14 mm thick.
I found a study (see resource 9) that measured the uterine thickness in pill users and non-pill users, and concluded that "Endometrial thickness was significantly smaller in the pill-using group, correlating with the well established fact that oral contraceptives cause atrophy of the endometrium". "In the pill-using group, endometrial thickness was 1.1 mm in both phases . . ."
In women on birth control the thickness starts out at about a third of the thickness of the lowest number I could find in a pre-ovulatory, non-birth control estimate (1.1 mm compared to 3 mm). The minimum thickness for implantation to occur can be anywhere from 5 mm to 9 mm to 13 mm (see Resource 1 again).
Since the thickness starts out so much thinner, and stays that way throughout both phases of the cycle, it seems to me that it would be questionable whether it would increase in thickness to the point that it could support implantation after breakthrough ovulation, if the thickness increases at all (remember there are still no studies on what happens after breakthrough ovulation on oral contraceptives).
The third effect of birth control seems to be pretty well accepted in the secular community (and why shouldn't they accept the evidence as it is - it doesn't affect their belief system like it does ours). The debate on whether that third effect does indeed happen seems to be mostly within the pro-life community - because it affects our pro-life belief system so much, I think it's harder for us pro-life people to be totally objective on this. But the secular community can be pretty objective, because they don't care if it inhibits implantation or not. I think more research should be done on the thickness of the endometrium in pill users after breakthrough ovulation. Until more studies are done, there is just no way to be sure what exactly happens.
I think the secular community to be more objective (as much as it pains me to admit that) on this topic because of their lack of belief that they need to change their behaviour depending on whether or not the third effect happens. So I'm going to go with the thought of the group that I would think to be a little more objective on this issue, until more research is done.
1. Larimore, Walter L.; MD. Stanford, Joseph B.; MD. "Post fertilization Effects of Birth Control and Their Relationship to Informed Consent." Arch Fam Med. 2000;9:126-133. Link: http://archfami.highwire.org/cgi/content/full/9/2/126
2. Alcorn, Randy. "A Condensation of Does the Birth Control Pill Cause Abortions?" Link: http://www.epm.org/artman2/publish/prolife_birth_control_pill/A_Short_Condensation_of_Does_The_Birth_Control_Pill_Cause_Abortions.shtml
3. Schibler, Ann. "Growing debate over abortifacients: abortifacients, drugs or agents that cause an abortion, are commonly sold to women who think they are getting substances that prevent conception altogether." The New American, January 21, 2008. Link: http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-33824001_ITM
4. Grunebaum, Amos; MD. "Ovulation Issues", MedicineNet, WebMD Live Events Transcript, February 2, 2004. Link: http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=54668
Quote:
"Member question: Is it possible to ovulate the day after you stop bleeding?
Dr. Amos: It is possible to ovulate any time in your cycle, even the day after you stop bleeding. Most women usually ovulate around CD 14 or so, but much earlier and much later ovulations are possible."
5. A website on information on pregnancy. Check out this link for some good information on how to prevent pregnancy when you are not on the pill. Link: http://www.epigee.org/guide/natural.html
6. TheBump.com's Fertility Chart. Link: http://images.thenestbaby.com/tools/pdfs/fertility_chart.pdf
7. Johnston, James P; D.O. "Do Oral Contraceptives Cause Abortions?" Updated january 7, 2005. Link: http://www.prolifephysicians.org/abortifacient.htm.
8. Daiter, Eric; MD. The New Jersey Infertility Treatment Center. "Procedures Tutorials" page. Link: http://www.thenewjerseyinfertilitytreatmentcenter.com/ultrasound_cases.php
9. McCarthy, Shirley; MD, PhD. Tauber, Cheryl; RT. Gore, John; PhD. "Female Pelvic anatomy; MR Assessment of Variations During the Menstrual Cycle With Use of Oral Contraceptives". Radiology, Volume 160, Number 1. 1986. Link: http://radiology.rsnajnls.org/cgi/reprint/160/1/119
*Update 8/2010: Since writing this post I have done alot more research on the signs of ovulation and how to predict ovulation in order to prevent or achieve pregnancy (see the post "The Fertility Awareness Method" for more information). Predicting ovulation appears to be alot more do-able than I originally thought.
However, I still think it would be difficult to predict ovulation when taking the birth control pill, because of the additional hormones that the pill introduces to the body and the effects of those hormones on the quality and amount of cervical fluid (see the above list of the effects of the birth control pill).
