What I\u2019m about to tell you might sound too good to be true. Believe me, it\u2019s not.\u00a0There’s a method of birth control that\u2019s more affordable than the pill, Mirena or injection. A method that won\u2019t kill your sex drive, has zero side effects (like weight gain or risk of deep vein thrombosis, breast cancer or stroke), and will tell you so much about your body that you\u2019ll be able to spot early clues to potentially devastating diseases.<\/p>\n
How is this even possible? Because this method is an alternative to hormonal contraceptives and opens up a whole new world of birth control options.\u00a0Did you know the pill was only invented a mere 54 years ago? Have you ever wondered what women did before then?<\/p>\n
I was on hormonal contraception. I actually remember being quite excited starting Yaz.<\/span><\/p>\n It was like I had entered adulthood. Every morning I would pop my pill, not thinking about what it was doing to my body. Even though I was an elite athlete and it was preventing me from reaching my peak performance. Even though it was preventing my body from doing what it was supposed to do every month. Even though it stopped every single system in my body from working \u2013 I thought it was great. Come on, we could have sex and I wouldn\u2019t fall pregnant!<\/span><\/p>\n I did this for five years and then during one run on a Wednesday morning, I started chatting to a woman named Heidi who had been diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 33. This conversation changed my life forever. She told me that morning she felt one of the three reasons she got breast cancer was her use of hormonal contraception. This hit a nerve for me: was I increasing my chance of breast cancer?<\/span><\/p>\n Yes, I was \u2013 my chances of getting breast cancer and liver cancer were increased by 50%. If you are on hormonal contraception for more than four years, your chances of getting cancer get higher and higher.<\/span><\/p>\n At the same time, my body was being stripped of all my B vitamins, my zinc, and iron. And I was affecting my future fertility \u2013 I may not have fallen pregnant.<\/span><\/p>\n My wakeup call was Heidi. It took a friend getting breast cancer for me to start questioning the pill. Maybe your call will be someone you know dying of a pulmonary embolism or heart attack because of hormonal contraception.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I decided I would rather fall pregnant than continue to use something that could increase my chance of getting breast cancer (P.S. I didn\u2019t fall pregnant until many years later when I was ready to).<\/span><\/p>\n This is where my life changed:<\/b><\/p>\n I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard of the Rhythm Method \u2013 don\u2019t confuse this simple mathematical calculation (and often ineffective) method with what I am about to share with you.<\/span><\/p>\n The Justisse Method of Fertility Awareness (1987) is a standardised system for learning fertility awareness in a way that allows women to manage their reproductive health and birth control needs. The Justisse Method is best learned from a comprehensively trained Justisse Practitioner, (I completed the rigorous 2-year training to make sure I can offer women this scientific method). All practitioners are committed to caring for women’s well-being as it relates to sexual and reproductive health, and to respect women’s right to make their own decisions as to what is best for their-self. You may Learn to Chart on your own as well, though we recommend at least a few consultations with a practitioner.<\/span><\/p>\n Methods of natural family planning that depend upon fertility awareness, including the Justisse Method, have evolved from scientifically validated principles relating to menstrual cycle events that enable a woman to differentiate her fertile and infertile periods during any given cycle.<\/span><\/p>\n There are various methods of fertility awareness as brands. These brands include: <\/strong><\/p>\n These brands differ from each other in various and important ways:<\/strong><\/p>\n The effectiveness of each and every one of them depends on the same scientific principles.<\/span>Namely, the three primary signs that any women can be taught to observe, chart and interpret.<\/p>\n The\u00a0three primary signs\u00a0of fertility are:<\/strong><\/p>\n These observable fertility signs are influenced by the primary hormones of the menstrual cycle. Each cycle unfolds in three distinct phases. However, women who use hormonal birth control including oral contraceptives or Depo-Provera cut themselves off from this intuitive body wisdom and will not experience these cyclical changes.<\/p>\n Head this way to read more about the scientific basis of the Justisse Method.