The Secret To Natural Alternatives To Hormonal Birth Control

Ready to ditch synthetic hormones and explore the world of natural birth control? You're in luck! Join us as we delve into the safest and most effective alternatives to hormonal contraceptives. Our comprehensive guide showcases the top options available today, empowering you to make an informed choice for your body and your health. So, if you're on the hunt for a natural solution to birth control, look no further. Hit play and let's embark on this enlightening journey together – your perfect alternative awaits!

Trying to find an integrative medicine or functional medicine doctor who understands what you're going through? Lam Clinic does Telemedicine all over the world and is only a phone call away.

1. Educate yourself by visiting our website: www.lamclinic.com

2. Call our office at 714-709-8000 to schedule an appointment.

FIND US ONLINE HERE:
» Website: https://www.lamclinic.com/
» Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lamclinic
» Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lam_clinic/
» Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lamclinic
» YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/LAMCLINIC

Transcript

Dr. Carrie Lam, MD: 0:05

hormonal birth control alternatives? Are you on birth control and concern about the effects of putting such powerful hormones into your body year after year? Yes, maybe you should be. Many women don't want children ever or they don't want any more children or some are not ready to become mothers. And that's why they use birth control and that's totally valid. Birth control is an essential for many women in the modern world and around 25% of women in the US usually are using a hormonal contraceptive and this can include pills, intrauterine devices, the patch, or injectables. These birth control options are very effective, but they use manmade hormones that copy the natural hormones in the body. And there are two main types of hormonal birth control. The first is the combo birth control and uses synthetic forms of estrogen and progestin. The second type uses only synthetic progestin. So when you use these medications, they actually are telling your brain to stop ovulation so there's no egg for fertilization. So when you take these meds, you may also notice that your period stops completely, or they become much lighter than usual. So these meds are very effective for stopping fertilization, but what about their side effects? The truth is that you may experience a wide variety of side effects from hormonal birth control, depending on what type you use and your own body. Here's some most common side effects of using birth control pills, high blood pressure, headaches, bloating, vaginal discharge, spotting, nausea, acne, low libido, fatigue, weight gain and weight loss, and breast tenderness. These meds can also increase your nutritional deficiencies over time, give you blood clots in the legs, have heart attacks or cardiac disease increase, sexual dysfunction, stroke, mood swings or disorders, liver problems, bone thinning, gallbladder issues, ovarian cysts, certain types of cancers, yeast overgrowth, and actually personality change. This can all sound pretty scary, doesn't it, but if you're concerned, then there are some very effective, safer natural alternatives that you can try. such as condoms. Condoms are available for men and women to prevent. Condoms are available for men and women too as contraception. The male condom is 98% effective and the female condom which is new and less likely to tear than the male condom has an effective rate around 95% And it doesn't use any hormones. Diaphragm. a diaphragm fits inside the vagina and over the cervix and prevents the sperm from actually reaching the uterus. Just be aware of what device your your yours is made out of. Because sometimes they're made from latex which can cause allergies. There's also an option called cervical cap, which is similar to a diaphragm that fits inside the vagina and over the cervix is most effective when used with a spermicide to prevent contraception. Another option for contraception is natural progesterone. Talk to your doctor about taking 100 to 200 milligrams of natural progesterone orally, or 20 milligrams progesterone cream topically on day seven to 28 of your cycle. This could help to prevent ovulation, it's definitely not 100%. And you definitely want to talk to your doctor before starting any of these hormones. But this is a natural way of doing natural progesterone as birth control. there's a new medication on the market called Phexxi. This is an on demand hormone free birth control used one hour prior to sex. It does contain lactic acids, citric acid and potassium bitartrate, where you actually inject directly into your vaginal canal and it helps maintain the vaginal pH in the 3.5 to 4.5 range, which actually lowers permeability, and so the sperm can't swim, it lowers the chance of them reaching the egg. Of course that demands that you need to plan ahead of time prior to having sex. There are also some more academic ways of avoiding pregnancy which focus on hormonal cues to tell you when to have or avoid having sex. These are known as natural family planning or fertility awareness methods and they're a great way to avoid pregnancy without any side effects at all. There are several different techniques that are part of an FP or natural family planning. And these can help you identify your fertile periods so that you can avoid pregnancy. And these techniques can all be used together for the highest effectiveness. Considering if you know your body, you have regular periods. These are great ways. If you don't definitely see your doctor and see what's underlying your irregular or PMS symptoms. The rhythm method use this method to track your cycle and not have sex during ovulation week. The success rate of this is around 75%. So you may need to combine it with the other alternative. the mucus method so to use this method, you need to keep track of your vaginal mucus texture and quality. around your ovulation date, your vaginal mucus becomes clear and stringy. That's because it allows the sperm to swim easier to the cervix, and sex should be avoided during this time. So if your vaginal mucus is more clear and stringy, do not have sex at this time. The third method is a temperature method for natural family planning. Take your temperature every morning, and you can identify when you're ovulating and avoid sex because your body temperature will rise immediately after ovulation. However, be aware that other factors can definitely also impact your temperature, you have to do the temperature right when you wake up in the morning without getting up you have to do it lying down. So in short, there are many types of birth controls, and their effectiveness varies. And a doctor can advise you about the best option, taking into account your overall health, your lifestyle and preferences. And that's what we have today. I hope you learned a lot about natural methods for birth control. And we hope that listening has helped you and that you would like to share this video and like it for more content so that we can empower you to take control of your health.