More bad press for the pill, this time the focus is on the combined oral contraceptives- the kind containing both the hormones oestrogens and progestin. If the woman taking these pills has a common vein malfunction (experienced by a quarter of the population), her risk of blot clots is increased significantly.
'Up to 25% of the healthy population has a narrowing, known as stenosis, in the left common iliac vein (one of two major veins deep in the pelvis that return blood from the lower body to the heart), according to Dr Lawrence Hofmann and his colleagues at Stanford University School of Medicine.
In their study, published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, having a "left common iliac vein stenosis" and taking so-called combined oral contraceptives- the kind containing both the hormones oestrogens and progestin - multiplied a woman's risk of deep vein thrombosisnearly 18 times compared to women with neither risk factor.
Sometimes known as "economy class syndrome", a deep vein thrombosis is a blood clot - often formed in veins of the lower legs – which is potentially dangerous because it can travel to the heart and lungs and cause serious harm.
Some 12 million women in the US use the "combined" form of birth control pill, which is already known to increase a woman's risk of blood clots.
In general, the researchers note, among every 10,000 young women who are not taking oral contraceptives, about one to three will have a deep vein thrombosis every year. For young women who've been taking the Pill for a year, that risk goes up six-fold.'
The United States has rejected a drug company's request to allow the morning-after pill (emergency contraception) available over the counter to women of all ages. Women under 17 will be required to have a prescription in order to obtain the pill whereas women over 17 must ask a pharmacist for it. (Read the full news story here)
This has been a controversial decision in the opinion of both pro-life and pro-choice supporters. What do you think about the decision? Would allowing women under 17 to access the pill avoid unwanted pregnancies or encourage risky behavior? Should emergency contraception be restricted at all?
Remember, you can always voice your opinion and thoughts on our forum!
In preparation for the holiday season when health services may be closed, the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) have implemented a new service which allows women to order the morning after pill, for free, over the telephone.
The BPAS believes this will help prevent unwanted pregnancies and/or abortions during the festive season by removing the potentially embarrassing face-to-face contact women must go through when asking for the pill in public.
This precautionary measure taken by the BPAS has been criticized by the pro-life charity 'life', who believe it encourages risky behaviour and bad decisions.
What are your thoughts? Do you think ordering the morning after pill over the phone is a step in the right or wrong direction? Join the discussion on our forum!
Who says going 'green' has to stop in the bedroom? You can incorporate animal-friendly, chemical-free products in areas of your house, including your bedroom!
Using vegan condoms is one of the easiest ways to make sure your intimate experiences are not only pleasurable, but also great for the environment too!
Small efforts such as changing the brand of your condoms can make a big impact if the action is carried out by enough people!
All Condomi condoms are free of animal derivatives and meet or surpass all global and domestic quality accreditation, making them one of the best choices for vegan condoms on the market today. So, as well as being environmentally-friendly, condomi condoms are guaranteed to protect against conception as well as sexually transmitted diseases such as the HIV virus.
Vegan condoms are a great way to protect against unwanted pregnancies during the fertile days of your cycle if your practicing natural contraception. Using contraceptive monitors, such as cyclotest 2 plus, is a great way to identify those few days when extra protection is needed to avoid conception!
Here at Ethical Family Planning, we're interested in hearing about your preferences when it comes to fertility monitors. Cyclotest Baby is many women's favorite for its affordability and reliability. Other users prefer Babycomp for its long life on the market. We want to hear from you - what monitor has treated you well and helped achieve your pregnancy goals?
In the past few years, reports around the world have been shedding light on the damage that synthetic birth control hormones have been wreaking on our environment. One of the most prevalent effects they are having on our environment is happening in our water and to the fish that live there. The hormones which are being pumped into the water through sewage systems is causing the sex of fish stocks to change. Scientists have also been warning the public of the possible carcinogenic effects of the build-up of estrogenic chemicals that are now found in drinking water.
