Dear Sasha, I wanted to know how safe birth control pills are in terms of possible long-term damage on a female's reproductive system. My girlfriend’s afraid of taking them because she believes that we won’t be able to have children in the future if she's on the pill for too long. We hate condoms so we've had to resort to the infamous "pull and pray" method when performing intercourse.
-Jamblee
Dear Jamblee,
The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (www.sogc.org/media/guidelines-oc_e.asp) offers a very positive perspective on the birth control pill, but if you’re looking for a natural alternative to synthetic contraceptives, check out the Justisse method of fertility awareness (www.justisse.ca).
Amy Sedgwick is an occupational therapist who also studies holistic reproduction healthcare. She’s qualified to teach the Justisse method and offers a different perspective on synthetic forms of birth control than the optimistic information on the SOGC site. She worries about things like the low level depression many women suffer from while they’re on the pill and her clinical experience shows many women have a hard time coming back to ovulation.
“The complex physiological effect of the pill is not comparable to any natural state we’re in because our whole endocrine system works together,” she says. “Add to that a synthetic hormone and it’s impossible to know long-term side effects.”
Justisse, while incredibly straightforward, demands you monitor signs of fertility on a daily basis. “It’s not the rhythm method,” Sedgwick is quick to point out, “which is about looking at past cycles and predicting based on that. Justisse is about observing basal body temperature, cervical mucous and cervical changes. It doesn’t have to be all three. You can certainly use this method just charting cervical mucous but looking at all three helps us have greater information.” In plain English, by studying the unmistakable changes in your vaginal discharge, you know exactly when you’re fertile.
Why have you never heard more about this method? “The approach of body observation is taught around the world,” says Sedgwick, who has been using Justisse personally for two and a half years, “but it’s often taught with a religious approach because it’s the only method condoned by the Catholic Church as an acceptable form of contraception. So the problem’s been that it’s been relegated to those who are religious married heterosexual couples teaching other married heterosexual couples.”
Sedgwick makes some fascinating points about the cervix and how increased estrogen will lift it like a bulls eye when a woman is fertile and how when in this state, her cervical mucous becomes more alkaline and actually develops channels so the sperm knows where to go. “A lot of women come to this because they’re looking for a natural contraceptive,” she says, “but they quickly find it is a touchstone for their overall health.”
Dear Sasha, Some months ago you mentioned a documentary called Bevel Up by Nettie Wild. I’ve been waiting for it to become available at the NFB, but they’re telling me it's only for sale at the institutional rate of $130 plus tax and that it won’t be going to be made available for home purchase.
I was wondering where you saw it, and if it might be available for public viewing. The person at the NFB didn't have any ideas on its availability.
-Flo
Dear Flo
,
Bevel Up’s marketing manager Kay Leung at the NFB said this:
“The institutional price, which comes with public performance rights, does provide for the potential of it being shown in a public setting like a classroom, group workshop, and the like or loaned to other groups. It does not, however, allow for it to be used commercially, in other words, those that purchase the DVD couldn’t turn around and charge a fixed price admission ticket fee for their screenings in a public setting. That said, there’s nothing stopping the purchaser from asking for a “donation” where the proceeds could go to a non-profit organization or community group or would cover the cost of the screening (hall rental, projection equipment etc).” Keep in mind the film does come with four and a half hours of educational material along with a learning guide, too.
Got any questions for Sasha? E-MAIL: POULEDELUXE@YAHOO.COM |