Changes in cervical fluid consistency must be observed in order to accurately predict ovulation and prevent the fertilization of the egg. Hormonal birth control causes a dry-up of cervical fluid. It would be very difficult to predict ovulation by identifying changes in cervical fluid when taking hormonal birth control, because that sign would be obscured as an effect of the pill. Therefore, my previous concerns with adequately predicting ovulation when taking hormonal birth control are still valid.
On Wednesday evening I was browsing through all of the new blog posts, and I came across a new post on my friend Amber's blog. If you'd like to read her post, check it out here.
Amber wrote saying that one of her friends had recently brought to her attention a fact about the birth control pill that she had not been previously aware of. She wrote that the pill works in three ways to prevent pregnancy:
1. Prevents ovulation (we all knew this one, right?)
2. Thickens the cervical fluid to make it difficult for the sperm to reach the egg.
These first two effects are contraceptive - they prevent conception, that is, the joining of the egg and the sperm. However, there is also a third effect that I had not heard of before.
3. Thins the lining of the uterus so that if an egg is fertilized, the feritilized egg will not be able to implant in the uterus. The fertilized egg would then die and be lost with the next menstrual cycle.
I am very pro-life, and I believe that life begins at conception. But this third effect means that the pill can cause a fertilized egg (which I believe to be a human being) to be lost. It's an abortive effect.
This information sent me reeling. I hadn't ever heard of this before, and I was pretty skeptical. I knew some methods of birth control, like IUDs (intra-uterine devices), caused fertilized eggs to be lost, but I had never heard of the birth control pill doing the same thing.
I'm very scientifically minded, so I decided to do some research on this before making a decision. Here's what I found out.
First I tried to find other resources that would give me information on whether or not this effect actually occurs, or whether it was just one of those theories that some anti-birth control person had come up with that didn't have alot of supporting evidence.
Every medical website that I checked listed all three effects of the pill. I checked out my specific birth control, and though the website for my birth control didn't list that third effect, it was confirmed to me by the other medical websites I checked that said low-dose hormonal birth control (which is what I take), does thin the lining of the uterus. I couldn't find one website that said that the pill does not thin the endometrium - every website either listed that as one of the effects, or didn't refer to it at all, but I couldn't find a source refuting it.
In addition, the statement that the lining of the uterus is thinned with hormonal birth control made sense to me. Don't most birth control pills broadcast that they can give you shorter, lighter periods? The lining of the uterus, or endometrium, is what is shed during your period, so if the period is lighter, the lining of the uterus must have been thinner.
I found a good paper on this topic written by a couple pro-life doctors, as well as an abbreviated version of the information in a book entitled Does the Birth Control Pill Cause Abortions? by Randy Alcorn. Please see resources 1 and 2 for links to those resources.
I was pretty disturbed by this information. I didn't want my birth control to have that effect. I like the pill - my periods were extremely irregular and heavy before I started the pill, and I liked the lighter periods and knowing when my period would be.
I wondered how often "break-through ovulation" occurs on the pill. I mean, the pill makes your cycles regular, and if ovulation almost never occurs on the pill, Derek and I could just guess the time that I would ovulate, if ovulation were to occur, and we could abstain during that period.
However, after a little more research I found out that in a study performed by Dr. Don Gambrell, JR. 4.7% of women on high dose birth control had breakthrough ovulation (meaning they ovulated even though they were on the pill), and 14% of women on low-dose birth control (50 mg or less) had breakthrough ovulation (see Resource 3). And apparently the only hormonal birth control that is really available today is of the low-dose variety. That means that you'll probably ovulate a couple times a year, even on the pill. If you ovulate and don't get pregnant, it's because one of the other two mechanisms kicked in. If the sperm never reached the egg, there's no problem, but if it did reach the egg and there was no pregnancy, then the egg was unable to implant and was lost.
What about staying on the pill and just trying to guess when you ovulate and abstain during that time? Unfortunately it seems that it is possible to ovulate any time during the month (see Resource 4). Even if you try to monitor ovulation through taking your basal body temperature or cervical mucous, those methods really can only tell you when ovulation has already occurred, or when it is imminent. In order to ensure that the egg isn't fertilized you have to stop having sex about seven days before ovulation, because sperm can survive for up to seven days inside the woman's body. I couldn't find a reliable way to predict ovulation that far in advance.
My conclusion from all this information hunting was that, yes, hormonal birth control of any kind (ring or pills) can prevent a fertilized egg from implanting, which, in effect, is very early abortion. Breakthrough ovulation can and does occur on hormonal birth control, and it is difficult to determine if and when ovulation occurs until after the fact, making the option of abstaining when ovulation is suspected to occur unreliable. *(Note: See update to this information after the Resources section.)