Gender ambiguity in fish due to high levels of estrogen in the weather was first reported by the UK Environment Agency back in 2002. A survey of 1500 fish at located in 50 different river sites found that more than a third of the males displayed female characteristics
Because of the effect the estrogen is having on fish, researchers at Brunel University’s Institute for the Environment now warn of the affect estrogen can have on the reproductive ability of humans. They have even called for a reassessment of EU legislation regulating chemicals and stated: “There is a cocktail of chemicals in our fresh water. We need to consider tougher safety margins to fully protect wildlife and humans."
In 2005, scientists at the University of Colorado found that out of 123 fish caught in Boulder Creek, downstream from the Boulder sewage treatment plant, 101 were female, 12 were male and 10 had both male and female characteristics. This discovery was very frightening for the scientists because of its potential impact.
Scientists at the University of Pittsburgh also investigated the fish population, this time in the Allegheny River near storm sewer outflow pipes, where the local population relies on the local water systems for drinking water, and discovered the same deformations. One of the doctors at the University of Pittsburgh Center for Environmental Oncology, warned that this increase in steroid hormones in drinking water of Pittsburgh is worrying and a threat to health. Studies have shown there is a link between contraceptive estrogen and hormone problems as well as some cancers.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that other study results have shown ambiguous gender in 85 per cent of the catfish caught on the Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio rivers. Chemicals extracted from 25 randomly sampled fish caused growth of estrogen-sensitive breast cancer cells cultured in a laboratory, eleven of which "produced very aggressive cancer growth".
Despite all of this alarming evidence, scientists and environmental groups are careful to avoid recommending restrictions on artificial contraceptives.
The National Catholic Register, reporting on the issue, quotes George Harden, a board member of the Society of Catholic Social Scientists, saying "If you’re killing mosquitoes to save people from the West Nile virus, you can count on secular environmentalists to lay down in front of the vapour truck, claiming some potential side effect that might result from the spray," Harden said. "But if birth control deforms fish - backed by the proof of an EPA study - and threatens the drinking supply, mum will be the word." A water quality issues chairman for the Rocky Mountain Chapter of Sierra Club International also took the opinion that people ‘would not take kindly’ to the suggestion of banning or restricting hormonal contraceptives because it’s seen as an economic necessity and also an issue of personal freedom.
Of course, an ideal solution to this contamination would be for women to give up the pill and began practicing natural contraception, which does not involve the use of any synthetic, hormonal or potentially environmentally dangerous ingredients. Natural contraception can be learned easily and can be practiced to avoid or even plan for a pregnancy, making it effective for all stages of a woman's fertile life. Many women choose to use contraceptive monitors such as Cyclotest 2 Plus to practice natural contraception, which simplifies the process of fertility charting. If you'd like to learn more about natural contraception and see how it stacks up against other forms of birth control, check out this article.
So, what do you think about the connection between hormonal contraceptives and the contamination of our environment and drinking water. Should there be restrictions to reduce the amount of contamination or is it easier to look the other way and wait till a more shocking discovery is published? Is it our responsibility as citizens to protect the environment or the governments? We’d love to hear your comments on our contraceptive forum!
An expecting mother carrying twins in Australia has suffered an incredible tragedy this past week.
After learning from her doctor, that one of her 32 week year old twins had a serious congenital heart defect, she decided to have him aborted. During the surgery, the surgeons accidentally aborted the healthy baby.
We are so sorry for this woman's heartache and loss here at Natural Family Planning and hope that this woman finds the strength to get past this awful tragedy somehow.
This news story about Russia restricting abortions in attempt to solve the problem of decreasing population caught our attention this past weekend. Here at EFP, we like to stay on top of current events which pertain to birth and all aspects of family planning, so this was especially interesting to us. As an unbiased informative website, we appreciate generating discussions among our readers and providing content which does exactly that.
Russia's parliament has adopted a controversial law restricting abortions in an attempt to tackle the country's population collapse.
