Herbal contraceptives?
We've come a long way since THE PILL's introduction to women in 1960. By 1973, approximately 10 million women in the United States were using the pill as their means of birth control. Reports of possible side effects dropped the use down to around 8.4 million in the early part of the 1980's. Many of the side effects were helped when doctors began prescribing lower doses, but concerns regarding certain types of cancer persist for some groups of women, especially women who are over age 35, smoke or use tobacco products, or have certain medical conditions such as a history of blood clots or breast or endometrial cancer. Did you know there are over 40 different brands of birth control pills available in the U.S.? Which one is safe to use? The answer maybe be very clear....
Environmental impact?
"Human excretion in urine and feces of the natural estrogens estrone and estradiol and excretion of the synthetic estrogen ethinylestradiol by women using COCPs are likely to play a role in causing endocrine disruption in wild fish populations in some segments of streams contaminated by treated sewage effluents. A review of activated sludge plant performance found estrogen removal rates varied considerably but averaged 78% for estrone, 91% for estradiol, and 76% for ethinylestradiol (estriol effluent concentrations are between those of estrone and estradiol, but estriol is a much less potent endocrine disruptor to fish). Effluent concentrations of ethinylestradiol are lower than estradiol which are lower than estrone, but ethinylestradiol is more potent than estradiol which is more potent than estrone in the induction of intersex fish and synthesis of vitellogenin in male fish." (source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combined_oral_contraceptive_pill).
So what are your choices for birth control methods?
Thousands of years before The Pill, women wanted and needed a way to delay pregnancy. Plants such as Silphium (also known as silphion, laserpithecum, laserpitium, laserwort or laser) grew along a narrow coastal area in what is now known as Libya. Silphion was extensively used for spice, food, medical and contraceptive purposes. For reasons unknown, it became extinct. Silphion's related plants (Apiaceae or Umbelliferae) include asafoetida, giant fennel, parsley, and wild carrot. All these plants have similar chemical properties which include to a certain extent, contraceptive properties.
Wild carrot seeds aka Bird's Nest (Daucus carota) have been used successfully for thousands of years for contraception. Daucus carota is related to the now extinct herb and is being used successfully by many women who want to avoid getting pregnant.
Further readingHerbs That May Offer An Alternative Solution:
What did women do for contraception thousands of years BEFORE The Pill?
What are some of the anti-fertility herbs and how are they used to prevent pregnancy?
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