Sick of the Pill? Try Natural Family Planning

Jan. 27, 2010 - PRLog -- Jesse, the mother of a newborn in Bloomfield, NE, began taking the birth control pill Yasmin and never suspected it would cause problems. She had talked to her doctor about its possible side effects and he mentioned only blood clots. But after only a few months on the drug, she suffered severe stomach pains, and a medical exam revealed that she needed gall bladder surgery.

“I thought you could only get blood clots if you were a smoker, so I wasn’t worried about taking this drug,” Jesse argues on the website LawyersandSettlements.com. “I guess I trusted doctors and drugs in general…. I wasn’t worried about Yasmin.”

Jesse is one of the many women suing Bayer Pharmaceuticals after taking the very popular Yaz and Yasmin birth control pills and suffering serious complications.

According to court documents, six new cases filed in Pittsburg last month allege fraud, civil conspiracy and commercial bribery, specifically indicating Bayer made “false representations” about the safety of their product, says another website, Avvo.com, which offers news and legal advice.

The civil suits filed seek punitive and compensatory damages totaling $150,000. Nationally, more than 150 complaints have now targeted Bayer for the marketing of its contraceptives, Avvo.com says.

The Food and Drug Administration sent a letter of warning to Bayer Health Care last September, according to the New York Times, warning them of inadequate manufacturing safeguards in the making of their birth control pills.

Couples Turn to Natural Methods

“People all over are becoming fed up with the physical problems with artificial birth control, and this is one of the reasons they try Natural Family Planning (NFP),” says Monica Cassidy, of the Couple to Couple League of Chicago. “You don’t fool with mother nature.”

Natural Family Planning, with its reliance only on a thermometer and charts, is completely safe and a good alternative to artificial methods. According to the Couple to Couple League International, the method is up to 99% effective, depending on couples’ level of motivation. Proper education is necessary for this high effectiveness rate.

NFP is not often heard about because it cannot compete with the multi-million dollar advertising budgets of the pharmaceuticals.

Natural Family Planning introductory sessions are offered on Wednesday mornings at Life Choices Women’s Clinics. If you have questions on how your birth control works, side effects, or want to learn about hormone-free methods of Natural Family Planning, call to make an appointment. The Natural Family Planning method can help couples determine when sexual intercourse can lead to pregnancy by tracking changes during the menstrual cycle.

Women in Phoenix, AZ, as well as Peoria, Glendale, Tempe, Mesa, Avondale and other cities can learn about Natural Family Planning by calling Life Choices Women’s Clinics at 602-305-5100. The introductory session is free. Or go to http://www.lcwcaz.org.

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Life Choices Women's Clinics serves women in the Phoenix, AZ area with pregnancy tests, sexually transmitted infection testing and treatment, well women exams, NaProTechnology infertility treatment, and natural family planning.