The UN predicted that, by 2050, Russia's population will shrink by a fifth to 116 million.
Critics of the change in law said limiting women's choice is the wrong way to tackle the problem, in a country where women are almost twice as likely to have an abortion as a live birth.
We found a great blog post about one woman's switch from using diaphragms to the FemCap. Like many other women who have made the same switch, this user found the diaphragm to be inconvenient at times, especially when they had to change sizes. Unlike the diaphragm, the size of your femcap is determined by your birth history, so you use the same size until you give birth, then switch to a new size once you've had your baby.
Most FemCap users find it be more user-friendly and comfortable than the diaphragm. It's smaller, more modern and comes in a more conspicuous carrying case. Like the diaphragm, it can be used with ContraGel, the natural alternative to spermicide instead of the more generic, harsher spermicides that contain Nonoxynol-9.
Check out her story!
I've been a diaphragm user for most of my adult life and over the past few years, I've found it increasingly hard to get a hold of. I assume the difficulty can be attributed to the popularity of hormonal birth control and how prevelant it is in our society today. I found my last diaphragm about a year ago from this site:www.buydiaphragms.com. I was really happy with the diaphragm and the process of ordering online (which I was a little apprehensive to do at first). But last week, I went to my gynaecologist and she told me I needed to move up a size. I was a bit bummed because I wasn't planning on having to buy another diaphragm for a while. Then, my gynocologist told me about something called a FemCap, which is a cervical cap for women, which size is only dependent on a woman's birth history, which is more straight forward than the sizing of diaphragms. (it only changes if/after you give birth)
Using knowledge as a form of birth control is perhaps one of the best options out there and the article below explains why. Why increase your chances of breast cancer, infertility and other awful illnesses by using hormonal contraception? Empower yourself and start relying on your own knowledge to control your fertility!
(NaturalNews) As of now, the FDA has yet to approve of a safe option for birth control. The pill has been linked to higher breast cancer risk, the Depo Provera shot to infertility and osteoporosis, and the Mirena IUD to spontaneous abortions and even death. The Nuva Ring and the Patch can result in weight gain and blood clots, which can increase a woman`s risk of having heart attacks and strokes. Women are taught that the risk of pregnancy cannot be avoided unless they take one of these hormone-altering drugs. They are taught to treat fertility like a disease and medicate it away, not realizing what a detrimental effect this can cause on long-term health. They are rarely taught the usefulness of fertility tracking as a means of monitoring one's probability for pregnancy throughout the cycle.
I recently came across an article about natural family planning and one woman's experience in switching from hormonal birth control to natural contraception. Her story was really inspiring and is an excellent example of the conflict and confusion a lot of women experience when considering giving up the pill. I wanted to share bits and pieces from her post with you. You can read the full entry here.
Not Excited About Drugs
Why take the chance? We live today. All of our research and technology has enabled us to pop a pill to avoid a pregnancy. That's all we have to do. So why do so many question the use of contraception?
I won't speak for others, but I can tell you why I did. This is my story: Why I decided to use a natural family planning method.
I do not like drugs. I avoid them whenever I can. Just before getting married, I was introduced to the idea that I would need to take a pill everyday to avoid becoming pregnant. This idea did not excite me. But what other alternative was there?
When I started on birth control, I actually started with the patch because it only required that I remember to change it once a week, not every day like the pill; less chance of "messing up." Within a few months however, I found that I did not like the patch. If I forgot to use it, for even one day, I was thrown for quite the emotional loop. I felt out of control, something that was not common for me. It felt horrible! I switched to the pill, and even though I had to take one every day, I did not experience the sudden swings like I had experienced on the patch. This pacified me for a few years.
But it kept bothering me, "If the patch could do that to me, what was the pill doing to me?" Occasionally I would research, looking for an alternative to the birth control pill, but each search left me looking at more pills, inserts, or implements.
