There's been a bit of online chatter recently about ditching hormonal birth control in favor of a return to the more "organic" methods of birth control known as either Fertility Awareness Methods (FAM) or Natural Family Planning (NFP).

Sophie Morris writes a review of Jane Bennett & Alexandra Pope's book, The Pill: Are You Sure It's For You?, in which the authors question why women would use a less-than-perfect method when there are so many potential side effects. Based on her own experience with the pill, Ms. Morris agrees with Bennett and Pope that women should stop viewing it as "the default contraceptive," but she disagrees with them about the best alternative. While they encourage women to return to NFP, Morris feels as though "that remains risky business...if you can't deal with an unplanned pregnancy."  She hasn't figured out the best method for her, but knows there are options more effective than NFP.

Over on double x, in an article titled, Your Grandmother's Birth Control Might Actually Work, Nona Willis Aronowitz explains how she moved to FAMs after experiencing side effects while using the NuvaRing.  Before discovering FAM, she dismissed condoms due to her partner's aversion.  She said no to the diaphragm on account of a history of urinary tract infections. And she brushed off the thought of the oh-so-effective IUD because she didn't like the idea of "an invasive vaginal procedure." Ms. Willis Aronowitz settled on using the most effective FAM, known as the symptothermal method. This includes understanding when she's most fertile (and avoiding intercourse without a barrier method during those times) by measuring her basal body temperature and monitoring the consistency of her cervical mucous on a daily basis, and then charting the data.

I forgot to take my pill...

How many times has this thought crossed your mind?

Kourtney Kardashian recently announced that she is unexpectedly pregnant. While semi-celebrity baby bumps might not be that interesting to most, what's unusual is that she has admitted that the reason she got pregnant is because she used the pill inconsistently. In her own words Kourtney admits, "This probably sounds so dumb, but there's so many times I'll forget to take my pill and I don't think it's that big of a deal, it's just so stupid." While the birth control pill-- the most popular form of birth control in the U.S.--is very effective (you have a 99% chance of avoiding pregnancy if you take the pill), it is only as effective as the user. Nationally, nearly half of all women who have an unplanned pregnancy were using a method of contraception when they got pregnant. Digging a little deeper, half of women who have an unplanned pregnancy and birth admit that although they were using a method, they weren't using it correctly when they got pregnant.

For some of us, remembering to take the pill is easy and has become routine, but for others who are often forgetting to take their pill there might be another way. Consider other birth control options that experts often label as "forgettable". These include methods such as the vaginal ring, which is monthly, the IUD , which lasts 5-10 years, or the implant, which lasts up to 3 years. A method that I don't have to remember sounds great to me, what do you think?

Why are so many young women still getting pregnant when they didn't intend to? Is it that they don't know enough about how pregnancy happens? Or how to use birth control? Or, are they using birth control sometimes, and thinking that's as good as using it every time? Or that they want to know more but are too embarassed to ask? Or that it just won't happen to them? Turns out, the answer is all of the above, and more.

Check out this great article in the current issue of Self Magazine: "Single, Pregnant and Panicked."

It includes findings from some Campaign polling and focus groups that shed light on what single 20-somethings really think—and what they still don't know—about pregnancy and birth control. The findings are pretty shocking.

Check out the full survey.

Here's some of what we learned:

• 54% of sexually active (but not monogamous) single 20-somethings don't use birth control every time.


• While nearly half of our survey respondents said they don't look for information about preventing pregnancy because they already know enough about it, we found that 50% of those women surveyed don't know at what point in their cycle they are most likely to get pregnant, and 23% of women we surveyed think that taking birth control pills increases the risk of getting all types of cancers (NOT true!).


• 21% said finding the right source of information on pregnancy prevention is too hard.


• 21% of young adult women said they don't seek out information about birth control and pregnancy prevention because it's too embarrassing to talk about.


• 67% of our respondents (male and female) say they know nothing about IUDs, which the medical community considers the most effective form of long-acting contraception.


• 16% of young adult men say they only use contraception if their partners insist on it.

Many who are taking chances with their birth control say that if pregnancy hasn't happened yet, it probably won't...that's the most magical thinking of all.

Go to self.com to read the article and take the pregnancy quiz that nearly 1,000 women have already failed.  And don't forget to tell us what you think.

People all over the country are getting together to discuss ways to improve our health care system, and we want to make sure that the issues we care about most are a part of this dialogue.

This is a priority for us. And not just because it's our job. It's because deciding whether and  when to become pregnant and have children is one of the most important decisions many of us will make in our lives. We think women, men, and families will do better if they have the opportunity to prevent pregnancy and plan families affordably, in consultation with the best medical professionals, and without barriers.

We've asked some of our friends to share some of the challenges they've faced seeking care, and we hope you'll share your stories by leaving comments on this blog post.

"I switched jobs and therefore my insurance plan changed. I went from paying $7 for a month's supply of birth control to more than 4 times as much for the exact same prescription."

"I was having trouble getting pregnant, and did some research on what might be causing my particular issues. I read about a hormone that might help, but my doctor at the time wasn't very familiar with it. He agreed to administer it, but wanted to test for it in my blood after a few weeks. This was impossible, because that particular hormone doesn't show up in your blood. I switched to an OBGYN who knew about the hormone and understood my issues, and shortly after receiving the treatment I was pregnant with my first daughter."

"I decided I wanted an IUD. I had been seeing an OBGYN at a hospital that doesn't do IUD's. I called four different doctors in the area, and no doctors do them. Finally I found a doctor a long way from my house who said she did them, so I made an appointment. I finally saw the woman and she gave me an exam then told me that she would not recommend an IUD --  because I hadn't had a baby, and because she had so little faith in her own ability to insert one properly. I was super excited that I'd taken off an afternoon to drive out to the middle of nowhere for that." 

"When I changed pills based on advice from my doctor to try anther type, the new ones ended up costing me over $50/month (with insurance paying about $5). On other pills, I'd paid $10 -- $15 month, with insurance paying the balance."

"I had been having reproductive health issues for years, and when doctors ruled out endometriosis, fibroids, and cancer, we decided that a hysterectomy would be the best course of action. Since I am done having children, I agreed. After a few more weeks of tests, exams, and follow-up visits, I received a bill from my insurance company for almost $1,000 -- all this on top of my $20 co-pay I was dishing out for every office visit. When I called my doctor to straighten this out, it was explained to me that on top of a $750 deductible for my plan, I have to pay 20% of all the costs beyond that. The good news is that I had met my high deductible for the year. The bad news: my surgery is scheduled for next year."

Do the words Horde, Alliance, and Leeroy Jenkins mean anything to you?  Even if you've never played—or heard of—the massively multiplayer online role-playing game, World of Warcraft (WoW), I'm sure you'll still get the gist of this birth control "ad":

As far as I know, WoW hasn't yet been a part of any clinical trials to prove its effectiveness, so for now I suggest we stick with safer methods like, say, the IUD, which is personified for your education and enjoyment here: