No, it’s *not* actually a surprise to NFP fans the that Pill isn’t a panacea. Modern NFP has been around since the 60′s, and more widely known since the 70′s and 80′s. But to those outside the NFP-world-niche, the fact that “Women Look Beyond the Pill” is news.
A Red Tent Sister, an object of my recent post on FAM/ecosex entrepreneurs, gets quoted in this recent article out of The Montreal Gazzette, a Canadian publication.
A Highlight of my favorite part of the article:
The continued popularity of the pill doesn’t indicate it is the best form of birth control for women, said Laura Wershler, executive director of Sexual Health Access Alberta in Calgary.Instead, she said, it indicates women don’t know enough about their options.
“What I see in our communities is an absolute failure to move beyond the idea that hormonal birth control is the be-all and end-all,” Wershler said. “What’s happening is we’re not developing support programs and advocacy for women looking for non-hormonal methods.”
Natural family-planning methods, or fertility-awareness methods, whereby a woman determines the fertile and non-fertile times of her monthly cycle, aren’t often taken seriously by physicians, she added.
“There’s this lack of knowledge and understanding within my own field,” Wershler said. “Women are going to sexual health clinics and being laughed off by the doctors and clinics for looking for alternatives.”
For a related message inviting women to “look beyond the Pill” , listen to my talk, “Think Outside the Pill.” (Trademark phrase of mine–some day I’ll actually trademark it!)
2 Responses to Women Look Beyond the Pill (Surprise!)
Leave a Reply
Connect with me!
I have noticed a huge swing in my friends as to the type of birth control they use. Unfortunately it is not to natural forms of birth control. Five years ago every female I knew using artificial birth control was on the pill. Now, I only know one woman on the pill. Everyone else has changed to the IUD (some hormonal most of them non-hormonal). I’m not sure why this change, but I’m assuming OBs are suggesting the move. Maybe they do understand the cancer risks associated with hormonal birth control which is why they now stress non-hormonal IUD. What are your thoughts?
A friend of mine told me she was stopping the use of the pill. She said that they were switching to condoms. Bleck….condoms are like kissing with a plastic bag over each person’s head! I am wondering the same thing Jeanne is… how do you argue that non hormonal contraception is harmful when someone won’t listen to the morality behind it? I guess you could say that condoms aren’t environmentally friendly…..