What was wrong with all of these methods? Most birth control methods use hormones to suppress the natural fertility cycle. I found several studies and heard people talk about how the use of these hormones affects the body. Things like how today's pills have lower levels of hormones because research has found that the higher level hormones of earlier pills 'may have caused cancer' and all sorts of problems. My thoughts were "What will they find out tomorrow about the pills of today?" Every drug has an adverse effect. They usually help and hurt your body in one way or another. Don't believe me? Look at the labels.
The point is: I did not want to be a guinea pig. Nothing felt right. But what else could I do?
I looked into natural family planning methods. Rhythm method, basal body temperature, ovulation charts, they all had one thing in common: Too much room for error. Too much was left up to chance. Each natural family planning method seemed based on good principle but not complete. They required long periods of abstinence each month to "make sure" you would not get pregnant yet the chances of getting pregnant were still higher than just staying on the pill. Not good enough for me.
Then Came The Tipping Point While at a doctor’s appointment my doctor shared some information with me about how today's contraceptives work, which he himself had just discovered. There are three ways today's contraceptives work to avoid a pregnancy. They all work the same way.
Here they are, short and not so sweet: 1. Stop the egg from ovulating 2. Stop the sperm from getting to the egg 3. Stop implantation of a pregnancy, thereby causing the body to abort the pregnancy, in case the first two don't work.
I was floored! I had never heard such a thing! Could this be true? It says so right on the label of the contraceptive, though you would be hard pressed to find, or recognize it.Here it is, right off of a label:
"Combination oral contraceptives act by suppression of gonadotropins. Although the primarymechanism of this action is inhibition of ovulation, other alterations include changes in the cervicalmucus (which increase the difficulty of sperm entry into the uterus) and the endometrium (whichreduce the likelihood of implantation)."
Does it sound the same?
That's probably why you missed it. I knew it was there, and yet I still had to scour the label 3-4 times before I could find it again. Click Here to read the label for yourself.
This was the tipping point. I was already uncomfortable with using the pill, having my own health in mind. Now that I knew the pill did not only prevent a possible pregnancy, but sometimes aborts a pregnancy that occurs "by mistake", I had a choice to make.The number of aborted pregnancies due to use of the pill is very small, but in my book, one is too many.
Now what do I do? Thankfully my doctor had been researching this answer for me already. In light of this information he was preparing not to write prescriptions for contraceptives anymore. He wanted to provide a good natural family planning method alternative for birth control and he found a method called the Creighton Model. This was the method I had been looking for! If you are interested in Natural Family Planning, this is the method that makes avoiding and achieving a pregnancy truly a matter of choice.
To learn how to practice natural contraception, have a look at Ethical Family Planning's page here.
A new finding has come to show that hundreds of women have fallen pregnant after a long-term contraceptive implant failed. Many women were left injured or scarred as a result of the implant after it was inserted into their arm.
To compensate the failings of these contraceptive implants, the NHS has had to pay the women who were hurt by the implant and those who were traumatised by their unexpected pregnancies. The total payouts have totalled more than £200,000 – an average of more than £28,000 each.
A lawyer representing the women who had fallen pregnant unintentionally revealed that many of his clients had suffered psychological difficulties after suffering miscarriages or undergoing abortions after the implants went wrong. One woman who underwent an abortion claimed the trauma had led to her marriage ending.
The hormone filled rod which is behind all of these unwanted pregnancies is called Implanon. The Implanon implant is meant to provide protection against pregnancy for up to three years and when properly inserted, it is 99.5% effective compared to 99.7% for the Pill. The Implanon device costs £90. It is a flexible rod the size of a matchstick which is inserted underneath the skin of the upper arm. It works by gradually releasing the hormone progesterone, which stops the ovaries from releasing eggs and makes the womb less receptive to fertilised eggs.
One in four women in the UK who go to family planning clinics receive the long-term contraceptive implants. The implants are especially popular among teenagers who prefer the implant to the pill because it doesn’t require daily action.
