|
|
Attempts to Discredit Fertility Awareness
|
Despite its effectiveness and many benefits, Fertility Awareness is commonly denigrated. A number of unfounded arguments have been advanced in attempts to discredit it, and examination of them will prove enlightening.
Misconception #13: Disadvantages of natural methods of fertility regulation include increased risk of birth defects and required “long” periods of abstinence which cause sexual dysfunction.
|
Risk of Birth Defects
Planned Parenthood’s pamphlet, Basics of Birth Control states that, “There appears to be increased risk of birth defects in babies born to women using Fertility Awareness Methods with abstinence, when an aging egg is fertilized.” No supporting arguments, data, or references are given to substantiate this statement. In contrast, the same pamphlet discusses the side effects of the pill without mentioning that it is universally known to cause birth defects. The birth control pill has in fact, been designated Pregnancy Category X by the food and Drug Administration. Drugs are placed in the categories A, B, C, D, or X, in order of decreasing safety. Drugs in Category X are the most dangerous since they have been conclusively shown to cause birth defects.
The enigma is how Planned Parenthood could have derived this assertion. Apparently the assumption was that natural methods more often led to fertilization of aging (postovulatory) eggs. Planned Parenthood’s own literature refutes this idea however, with the statement that, “Most accidental pregnancies experienced by women using these methods occur during the preovulatory phase of the menstrual cycle” (when the eggs is most fresh). Women experience a menstrual period approximately every 28 days. The ovary releases the unfertilized egg, i.e., ovulates, approximately two weeks after the prior menstruation. “Preovulatory” pregnancies occur when a couple has sex prior to ovulation and the sperm remains viable long enough to fertilize the egg when it is ovulated. “Postovulatory” pregnancies occur when the couple has sex after the egg has ovulated but before it has expired.
“Long” Periods of Abstinence
Five to ten-day periods of abstinence are typical when attempting to avoid pregnancy. For couples capable of avoiding genital sexual gratification for such periods, natural methods are a realistic option. For couples who live for the next climax, they are not.
Sexual Dysfunction
The criticism that periodic abstinence causes sexual dysfunction is based on the unfounded “use it or lose it” as a result of taking periodic breaks, nor does sexual intercourse require keeping skilled techniques finely tuned. Like other pleasurable activities, sex becomes more interesting when it is not so routine. Respites obviate the need to search for ways to spice up a love life.
Far from being a source of psychological problems, periodic abstinence is routinely used by the therapists to treat sexual dysfunction. By teaching moderation, Fertility Awareness is naturally conducive to a therapeutic balance within relationships.
Misconception #14: Use of the Fertility Awareness is restricted to couples with an unusually healthy relationship or to certain religions.
Many people argue that while natural methods may be ideal in healthy relationships, artificial methods are better suited for relationships marred by poor communication, distrust, abuse, or inequality. It is true that natural methods may not be capable of healing seriously dysfunctional relationships. In such cases, the positive influences of Fertility Awareness may not become manifest. Contraceptives appear to be a desperate but perhaps necessary alternative, particularly when women can see no other escape.
The problem with this idea is that artificial methods enable couples to avoid addressing the fundamental problems in their relationships, so those problems persist. For example, if a man is raping his wife, use of contraceptives actually facilitates continued rape by reducing the fear of having to raise another child as a consequence of the act. Perhaps more importantly, because of their innately detrimental influence, artificial methods have little capacity, in and of themselves, to alleviate underlying tensions, e.g., over the “needs” misconception, which can lead to abuse and cause still more tension.
For example, in a letter to Dr. Joyce Brothers, a woman expressed her fear of contracting AIDS since her husband seemed to have fallen into his old habit of going to prostitutes. The husband refused to talk to her about the situation or to use a condom. Dr. Brothers answered that, “Any partner who respects and loves his spouse should be willing to take precautions.” She discussed condoms (precautions) briefly and then concluded with an admonition to the wife “to be more assertive with your husband and demand that he change,” the obvious inference being that he use a condom.
To recommend condoms to this innocent woman is scandalous and requires not only that one ignore the failure rate of condoms but, far more importantly, that one ignore the fundamental problems threatening this couple’s relationship. This woman should not have to risk her health or life for her husband’s pleasure. Dr. Brothers should have told her to protect herself fully by refusing to have sex with him until truly safe sex was reasonably assured. Use of contraceptives, whether to avoid pregnancy or disease, allows underlying abuse to continue unchallenged. They are an easy but unhealthy way out of unpleasant circumstances.
Natural methods are not a cure-all for serious psychosexual dysfunction, but while artificial methods may encourage a façade of normality, they can be expected to stimulate unhealthy processes within already ailing relationships. Instead of offering contraception to desperate women, society should help them evaluate whether or not to remain in their current troubled relationships and should work to develop resources and realistic options for these women. We fail women who are faced which such dilemmas by suggesting that contraceptives are the reasonable solution.
