I had a prenatal checkup the other day and the Doctor asked me what method of birth control option I would like. I hadn't considered one at all and wasn't prepared to think about it. But at 38 weeks pregnant, the Doctor wanted me to make a decision; according to her, when I delievered the baby, the delivering doctor would like to send me home with a birth control prescription. She began to tell me two of my options were the Depo Provera shot or a birth control pill.

I have to admit, I was quite aggravated. I told her I didn't want to make a decision yet and wasn't even sure if I wanted to use any birth control at all. She kind of ignored my response and began telling me about the two different methods offered and advised that I consider my options and have a decision ready upon delivery.

Now, I am a big "green nut." I have removed all toxins from our home, switched over to as many chemical or toxin free products as I can get my hands on...anything I can think of! Our son does not have any of his most recent "needed" vaccinations...the list goes on. I hate the thought of putting any foreign toxin or chemical anywhere in or near my home, body or family.

On top of that, I will be breastfeeding our forth coming son, and usually it is not recommended to take any birth control while breastfeeding. Of course the doctor failed to take this into consideration. I can't help but wonder what "benefit" she gets out of "signing me up" for a popular birth control method.

As I'm sure you may have guessed, I did not take any birth control at all with our first son. Although I did go home with a prescription for the patch (which I did get filled but never used - thank God, because there's been a whole bunch of problems with that method in the news). In fact, I learned that most women who exclusively breastfeed usually do not get pregnant while breastfeeding and the average age span between children was about 2 years. LOL - and that's the way it pretty much worked out for me! Or son weaned at 28 months (2 years, 4 months) and about 2 months later I got pregnant!

Natural Family Planning is the most popular alternative method to no chemical or no hormone natural pregnancy prevention. It is sometimes referred to as the Billings Method. However, there are a few diferent Natural Family Planning Methods - you can choose to use only one, or you can use a few of them combined.

PLEASE NOTE: YOU NEED DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO USE EACH OF THE FOLLOWING TYPES OF NATURAL BIRTH CONTROL ACCURATELY. This infomration is just meant to serve as an overview to the different choices you have available!

The Calendar Method requires you to chart your periods, or menstrual cycle, for several months to help you pinpoint your exact ovulation schedule. If you have a consistent period, you can usually pinpoint it down to the day.

*If you do not have regular periods or periods that are the same each month, you should not rely on this method as your only method of birth control.

If you are able to figure out which day you ovulate, you can then best predict which days to abstain from sex. The "unsafe days" are a few days before your period and a few days after. While an egg only lives for about 12-24 hours, sperm can live anywhere from 2 hours-about 7 days (kinda gross, when you think about it). So, to be safe, it is recommended that both before and after ovulation, you abstain from sex for at least 5 days, 7 if you want to play it super safe.

Ovulation Predictor Kits

You can also use an Ovulation Predictor Kit (OPK) to help you with your ovulation prediction and the basal body temp method. The OPK tests your luteinizing hormone (LH), which levels rises slightly for about 24 hours prior to ovulation. The OPK helps you to figure out when this slight rise is and will help you predict when you will ovulate. The increase is usually indicated by a change in color on the OPK.

The best time to use the kit is from the early afternoon to mid evening. Most women experience a rise in their LH levles in the morning, yet it usually takes about 4 hours to show up in your urine, so morning testing is not recommended. Just be sure to try and test at about the same time every day.

There are sevaral different kits available and you may want to try a few different ones to see which one works best for you. The amount of tests per kit varies as well as price. Be sure to follow the kit's manufacturer instructions for best results.

Cervical Mucus has regular changes that occur in a cycle pattern. This cycle's time frame is from the beginning of one period and ends at the beginning of the next period following it. Before ovulation your cervical mucus is cloudy and tacky and becomes a clear and slippery. In order for this method to be effective, you must be constantly monitoring your mucus.

Usually the first few days after you have your period are considered to be safe. You will notice that the amount of mucus will slightly begin to increase. This happens as the egg rippens and is usually considered to also be "safe" days. Once your mucus changes to clear and slippery, that is usually the time that ovulation is beginning and is considered to be the most "unsafe" time. When you notice this pattern change in your mucus, until it disappears or changes, you should abstain from sex. To be safe, wait about 4-7 days after you notice this change - this is most likely when you are ovulating and the most succeptible time to become pregnant.

There are a few other natural alternatives to chemical free birth control. Above are the ones that I am most familiar with. If you're like me, you would feel most comfortable attempting a combination of these mehods as opposed to just one alone.

The Basal Body Temp Method combined with teh Calendar Method seems like a method I could deal with myself. But if you don't want to have to keep track of all of your menstrual information on paper, I found out you can use an alternative called Cyclebeads.

Cyclebeads allow you to track your ovulation schedule without needing to keep track of it with a pen and paper. The beads help you determine when you are ovulating based on the different colors.

It is believed to be 95% effective. Just like many of the other NFP methods, there are no side effects. Click on the link above (next to the pic) for more on how Cyclebeads work.

So there you have it... You may have wondered if you had hormone free alternatives to birth control - and you do! You don't have to deal with the nasty side effects of conventional methods of birth control, which range from blood clots to death! It's not worth the risk to me and I would hope not wort the risk to you. Yes taking a pill, or getting a shot, or any of the other birth control methods are a lot more convenient. But again, to me it's not worth the risk.

Of course, just like any other birth control, none of the methods mentioned above prevent you from STD's. And I do primarily recommend using them with your spouse.