Investigations conducted after reports of unwanted pregnancies have revealed that in some cases, the implant was not released from the pre-loaded applicator and therefore never inserted into the arm of the patient. Other implants were delivered too deep into the arm to function properly.
In its entire living history, the NHS has never experienced a contraceptive failure as great as this one involving Implanon. In total, 584 women who had the implant have reported unwanted pregnancies to the Medicine and Healthcare Regulatory Agency (MHRA). The total could actually be much higher considering many woman may not have reported becoming pregnant. The MHRA received 1,607 complaints about the implant going wrong. Some of these complaints were filed by doctors concerned about the difficulty of inserting the device and also that the implant is impossible to check if they are correctly implanted because they are invisible to X-rays.
The manufacturer of Implanon has now replaced it with an updated product called Nexplanon, which has a new pre-loaded applicator and can be detected by X-ray or CT scan. The manufacturer has not,however, recalled the existing stock of Implanon, which means doctors are still using it.
It’s important to remember that no form of birth control is 100% reliable and that when choosing a method of contraception, it’s best to talk to your health care professional. While hormonal birth control is often the most reliable forms of contraception, it can also come with the most amount of risks. Natural contraception, when practiced correctly, can be just as reliable as hormonal birth control and much safer. By practicing natural contraception with a contraceptive monitor or barrier contraceptive, you are eliminating the risk of side effects often associated with hormonal birth control such as mood swings and weight gain, and as in the extreme circumstance detailed in this story, unexpected pregnancies. To learn more about natural contraception, click here.
New research has shown that women who practise natural contraception appear more attractive to men than those who practice hormonal contraception. Studies by British researchers, Alexandra Alvergne and Virpi Lummaa, indicate that women who avoid using hormonal contraceptives are seen as more attractive by men during their ovulation period. As you know by our previous articles, ovulation is that time of month when our bodies are focused on making babies. Primal instincts begin to kick in and prompt our bodies to focus on mating and looking our best to attract a partner. This shows that women who use cyclotest or any other form of natural contraceptive, will have that natural something to draw in the guys, just as mother nature intended.
Alvergne and Lummaa emphasise that women undergo physical changes in the course of their menstruation cycle. Facial features, smell and voice are often subject to change. During the fertile phase, which is around the same time as ovulation, these characteristics have a particularly alluring effect on men as both men and women are programmed to know that ovulation time is reproduction time. It has also been established that women in their fertile phase tend to find themselves more attractive and as a result, put more effort into their appearance and dress. Women who practise hormonal contraception artificially subject their hormone balance to a permanently infertile phase, which suppresses the cyclical high of both their positive self-perception and the positive way in which they are perceived by others. Without this monthly high, many women using hormonal contraception suffer negative psychological effects. Woman who practice natural, hormone-free contraception on the other hand, are able to utilise and enjoy this monthly high and often experience an increased level of confidence as a result. This confidence allows them to be more active in their pursuit of finding a partner.
Self-perception is the key to success here. However, the success isn’t attributed solely on the positive way in which a woman perceives herself during the fertile days, but also in the possibility of ascertaining through specific cycle observation, the best time to look for a potential partner. A woman can use the symptothermal method to determine precisely her fertile and highly fertile days,so she can plan her social calendar in advance to make the most of her natural boost.
The manual method of symptothermal charting involves a paper and pen exercise of recording daily temperature readings on a chart and joining the dots, then applying a few formula and a few rules to predict when ovulation might occur. In order to even begin this process you must have already compared up to a years worth of charting data, which is best done under the supervision of a doctor who is knowledgeable in the field of reproductive science.
The alternative to this manual method is letting a contracpetive monitor, like cyclotest, do the job for you. These high-tech, compact devices replace the doctor, the pen and the paper and join the dots up for you while applying a complex algorithm to predict, using minimal data, when your highly fertile period is due. These monitors are incredibly reliable and accurate when used as a natural contraceptive device and allow you to start monitoring your fertility as soon as you take them out of the box!