Update 8/2010: Since writing this post I have done alot more research on the signs of ovulation and how to predict ovulation in order to prevent , which appears to be alot more do-able than I originally thought. However, I still think it would be difficult to predict ovulation when taking the birth control pill, because of the additional hormones that the pill introduces to the body and the effects of those hormones on the quality and amount of cervical fluid (see the above list of the effects of the birth control pill). Changes in cervical fluid consistency must be observed in order to predict ovulation and prevent the fertilization of the egg. It would be very difficult to identify changes in cervical fluid when taking hormonal birth control because the pill causes a dry-up of cervical fluid, and that sign would then be obscured. Therefore, my previous concerns with adequately predicting ovulation when taking hormonal birth control are still valid.
I thought all you married, pro-lifers out there had a right to know this information. Each couple has to evaluate the information and decide for themselves. Hearing about this has resulted in a few restless nights, a ton of time spent researching, and quite a bit of prayer, but we finally came to a decision.
Knowing all this information, Derek and I could not justify continuing to use hormonal birth control. If the abortive effect of the hormonal birth control were to occur it would most likely be extremely rare, and may not even happen at all; however, there is a possibility it could happen, and there is no way to reliably prevent an egg from getting fertilized, should breakthrough ovulation occur.
If there is even a chance that a human life could be ended because of our choice to take birth control, can we really justify it? Derek and I couldn't. And believe me, I tried. I researched every avenue and excuse I could think of, but nothing can assure me that losing a fertilized egg won't happen. I really don't want to stop taking the pill - it makes my life so much easier and better, and I honestly don't think I'm ready to be a mother.
But do I want to answer to God someday for continuing to take the pill, even though I knew there was a possiblity that I could be losing babies by taking it? I don't want to be judged for that someday.
I believe every human life is precious, and I believe human life begins as soon as that sperm fuses with that egg. I have to try to do what is right, even though it's not what I want to do right now.
I prayed before I even began my research that the Lord would show us the right choice, that He would make the choices so clear that there wouldn't be a way that I could pick the wrong one. And I feel like He made His opinion on it pretty clear to me.
To be honest with you, I'm absolutely terrified! I don't want to get pregnant right now, and even though Derek and I have a pretty good plan for not getting pregnant, the chances are certainly higher that we might. But there was a fork in the road - choose my own way, follow my own desire and stay on the pill? Or do what I know is the right choice, take a leap of faith, stop taking the pill, and trust in the Lord to take care of us? If I really call myself a follower of Jesus, I have to choose the second. And I think my Jesus will continue to take care of me, whether we get pregnant right now or not. He's never let me down so far, and I really have no reason to believe He will now!
For a little more information on how we plan to try not to get pregnant, check out Resource 5 and 6. I'll do another post ASAP on our game plan, just in case any of you are interested.
My original post stopped here, but another question was brought up in the comments section which I spent some more time researching. My response and conclusions are below.
Brittany, my dear blogging friend, brought up a point in the comments section that referred to how some doctors think the research is inconclusive on whether the thickness of the endometrium in pill-users can cause fertilized eggs to be lost. So yes, I did more research! Here's some more stuff I found out.
I did a little more research on why some doctors think the research is inconclusive for the third effect. I found a research paper (see Resource 7) that stated that some doctors think that if breakthrough ovulation does occur in women who are taking birth control, the associated increase in estrogen will help to thicken the lining of the uterus at that time. There are no studies that show that the endometrium does thicken after breakthrough ovulation, but there's no studies that show that it doesn't either. That's why some pro-life doctors are okay with birth control, because there hasn't been a study done to see what the endometrial thickness is in women on birth control after breakthrough ovulation.
I did a little more research on the average pre-ovulatory endometrial thickness in women who are not on birth control. If the difference in thickness between women who are in the pre-ovulatory phase and women on birth control is pretty significant, that would be some information that I would consider helpful in my own decision-making process.
The average pre-ovulatory endometrial thickness in women who are not on birth control is anywhere from 3-8 mm (I found one page that said it could be 3 mm, but I lost that page - one resource I found says 4-8 mm usually before ovulation - see Resource 8). In the ovulatory phase (right before and after ovulation) it is usually 6-10 mm thick, and post-ovulation it increases again to anywhere from 7-14 mm thick.
I found a study (see resource 9) that measured the uterine thickness in pill users and non-pill users, and concluded that "Endometrial thickness was significantly smaller in the pill-using group, correlating with the well established fact that oral contraceptives cause atrophy of the endometrium". "In the pill-using group, endometrial thickness was 1.1 mm in both phases . . ."