With so many advantages and so few bona fide disadvantages, it is surprising that fertility awareness incurs such widespread ridicule. There are many reasons for this response. One reason is that artificial methods are more easily implemented. Natural Methods require patience and an investment in time, both by the couple and the instructor, whereas artificial methods are more in tune with the modern emphasis on convenience. Another reason is that modern medicine uses a disease-oriented approach to health care. Artificial methods treat fertility as a problem, a disease that must be cured with drugs, devices or surgery, much in keeping with the approach used for battling cancer or infections. In contrast, natural methods work in unison with the body’s natural rhythms and accept fertility as a state of health.
Finally, we should recognize that contraception and sterilization procedures bring immense profit to pharmaceutical companies and others in the health field. Vast sums are spent on research, promotions, and implementation of contraception and sterilization. Advertisements are plentiful in medical journals, and medical offices and clinics are kept well stocked with free contraceptive samples. Physicians have become familiar with the routine of pleasant pharmaceutical company representatives dropping in to deliver lunch for the office staff and to discuss the latest contraception update. One study estimated that $272 million was earned annually on prescriptions for the pill written by obstetricians alone. Beyond private expenditures, our federal government spends an estimated $715 million annually supporting these methods. There are over 7,000 publicly funded family planning clinics in the United States. Medical Schools, universities, and high schools, too, help spread the world.
In contrast, natural methods are promoted by a few small non-profit organizations. Most physicians remain unaware of modern methods of fertility Awareness since there are no advertisements in medical journals, no fancy patient information brochures, and no free lunches. Natural methods are inexpensive or free, and not monetarily profitable.
For these reasons, artificial methods are here to stay. Because of such successful promotion of artificial means, couples who choose natural means may receive little support from the many health professionals who remain uninformed. As an example of how ingrained the contraceptive mentality is, following the birth of our fourth child, my wife and I were counseled by the anesthesiologist to be sure to “protect” ourselves from the future pregnancies. He offered this opinion with full knowledge that I was a practicing family physician, as if we weren’t clear on where little babies come from!
Although artificial methods currently dominate the field, both information and support for those interested in fertility Awareness are available. (See “Resource Appendix” for more information.)
It is no coincidence that the widespread use of contraceptives was followed by a sexual revolution based on misconceptions encouraging compromises on love. And although contraceptives have not been the only instigators of mistaken attitudes, they have played a pivotal role in spreading many of these misconceptions. The great irony is that artificial birth control was supposed to offer modern society sexual freedom, whereas artificial methods bind people to addictive attitudes and an endless pursuit of “needs.”
There is a natural link between the unitive and pleasurable aspects of sexuality; sexual interactions imply affection. However, because women can conceive for only about one week each month, there is a natural, temporary disengaging of the loving (or unitive) and life-giving (procreative) functions of sexual intercourse during the remaining three weeks. In contrast, the natural association between the loving and pleasuring aspects is constant for sexual acts, whether genital or nongenital (those without potential for procreation, e.g., holding hands). Natural methods of fertility regulation work within this construct, but contraception and sterilization do not. Artificial separation of the loving and life-giving aspects of intercourse allows for simultaneous separation of the loving and pleasuring aspects as well (as, for example, in the case of sex with a prostitute). Because artificial methods interfere with the connection between pleasure and unity, they promote compromises on love and encourage sex without love – sex for the sake of pleasure alone. They interfere with the most elementary requirement of healthy sex, a moral context, and therein lies the most “artificial” aspect of their nature. Fertility Awareness methods conform with the natural, intermittent separation between the loving and life-giving aspects of sexual intercourse while maintaining the vital connection between the pleasuring and loving aspects. By preserving this bond, natural methods support the priority of love, a priority easily displaced with the use of artificial methods.
Modern society consistently ignores the vital difference between the way artificial and natural methods of fertility regulations influence relationships. This has not always been the case; contraceptives did not achieve public acceptance until the 1930s. In 1931 during this transition, The Washington Post editorialized, “The suggestion that the use of legalized contraceptives would be ‘careful and restrained’ is preposterous.” Some years before, in 1925, Mahatma Gandhi had counseled, “I urge the advocates of artificial methods of birth control to consider the consequences. Any large use of the methods is likely to result in the dissolution of the marriage bond.” Natural methods, in contrast, promote cooperation, expose misconceptions and provide support for the goal of unity and the priority of love. Natural methods, thus, are good and reasonable alternatives to contraception and sterilization.
Couples using Fertility Awareness enjoy an extremely low divorce rate (3 percent). One reason for this is that many, if not most, of its users belong to religions that proscribe divorce. It is unknown what the relative contribution of the methods themselves is on these couple’s commitment to each other. However, in a society in which, according to Harpers’ Index, two out of every three future marriages are expected to end in divorce, anything that works to promote genuine intimacy, maturity, and mutual respect deserves appreciation.
Source: Wetzel, Richard. Sexual Wisdom – A Guide for Parents, Young Adults, Educators, and Physicians. Proctor Publications: Ann Arbor, Michigan. 1998.
|
|
|
| JOIN MAILING LIST |
 |
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
| Letters to the Editor |
|
|
|
|
| Letters by Sr. Pilar |
|
|
|
|
| Love Life TV |
|
|
|
| MAGAZINE |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
| HOT TOPICS |
|
|
|
|
|
| ANTI LIFE ISSUES |
|
|
| |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