While all forms of natural contraception allow you to experience this monthly high, using a contraceptive monitor enables you to know when to expect this increase in attractiveness in advance. If you are single and looking for a potential mate, this sympto-thermal method may be a bertter option for you than other forms of hormone-free birth control which do not track your fertility, such as barrier contraceptives.
Being seen as more attractive to men is one of many advantages of making the switch from hormonal birth control to natural contraception. While appearing more attractive to men may sound superficial or unimportant, there are many other more serious psychological benefits of giving up the hormones. Check out the reasons to go natural from a psychological perspective.
To find out what other benefits come with giving up the pill and going natural, have a look here.
Since a woman’s egg is only fertilisable for about 18 hours per cycle, it’s important to pinpoint that short amount of time to optimize your chances of becoming pregnant. That's where cyclotest baby comes in. This handy little device is a leading fertility monitor recently introduced into the UK from Germany. Using daily temperature readings and other indicators of fertility known as the sympto-thermal method of fertility charting, cyclotest baby is able to do just that!
After identifying the correct time, you can begin the insemination process using the FemCap included in the kit. The FemCap is the latest generation cervical cap, known as a modern alternative to the diaphragm, that is usually used to keep sperm out. The FemCap allows you to avoid all possible bumps, pitfalls and everything else that can happen on the sperm's journey to the uterus because it delivers semen right up to the cervix while protecting them from the vaginal environment. Once fastened securely right over the cervical opening, the FemCap holds the semen into place without giving any of the little swimmers a chance to escape! The FemCap is eased into place with Yes Baby's Fertility lubricant and can be worn for hours without the woman noticing.
This entire process ensures that each and every sperm in the semen has been giving the optimum chance of reaching it's final destination without being able to run away. The FemCap cuts off any escape route the sperm might take as gravity attemptos to pull them away from the uterus. It's recommended that the FemCap remain in place for 8 hours.
The home insemination kit allows you to take control of your own conception by pinpointing the best time for conception and safely delivering sperm to where it needs to be to get you pregnant! Save money and time on expensive treatments and clinic visits and do your own insemination at home!
Home Insemination Kits optimise your chances of becoming pregnant by identifying your most fertile phase and safely delivering and securing sperm right where it needs to be to foster pregnancy. Conceiving in the privacy of your own home has never been so simple!
More couples are turning to fertility monitoring and charting in order to take control of their pregnancies. Monitoring fertility allows women to pinpoint the exact days when they're able to get pregnant during their cycle, which gives them a large advantage over couples trying to conceive without knowing which days are best. Fertility Monitors, such as Cyclotest Baby, also allow you to digitally chart, email and print your personal fertility profile. This can be a great tool for gynecologists to diagnose any potential problems that may be inhibiting pregnancy.
Fertility monitors are amazing tools used to predict the best time to make love in order to become pregnant. Timing is everything when it comes to conception and having an aide like Cyclotest Baby can decrease the time it takes you to fall pregnant.
When you consider sperm count and ovulation dates, sperm life span and vaginal PH values, sperm motility and egg quality, knowing exactly when to make love is extremely advantageous.
Fertility Monitors, such as Cyclotest Baby, also allow you to digitally chart, email and print your personal fertility profile. This feature can be extremely helpful to your gynecologist if your pregnancy is taking longer than expected to come about.
Have a look at the video below and our articles about fertility awareness and the sympto-thermal method to learn more about predicting fertility using fertility monitors.
There are many potential reasons why the pregnancy you are longing for fails to materialise and it is not always down to organic factors. Lifestyle factors such as medication, diet, weight and overall health can have a large impact on your chances of getting pregnant. Simply knowing your fertile phase, that small window each cycle when you're able to conceive can increase your chances dramatically.