In women on birth control the thickness starts out at about a third of the thickness of the lowest number I could find in a pre-ovulatory, non-birth control estimate (1.1 mm compared to 3 mm). The minimum thickness for implantation to occur can be anywhere from 5 mm to 9 mm to 13 mm (see Resource 1 again).
Since the thickness starts out so much thinner, and stays that way throughout both phases of the cycle, it seems to me that it would be questionable whether it would increase in thickness to the point that it could support implantation after breakthrough ovulation, if the thickness increases at all (remember there are still no studies on what happens after breakthrough ovulation on oral contraceptives).
The third effect of birth control seems to be pretty well accepted in the secular community (and why shouldn't they accept the evidence as it is - it doesn't affect their belief system like it does ours). The debate on whether that third effect does indeed happen seems to be mostly within the pro-life community - because it affects our pro-life belief system so much, I think it's harder for us pro-life people to be totally objective on this. But the secular community can be pretty objective, because they don't care if it inhibits implantation or not. I think more research should be done on the thickness of the endometrium in pill users after breakthrough ovulation. Until more studies are done, there is just no way to be sure what exactly happens.
I think the secular community to be more objective (as much as it pains me to admit that) on this topic because of their lack of belief that they need to change their behaviour depending on whether or not the third effect happens. So I'm going to go with the thought of the group that I would think to be a little more objective on this issue, until more research is done.
1. Larimore, Walter L.; MD. Stanford, Joseph B.; MD. "Post fertilization Effects of Birth Control and Their Relationship to Informed Consent." Arch Fam Med. 2000;9:126-133. Link: http://archfami.highwire.org/cgi/content/full/9/2/126
2. Alcorn, Randy. "A Condensation of Does the Birth Control Pill Cause Abortions?" Link: http://www.epm.org/artman2/publish/prolife_birth_control_pill/A_Short_Condensation_of_Does_The_Birth_Control_Pill_Cause_Abortions.shtml
3. Schibler, Ann. "Growing debate over abortifacients: abortifacients, drugs or agents that cause an abortion, are commonly sold to women who think they are getting substances that prevent conception altogether." The New American, January 21, 2008. Link: http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-33824001_ITM
4. Grunebaum, Amos; MD. "Ovulation Issues", MedicineNet, WebMD Live Events Transcript, February 2, 2004. Link: http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=54668
Quote:
"Member question: Is it possible to ovulate the day after you stop bleeding?
Dr. Amos: It is possible to ovulate any time in your cycle, even the day after you stop bleeding. Most women usually ovulate around CD 14 or so, but much earlier and much later ovulations are possible."
5. A website on information on pregnancy. Check out this link for some good information on how to prevent pregnancy when you are not on the pill. Link: http://www.epigee.org/guide/natural.html
6. TheBump.com's Fertility Chart. Link: http://images.thenestbaby.com/tools/pdfs/fertility_chart.pdf
7. Johnston, James P; D.O. "Do Oral Contraceptives Cause Abortions?" Updated january 7, 2005. Link: http://www.prolifephysicians.org/abortifacient.htm.
8. Daiter, Eric; MD. The New Jersey Infertility Treatment Center. "Procedures Tutorials" page. Link: http://www.thenewjerseyinfertilitytreatmentcenter.com/ultrasound_cases.php
9. McCarthy, Shirley; MD, PhD. Tauber, Cheryl; RT. Gore, John; PhD. "Female Pelvic anatomy; MR Assessment of Variations During the Menstrual Cycle With Use of Oral Contraceptives". Radiology, Volume 160, Number 1. 1986. Link: http://radiology.rsnajnls.org/cgi/reprint/160/1/119
*Update 8/2010: Since writing this post I have done alot more research on the signs of ovulation and how to predict ovulation in order to prevent or achieve pregnancy (see the post "The Fertility Awareness Method" for more information). Predicting ovulation appears to be alot more do-able than I originally thought.
However, I still think it would be difficult to predict ovulation when taking the birth control pill, because of the additional hormones that the pill introduces to the body and the effects of those hormones on the quality and amount of cervical fluid (see the above list of the effects of the birth control pill).
Changes in cervical fluid consistency must be observed in order to accurately predict ovulation and prevent the fertilization of the egg. Hormonal birth control causes a dry-up of cervical fluid. It would be very difficult to predict ovulation by identifying changes in cervical fluid when taking hormonal birth control, because that sign would be obscured as an effect of the pill. Therefore, my previous concerns with adequately predicting ovulation when taking hormonal birth control are still valid.
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