Lybrel-Birth-Control.com - Birth control?

Birth control?

I just had a baby a month ago and I'm nervous about birth control. At age 20 my mother was diagnosed with cervical cancer, and I believe it was due to the pill. Because of that, I'm at risk of getting it too. AND I smoke. Therefore I'm kind of uncomfortable with taking birth control with hormones, and it seems that all birth control methods have some very not-fun risks to deal with. My doctor reccommended that I get an IUD [mirena] and after reading about it I don't think I want one anymore. I've considered the shot as well, but my doctor doesn't want me to be on anything that could make me gain weight because I gained 100 pounds in my pregnancy and even today I'm WAY above my BMI. I'm thinking I should just use condoms as my form of birth control, because it seems safest, but there will be times where we won't have any. So does anyone else have any reccommendations or experiences with BC? Okay first of all, I didn't come here to get put down by snotty stuck up wannabe know-it-all unintelligent and judgemental poor excuses for human beings. My main concern is blood clotting and cervical cancer. My mother has been pregnant about ten times hoping to have another baby untill my little brother was born and she only has four children. My little brother and I were the ones who she actually was able to carry while in remission, every other pregnancy she's had has either miscarried or been aborted because the baby wouldn't have lived anyway. I don't want to go through that, and I want to hear other people's experiences with successful, non-hormonal birth control. And I'm not a negligent parent, I have a smoking sweatshirt that I wear when I smoke OUTSIDE and take it off before I handle my son. And Purrell is my best friend. So yah, thanks for coming here to pretend like you know what I do with my few minutes during the day! Oh yeah - I don't plan on having sex again untill my period starts again. But I'm getting birth control in two weeks and want to know the pros and cons of differnt contraceptives.

Public Comments

Whatever you choose to do, be careful. The shot (Depo) caused me to have a miscarriage at 3 months gestation. Plus, with the fact that you smoke, that increases the risk of your blood clotting if you do go on birth control. With your mom's health history, I'd take it easy and probably just use condoms until you are 100% comfortable going on birth control. Whichever you choose, good luck! I prefer the Nuva Ring since my husband and I just had our 2nd child in January.
If you can take it everyday at the same time, go for it. Studie show there is little risk... your mother could have been misdiagnosed.
I used a diaphragm and a condom for yrs with no problems...definitely an option...
I'm so sorry about ur mother. u just had a baby. lay off the sex for a lil bit? 1 in 6 condems fail to do the job. therefore u are at risk for pregnancy again, and STD's and stop smoking, its bad for u AND your child. Don't screw ur child's lungs over too.
I find it ironic that you are concerned about cervical cancer with birth control pills and you choose to smoke which has such a higher risk of causing cancer in your bladder, lungs, skin, kidneys, and on and on. Birth control pills have actually been shown to reduce the risk of cancer. If cancer is your biggest concern then you should stop smoking. Don't do it for you, do it for your child who will be the one who ultimately will pay the price for having a parent that smokes and makes them smell and get riduculed by their friends and the public. A little off topic but a very important issue.
Actually, nowadays bcp's can possibly prevent certain types of cancers, including ovarian and cervical. While you are being wise to not wanting to use the pill b/c you are a smoker, I do have to question why you are smoking if you are so very concerned about cancer. You want to avoid cervical cancer... yet you don't want to avoid lung cancer? Glad you changed your mind about the IUD. They have a risk of causing scarring... which leads to infertility. Plus, the mood swings can be very severe with an IUD. If you don't want to use anything of the hormonal type, then your best bet is the condom, along with some sort of spermicide you can get OTC.
I would reconsider the IUD. I've tried every method of BC available, including the IUD. Since you're over weight I wouldn't recommend Depo. You will (not possibly, you will) gain weight. Every year that you're are on it. I was on it for 6 years- 65lbs and I always watched what I ate and was active. All other forms of BC- ring, patch, pill; have the risks of clotting. It's not common, but i think you have a fear because of what happened to your mother and that's ok. IUD will last you 5 or 10 years (depending on the metal). So if you're willing to wait for the next one it a great option and very cost effective. Since you've had a child the IUD will work well for you. You have good chances of your body not rejecting it. I was your age when I opted for the IUD, however in my case I never had given birth and I was young. I was boarderline to have one even fit. My body tried to expell it immediately. Condoms are a good option too, however they're not as reliable and sometimes not conviently available at the right times :). If that's the route you want to take- strong consider taking matters into your own hands with a female condom. Good Luck