6 Extraordinary Benefits To Natural Hormone-Free Birth Control

Ever since I started my journey with Natural Family Planning, I have become extremely passionate about natural hormone-free birth control!

Before I was engaged and considering the options for preventing pregnancy, I thought there was only one option for birth control: the pill.

The hormone pill was the only contraceptive I had heard talked about. I had never even heard of Natural Family Planning or, in fact, any natural method to prevent pregnancy!

But I can’t share that whole story again, because it’s already up on my blog here: How To Easily Prevent Pregnancy Without Birth Control

Once you’re done with that post, come back here and check out why natural hormone-free birth control has so many benefits and may be the best option for you!

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1. Understand Your Body

I have never been more in tune with my body than when I started with natural hormone-free birth control.

I have been using the Ava bracelet to track my cycle for almost a year now and it’s amazing the warning signs our body gives us when we just listen to it!

When you track your cycle, you understand the rhythms your body goes through. Here’s a quick summary.

Your cycle begins on the first day of your period. Typically periods last for a few days. Then your body enters the follicular phase, which lasts for 7-10 days. Then your body will go through ovulation, where you create an egg. Lastly, you enter and complete the luteal phase until you reach around 28 days.

When you get your period again, that marks the end of your current cycle and the start of a new one.

If you track your menstrual cycle, you can anticipate and prepare for each of these stages of your cycle!

For example, I always track my cycle with my Ava bracelet and a period app so that I know when I will be in the PMS stage and can warn my husband of my mood swings. (;

Basically, instead of my emotions simply overcoming me, I can anticipate them. I know that on certain days of my cycle I am moodier than others.

Besides my mood, I also track what is discharging from my vagina. I once heard a story of a woman that tracked her cycle and found out she was bleeding just a few days after ovulation. She knew this was way too soon for her period and so she contacted her doctor. Turns out, she had a rare internal disease that she was able to detect before anyone would have ever known and it saved her life!

It is vital that we are aware of our cervical fluid rhythms and patterns so we can detect and notice any warning signs our body may be giving us. In fact, I love this article from Ava that talks about the importance of tracking our body’s cycle.

You can also track different symptoms your body has throughout your cycle. Do your breasts become tender three days before your period? Do you feel tired a few days after your period? Well, when you track your cycle you will start to notice helpful trends like this.

Even if you just want to begin tracking in a journal, here are some things you should begin to take note of each day:

Mood – Angry? Anxious? Aroused? Content? Disinterested? Energized? Exhausted? Happy? Irritable? Sad? Sensitive? Stressed? Tired?

Cervical Fluid – Sticky? Egg white? Watery? Creamy?

Body – Breast tenderness? Back pain? Dizziness? Headache? Migraine? Skin Impurities? Nausea? Bloating? Constipation? Cravings? Diarrhea? Stomachache? Cramps? Ovulation pain? Painful intercourse?

When you start tracking your menstrual cycle, the trends you begin to see provide you with wisdom on how to best take care of your body. Only you know what is best for your body.

One day you may become ill and have to go to the hospital. Without history or knowledge of your body’s cycles over the months and years, your doctor will have less information to help you. You help others help you by keeping an accurate record of your body’s cycle.

It is your responsibility to know your cycle to take care of yourself!

2. Learn Your Cycle

As we’ve already determined, you understand your body by tracking your cycle. But how do you begin to study and learn your cycle? How do you identify patterns and trends that you need to be aware of?

It takes intentionality. You have to want to learn about your body as a woman. You need the desire to understand the intricate design that God created as a part of your body.

First, find a free app on your phone or start a journal. Begin tracking the three categories I discussed above: mood, cervical fluid, and body.

Do this for three months.

Second, examine those three months. Did anything occur around the same time each month? Did you always feel moody at that same time? What is discharged during each section of each month?

It’s important to note that you can’t be a perfectionist here. Your cycle changes slightly from month to month. This is because the people you are around change, your diet changes, and your exercise routines likely change. Also, stress levels and just life happening can cause your cycle to fluctuate!

No one has a cycle that is exactly the same every month, so examine what is similar around the same time each month. Did you find anything eye-opening?

Your assignment today is to take the time to really learn about your body. Natural hormone-free birth control requires you to know the patterns of your body.

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3. Get Rid Of Side Effects

Although I have personally never taken the birth control pill, I have been horrified by the numerous testimonies I have heard from friends and family that have experienced side effects from the hormone pill.

According to Healthline, the effects of the birth control pill include a change in weight, change in mood, change in sexual drive, bloating, yeast infections, the chance of cancer and so much more.

I just have to ask, is it really worth it?

But, I also know that not everyone experiences these side effects. I have heard from several people on the opposite side of the spectrum as well. They use the pill and have few side effects.