Before trying to get pregnant, many women are usually unaware of the symptoms which are characteristic of the fertile cycle phase.
A woman can conceive only when she has sex during the few days around ovulation. Therefore, on most other days in her cycle, a woman is infertile. Many women can recall from biology lessons at school that a woman is supposed to ovulate around the 14th day of her cycle. While this may be the case for some women, there is not enough detailed information to say it applies to everyone.
The fertile phase within the cycle can vary from cycle to cycle, especially since cycles and ovulation can be influenced by outside factors such as diet, stress, and illness.
Because there are so many things that can cause variations within each cycle, identifying the fertile days and ovulation is often difficult. Knowing when you are ovulating will maximise your chances of getting pregnant by allowing you to coordinate your love life with your ovulation.
Fertility monitors are excellent tools which allow you to pinpoint the exact days when sexual intercourse has the highest chance of resulting in pregnancy. Many couples use these to determine their ovulation days and are thus able to become pregnant sooner than those who are unaware of their ovulation cycles.
Have a look at our articles and check out the video below to learn more about ovulation and fertility cycles and how being aware of these occurrences can help bring about pregnancy.
Before trying to get pregnant, many women are usually unaware of the symptoms which are characteristic of the fertile cycle phase.
A woman can conceive only when she has sex during the few days around ovulation. Therefore, on most other days in her cycle, a woman is infertile. Many women can recall from biology lessons at school that a woman is supposed to ovulate around the 14th day of her cycle. While this may be the case for some women, there is not enough detailed information to say it applies to everyone.
The fertile phase within the cycle can vary from cycle to cycle, especially since cycles and ovulation can be influenced by outside factors such as diet, stress, and illness.
Because there are so many things that can cause variations within each cycle, identifying the fertile days and ovulation is often difficult. Knowing when you are ovulating will maximise your chances of getting pregnant by allowing you to coordinate your love life with your ovulation.
Fertility monitors are excellent tools which allow you to pinpoint the exact days when sexual intercourse has the highest chance of resulting in pregnancy. Many couples use these to determine their ovulation days and are thus able to become pregnant sooner than those who are unaware of their ovulation cycles.
Have a look at our articles and check out the video below to learn more about ovulation and fertility cycles and how being aware of these occurrences can help bring about pregnancy.
For one, it's totally hormone-free and an instantly reversible form of contraception. It's also completely free of nonoxynol-9, the chemical found in most spermicides that easily irritates skin. ContraGel is available over the counter, saving you the hassle of going to the doctor's to get a prescription and it's been in production for over 35 years.
100% Natural Ingredients
Ethical Family Planning loves ContraGel because of it's all natural ingredients. How great is it to actually be able to recognize each and every one of your spermicide's components?
Water
Lactic Acid
Sodium Lactate
Methyl Cellulose
Sorbic Acid
Get the Facts
ContraGel has recently been launched by us here in the UK to help solve a wide range of issues associated with the usual spermicides prescribed by the NHS. By only using natural ingredients, ContraGel Green reduces the risk and occurance of many nasty adverse reactions which can be synonymous with chemically packed spermicides, especially those containing Nonoxynol-9 such as Gygel and Gynol II. N-9 is an abrasive agent, most commonly found in detergents and has been identified by the WHO (World Health Organisation) as actually increasing the risk of HIV/AIDS in certain situations. For this reason it's also become increasingly hard to buy spermicide in countries like the USA, Australia, New Zealand as their health services and agencies turn their back on it. Stopping prescription of a dangerous chemical based product or treatment is good, but what should the patient then resort to? Hormonal contraception? We are sure that's what the NHS and the pharmacutical companies would like to hear!
A Short Video Clip in Which the FDA Highlight the Dangers of N-9
Being water soluble means it’s safe to use with natural latex, rubber or polyurethane condoms as well as latex or silicon rubber diaphragms and cervical caps.