<\/a><\/p>\n The Justisse Method has an effectiveness rate of 99.6% when used correctly, exactly the same as the Pill. However, the benefits of this natural method go far beyond just avoiding pregnancy:<\/span><\/p>\n So, if this method is so effective and there are so many benefits, why have we not heard about it in mainstream media, from our doctors, or from our moms? <\/span><\/p>\n The other main reason is that it takes time to learn this method and doctors do not have the time to sit and teach patients. <\/span><\/p>\n The initial consultation takes 1.5 \u2013 2 hours to teach you, as an individual\u00a0woman, or you, as a couple, \u00a0how to use the method. Going forward you have three more one-hour sessions (at one-month intervals) to make sure you have fully grasped the method. So in total, it takes most women four sessions to grasp the method. There are women who take more or less but on average it’s three. <\/span><\/p>\n If you want to teach yourself the method you can buy the products online or you can download the app<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n Have you ever kept a diary? Are you into blogging? Well, charting your menstrual cycle is quite similar \u2013 it\u2019s just blogging (privately) about your body. That\u2019s the beginning of fertility awareness. I\u2019ll teach you how to jot down the signs your body gives you every single day. You have to do this religiously \u2013 every single day.<\/span><\/p>\n Step one:<\/strong><\/p>\n The next step\u00a0is to look for cervical mucus. Sound gross? Not really. It\u2019s just something to look out for whenever you go to the loo. Mucus is the key to falling pregnant. If you see mucus, you have a 75% chance of falling pregnant if you have sex that day.<\/span><\/p>\n During ovulation, a woman’s sex drive is higher naturally, but the method requires abstinence during this time if you don\u2019t want to fall pregnant (you can also you a barrier method or get a little more creative in the bedroom). <\/span><\/p>\n If you’re choosing to abstain and use this time to connect in other ways also bear in mind that your partner will naturally find you more attractive and sexy when you are ovulating.<\/span><\/p>\n So, yes, the two primary disadvantages to this method are:<\/strong><\/p>\n So this sounds like a little bit of fun. What next. Don\u2019t be too quick to just come off hormonal contraception because you do need to have some method of contraception. If you have been on hormonal contraception it takes time for your body to get rid of all hormones and therefore one\u2019s body can do some funny things.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Note: While learning the method it is advised to either abstain from intercourse or always use a condom.<\/p>\n The answer to this question really depends on a couple of factors:<\/span><\/p>\n In my experience about 4 months before you really get the confidence to have sex without a condom and be confident in your choice. <\/span><\/p>\n Don\u2019t be scared to ask questions. Don\u2019t be coerced into a method that you do not agree with, and make sure you know the pros and cons of the method you choose.<\/span><\/p>\n Like I mentioned earlier, I enrolled with Justisse Healthworks for women to become the first practitioner in this method in Africa, because\u00a0I felt I needed to pass this information on to other women because it was so life changing for me.<\/b><\/p>\n Article written by Claudia Slattery<\/em><\/p>\n Claudia works with women and couples all over the world so she can either see you in person in her office in Johannesburg and in Hoedspruit or online via Skype anywhere in the world. If you feel like this method could be for you, you can get in touch with Claudia via the below details.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Claudia Slattery<\/strong><\/span> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" What I\u2019m about to tell you might sound too good to be true. Believe me, it\u2019s not.\u00a0There’s a method of birth control that\u2019s more affordable than the pill, Mirena or injection. A method that won\u2019t kill your sex drive, has zero side effects (like weight…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":24519,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,142],"tags":[1208,1209,112,1116],"yoast_head":"\n\n
A\u00a0natural birth control method that works<\/span><\/h1>\n
Understanding\u00a0The Justisse Method of Fertility Awareness<\/h3>\n
Scientific basis of fertility awareness methods<\/span><\/h1>\n
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Benefits of fertility awareness<\/span><\/h1>\n
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How long will it take you to learn this method?<\/span><\/h1>\n
How the Justisse Method actually works<\/span><\/h1>\n
Every morning when you wake up, you have to take a special thermometer (a Body Basal Thermometer) and insert it into your mouth to take your temperature reading. This thermometer enables you to track when ovulation occurs because as soon as you ovulate you see higher temperatures than usual. So that\u2019s the first thing. Easy right?<\/span><\/h4>\n
\nStep two:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n
Thinking of making the change<\/span><\/h1>\n
How long will it take for me to use this method as my birth control option?<\/span><\/h1>\n
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My advice? <\/span><\/h1>\n
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\nEmail:\u00a0info@claudiaslattery.co.za
\n<\/a>Website:\u00a0www.claudiaslattery.co.za
\n<\/a>Tel: 082 596 3147<\/span><\/p>\n