Birth control. Always a hot topic.
Who uses what and why. What works well for some and not for others. The Pill, the Sponge, Mirena IUDs, implants, shots, tubal ligation, vasectomies. Scientists have given us a plethora of ways to plan for pregnancy or against it.
Recently, I was subjected to the opinion that using medical contraceptive methods of any kind are acting against God’s will. I’m going to address this with a large amount of humor. Be prepared.
First off, I’m pretty sure God gave us scientists. And he gave some of those scientists the ability to create birth control. As it stands, the world is overpopulated. So, God provided us with scientists who provide birth control. So…
#Plannedpregnancy for the win.
Now, let’s look at this from another perspective. Imagine you are drowning, praying for God to save you, and a man in a lifeboat comes by to rescue you. Are you going to wait for God to arrive in a dingy or trust that He sent this lifeboat?
I have three children. My home is overpopulated. I am drowning in laundry.
Mirena is my lifeboat.
Not only does she ensure that I am not getting pregnant, she also takes away my debilitating cramps and shortens my very heavy nine-day period to five light days. She may be my best friend.
I have a loving marriage and three beautiful children. Our first two children were planned and our third is a happy whoops. God gave us all three of them, and we feel blessed. But there are other kinds of blessings. Here are a few:
- We are looking at a future with no more potty training and less bed wetting.
- My husband travels extensively for work. When he comes home, we can have an evening out that ends in nooky without worrying about my basal body temperature (ahem, fertility awareness birth control).
- We have just recently reached a place in our parenting partnership where we are handling our offspring with more than just a small degree of sanity and understanding because it’s easier to handle three children who can communicate with words.
- Our marriage is less stressed financially because we have a finite number of mouths for whom we must feed, clothe, and provide extracurricular activities.
If you believe that birth control is against God’s will, I respect your opinion. It is yours to have. Please respect mine.
For more information on contraceptives, take a look at Planned Parenthood. This is a comprehensive guide to all forms of birth control including Fertility Awareness and Abstinence.
And for a list of OB/GYNs in and near New Orleans who can more personally assist you in your choice, check out NOMB’s Best OB/GYNs In and Near New Orleans.
A well raised young mother!!!
I am writing this comment with the utmost sincerity. You say you respect those who are morally opposed to birth control, but that’s really not the message your words convey. Perhaps you could reconsider even mentioning such a disagreement and instead just tell why you personally like birth control. It would communicate the same information without taking a dig at those who hold a different view. Honestly, it feels like high school when the kids who saved themselves for marriage were the butt of all the jokes.
Hi, Julia – I was one of those kids in high school who was saving myself for my husband and learned to take it lightly when other kids had a different opinion. As I said in the article, it was meant to be read with a big dose of humor. I support a person’s right to choose their method of contraception, but I disagree that medical contraception is against God’s will (the post was written in response to a judgement that those who use birth control are defying God’s plan). I am sorry that you were offended by the article and hope that you now understand that it was composed tongue-in-cheek. Thank you for your opinion.
Hi Jill, thanks for the reply. I did understand that you were joking. I guess this issue is one that is close to my heart, so it’s hard to treat lightly. In my faith tradition it is a very complicated issue and there’s more to it than “it’s against God’s will”. Perhaps New Orleans Moms Blog might consider having someone write a post that can help explain a different perspective. 😉
I understand having things close to heart. Appreciate you explaining that it is very personal to you. An article addressing BC from a different perspective would be interesting. Thanks again for sharing your thoughts.
I am familiar with the view you’re talking about, and I know that some people who don’t believe in medical birth control (at least of the Catholic community) still have family planning methods that are based on monitoring your cycle. I know you mention the body temp thing, but not all pregnancies of those who are not using birth control are #unplanned. Also, you can’t really be subjected to an opinion – maybe forced to listen? An opinion (even a judgement) doesn’t really force anything on your except knowledge of a different perspective.
Of course it doesn’t feel good to be judged. But if your conversation was with religious people, most faiths believe that only one can judge anyway so don’t feel like you have to defend yourself.