When used with a cervical cap such as FemCap, ContraGel Green forms a physical barrier with a low pH value just infront of the cervix, inhibiting and immobilizing the sperm. The woman is protected twice, first by the cap and then by the gel.
ContraGel as an Alternative to Nonoxynol-9
ContraGel is a very safe spermicide for those who are investigating their natural birth control methods. As a Lactic Acid-based spermicide, Contragel is similar to Femprotect, which is based upon the formula used for DiaphragmaGel Lacto. There have been no clinical studies to proof the spermicidal function of Femprotect and there have been no clinical studies to prove the innocuousness of Femprotect so users must use it at their own risk, On the other hand, ContraGel has been approved for use by the European Union with their issuance of the CE 0124 mark.
N-9's ability to kill microbes in vitro was initially taken as evidence that it might be effective at preventing STD transmission. However, more recent findings indicate that it may actually increase a person's risk of contracting STDs, especially if used frequently. This is because the chemical causes tiny abrasions inside the sensitive vaginal and anal walls.
From 1996 to 2000, a UN-sponsored study carried out in several locations in Africa followed nearly 1000 sex workers who used nonoxynol-9 gels or a placebo. The HIV infection rate among those using nonoxynol-9 was about 50% higher than those who used the placebo; those using nonoxynol-9 also had a higher incidence of vaginal lesions, which may have contributed to this increased risk. Whereas these results may not be directly applicable to lower-frequency use, these findings combined with lack of any demonstrated HIV-prevention benefit from nonoxynol-9 use have led most major health agencies to recommend that it no longer be used by women at high risk of HIV infection. The WHO further states that "Nonoxynol-9 offers no protection against sexually transmitted infections such as gonorrhoea, chlamydia."
Regular use of Nonoxynol-9 also appears also to increase the risk of infection with sexually transmitted human papillomaviruses (HPVs) that can cause cervical cancer.
ContraGel and Barrier Contraceptives
Since it is waterbased there is no problem in using ContraGel with latex based or silicone based barrier contraceptives. Diaphragms and cervical caps such as FemCap MUST be used with a spermicide or a natural alternative.
It's worth remembering that intercourse only has the risk of pregnancy for about 6 days per cycle during your Fertility Window. A healthy egg is only fertilisable for 18-24 hours and sperm can't survive for more than 5 days inside of you so that span of 6 day (5 days before ovulation and the day of ovulation) are really the only time when barrier contraception needs to be used for pregnancy protection. Click here to learn more about identifying your Fertility Window for contraception.
ContraGel and Lubricants
After a recent evaluation, the Yes Yes Company, which sells organic lubricants, has verified that ContraGel Green is compatible with their range of organic water-based lubricants. These lubricants will not damage latex diaphragms, condoms or cervical caps and like ContraGel, can be used as frequently as desired. What's an added bonus of combining ContraGel with Yes water based lubricants is that the acidic nature of Yes water-based lubricants actually inhibits sperm motility. Sperm lose their ability to swim below around pH6 and these water lubricants match the typical vaginal pH4. So while Yes water-based lubricant is not a spermicide, it does stop them from getting anywhere. Go all natural in your contraceptive methods and take advantage of using two amazing natural products together!
David Mayer from Mayer Laboratories in Oakland, California Confiming the Dangers of Nonoxynol-9 and Saying That By Selling N-9 Based Products, Manufacturers Are "Preying Upon Uninformed Consumners".
Who says going 'green' has to stop in the bedroom? You can incorporate animal-friendly, chemical-free products in areas of your house, including your bedroom! 
the implant and those who were traumatised by their unexpected pregnancies. The total payouts have totalled more than £200,000 – an average of more than £28,000 each.
who practice hormonal contraception. Studies by British researchers, Alexandra Alvergne and Virpi Lummaa, indicate that women who avoid using hormonal contraceptives are seen as more attractive by men during their ovulation period. As you know by our previous articles, o
The alternative to this manual method is letting a contracpetive monitor, like 