Ultimately, you do have to find what works best for you and your situation. However, I beg you to consider natural hormone-free birth control first before messing with the natural rhythms and hormones of your body. They may never return back to normal again if you take the pill!

The simple solution to preventing pregnancy is to abstain from sex the days that you can get, which is typically days 8-19 for most people in their cycles. This is sometimes called the Calendar method, or Natural Family Planning.

Abstaining from sex has no internal side effects. It does require some self-control, sacrifice, and open communication but it in a way harms your body.

When you leave your body in its natural state, it’s amazing what you can do to care for it and cultivate it. Check out this article on why anything that is not natural only works against your body.

When you take the pill, you pump hormones and chemicals into your body that are not meant to be there. In fact, it fights against your body to prevent you from having a baby!

However, Natural Family Planning works with your body! It works alongside your natural rhythms so that you can stay healthy and naturally support your body as it was created to be. I can attest to that myself.

4. Prepare For Marriage

I am so grateful I learned about natural hormone-free birth control when I was engaged because it helped me prepare for marriage quickly and easily.

Instead of spending time and money on costly birth control pills, I was able to spend my engagement season having open communication with my husband about the knowledge I had about my cycle. It slowly started to unify us, even before we had even kissed.

We were able to learn about Natural Family Planning together. It required my husband to learn about me on a deeper level than would have otherwise been discussed.

From the other perspective, I have noticed that the pill allows the husband to have a more off-hand approach. He doesn’t have to know about his wife’s cycle in as much detail as sex can happen at any time it is desired.

This quote in an article I stumbled upon stood out to me. “NFP helps strengthen marital relationships. On the most basic level, since the spouses are not constantly sexually available to the other, it keeps them from taking the other for granted. Often women rightly complain that the use of contraception has lowered their sense of worth.”

But for us, my husband is actively aware of what day I am on in my cycle. He knows that I am approaching my PMS time and can show me more grace than usual. He knows why I am randomly crying or extra sensitive. My husband knows the pain I am having during ovulation or my period because he can come to anticipate and expect it.

Actually, my cycle gives my husband the chance to be a better husband. By anticipating my mood swings he can prepare for the right words and actions. And he knows why I am saying or doing certain things. He’s not left in the dark.

In marriage, Natural Family Planning requires the partnership between a husband and a wife to be open communication. We regularly communicate about where I am on my cycle and plan for our period of abstinence. I love how well this blog breaks the benefits down.

With NFP, we have a shared responsibility in understanding my fertility and it is a joy to do it together!

5. Plan For Pregnancy

But, even beyond all those reasons to avoid hormonal birth control, natural hormone-free birth control helps you prepare for children extremely easily.

If you are taking the pill to prevent pregnancy, you have to stop taking the pill and wait for the effects it flushes out of your system. Basically, you have to let your body get back into its natural rhythm once again. This could take several months and there’s no clear way to know when you can try for a baby because everything is out of wack.

However, with Natural Family Planning, you can start trying for a baby immediately. If you and your spouse decide you are ready to have a baby, then you can simply have sex during your fertile window (days 8-19 typically of your cycle) instead of abstaining.

In fact, with NFP, a natural hormone-free birth control, you can plan the exact day you have a baby. You can know the day you conceive and start planning for your future.

Natural hormone-free birth control could potentially also lead to a safer and easier pregnancy because there are no synthetic hormones in your body.

There are so many benefits to allowing your body to stay in its natural form, but if this still isn’t enough to convince you I would encourage you to dive deeper into your own research to see what works best for you and your situation.

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6. Promote A Healthy Lifestyle

Lastly, like anything natural, natural hormone-free birth control promotes a healthy lifestyle.

Just like essential oils are a natural way to support your body – from respiratory support to hormone support to digestive support – there is a natural way to prevent pregnancy.

To live a healthy lifestyle, you can’t pick and choose. Your body can’t be supported halfway to have full results.

You may not want to participate in natural hormone-free birth control because you see abstaining from sex as a negative thing. You might view it as a loss of freedom or have fear of missing out.

From my personal experience, a healthy lifestyle requires an attitude change.

You can’t start a journey to a healthier life without making natural choices for your whole body. If you are eating healthy, working out, and participating in emotionally stimulating activities, but yet pop a pill every morning full of synthetic hormones that are not natural to the body, it’s time to take the time to consider the alternative method.

Ultimately, natural hormone-free birth control through Natural Family Planning is what has worked best for me and my husband. It is up to you and your husband to make the best choice possible for you.

I pray that this information encourages you to consider both options as you make a wise decision on how to prevent pregnancy.

Questions? Think of something I missed? Drop your thoughts in the comments below! I would love to discuss this topic with you further.

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Kelsey at GoodPointGrandma

Hey there, I'm Kelsey! I'm so glad you are here. I'm a 20-something helping you live your most fulfilling life. I hope you'll join me in this old-fashioned & simple lifestyle!

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