4 Effective Alternatives to Hormonal Birth Control
You’ve taken birth control to keep things regulated. You didn’t even realize what a pain it would be until you got married and stopped taking the birth control.
You gained so much weight almost immediately, had hair growing in places you weren’t even prepared for and then infertility came in like a wrecking ball.
Yup, hormonal birth control works for some.
But when it doesn’t work?
It’s ugly.
What is hormonal birth control?
Hormonal birth control is a type of birth control that contains hormones. Typically it contains a mix of estrogen and progesterone. Some hormonal birth controls may be progesterone-only. Hormonal birth control comes in a variety of forms like a pill, patch, IUD, injection, or implant.
The hormones work to stop ovulation from happening. Which means, if you don’t ovulate, then an egg is not released from your ovary. If an egg is not released then it cannot meet up with the sperm to make a baby.
Pretty effective, right?
At first glance, yes.
Unfortunately, many women experience issues with hormonal birth control. According to Medline Plus through the NIH, hormonal birth control comes along with side effects like mood changes, weight gain, headaches, decreased sexual desire (libido), acne, and nausea. Oh, and they also increase your risk for heart attacks, stroke, certain cancers and clots.
Now, those are the side effects while you are on the hormonal birth control, but some unhappy things can happen when you stop taking the birth control.
Many women experience rapid weight gain, irregular cycles, periods that don’t return, acne, and fertility problems when they stop the hormonal birth control.
One specific type of PCOS is actually post-pill PCOS. So if you had normal periods and no PCOS-symptoms before taking the pill (or any other form of hormonal birth control). Then, once you get off the pill you are surprised by suddenly having PCOS? You are not alone.
Alright, so you’re now pretty familiar with what hormonal birth control is and why you may want an alternative form of birth control.
But, what is non-hormonal birth control?
Non-hormonal birth control is a way to keep your body from becoming pregnant that doesn’t include adding hormones to your body.
Four Effective Alternatives to Hormonal Birth Control
Alternatives to hormonal birth control #1: Barrier Method
This is an easy go-to option because it doesn’t involve any trips to the doctor and it can be used immediately.
Male condoms are the most commonly used type of barrier method. There are female-specific condoms as well.
Alternatives to hormonal birth control #2: Menstrual Cycle Tracking
While menstrual cycle tracking has a huge amount of benefits (I’ll be getting around to a blog post specific to this very soon), one of them is birth control. Here’s the thing, you are not fertile on every day of your cycle. Making a baby can only happen when an egg is available to be fertilized by sperm and that is about 5-7 days of your whole monthly cycle.
The basics of cycle tracking is that you check your temperature or other signs of ovulation throughout your cycle. This lets you know when you ovulate.
Once you figure out when you ovulate, then you will know when your fertile window is. Knowing when your fertile window is, you can then avoid having sex (or at least the type of sex that creates babies) on those days so you don’t get pregnant.
It’s important to note that this method is recommended for couples who are in a long-term, monogamous relationship.
Alternatives to hormonal birth control #5: Copper IUD
There are a variety of IUD’s available and the copper IUD’s do not have added hormones.
An IUD is a great form of birth control for many women because you don’t have to think about what to do for birth control in those steamy moments. The downside of a copper IUD is that it is known to cause heavier periods and more painful period cramps so talk with your doctor about whether this is a good option for you.
Alternatives to hormonal birth control #4: Surgical Options
Surgery might sound big, but it could be a good option for many couples. One of the most common forms of surgical birth control is a vasectomy for the male partner. The procedure is relatively straight-forward and sometimes can be reversed.
Surgical options for women include getting tubes tied or a hysterectomy. Both of these are non-reversible so take your time before deciding about one of these procedures!
Here’s the thing, these are alternatives to hormonal birth control that are helpful for actual birth control purposes.
When it comes to PCOS, hormonal birth control is not usually recommended for birth control purposes, but to help with hormone balance and regulation (how? I’m not sure but some docs are definitely still recommending this).
When it comes to PCOS, if you need help regulating your irregular or absent period, then you need something different. What you need is an approach that helps you figure out the root cause of WHY your period is irregular or absent, then treats that.
Has anyone talked to you about your thyroid? Your gut health? Your stress hormone?
No?
Well, that’s the first place to start.
If you are struggling with PCOS and you need help so you can just get your periods every month, ovulate and have your baby, then look no further.
Book a FREE I Want My Body To Work Right! PCOS Breakthrough Session to get started transforming your fertility today.
During this free session, you will discover:
How to turn around your biggest PCOS frustrations so you can be closer to reaching your fertility goals.
Why what you’ve been doing is actually leading you away from optimal fertility and what actually works.
What’s been missing from your care that’s keeping you from seeing results.
Clear step-by-step guidance for how to move forward so you can have your best chance at becoming pregnant.
