Oral contraceptives don’t affect women's fertility

The study led by German researchers showed that neither the length of time the pill was taken nor the type of hormones used had an affect on pregnancy rates.

In the European Active Surveillance Study on Oral Contraceptives, the researchers followed 60,000 European women for five years. Among them, 2064 admitted that they stopped using the pill because they wanted to become pregnant. The findings revealed that 21 per cent became pregnant one cycle after stopping contraceptive use.

After three cycles, the rate of pregnancy had increased to 45.7 per cent, and at one year (13 cycles) 79.4 per cent were pregnant.

On the other hand, one in five women who did not conceived in the first 12 months, 45 per cent did so in the second year (26 cycles) after stopping the pill, giving an overall success rate of 88.3 per cent.

However, researchers from Bayer Schering Pharma and ZEG-Centre for Epidemiology and Health Research in Berlin did admit that women who had been using the pill for a long time did have a slightly lower rate of pregnancy than those who had used it for a short period, but this was due to the effect of age, not long-term contraceptive use.

News Source : Oral contraceptives don’t affect women's fertility

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So What Will You Use? For Birth Control ?

There are two major methods of birth control namely barrier or hormonal. Aside from that, the other types include sterilization otherwise known as surgery, withdrawal, natural family planning and the simplest which is abstinence.

Lets talk about each of them.
The first is the barrier method wherein the male or the female uses a condom to prevent the sperm from ever entering the female uterus. The male condom comes in many brands, color and flavors and is usually made of latex rubber. This is placed over the penis when it is erect prior to intercourse.

The female condom on the other hand is made of polyurethane and is seven inches long. This allows it to protect the cervix, vaginal canal and the immediate areas surrounding the vagina. It is inserted into the womans vagina also prior to intercourse.
Contraception is a term used to prevent pregnancy. There are different types of them around. As Above some are used by men while others are for women.

Another barrier is known as spermicides. It is a chemical designed to kill sperm and this is available as foam, jelly, foaming tablet and as a vaginal suppository.

You also have the diaphragm that is a soft rubber dome which stretches over a flexible ring that contains spermicides in the form or cream or jelly.

This is placed inside the womans vagina and placed over the cervix. Women should take note that this should not stay inside for more than 3 hours prior to intercourse.

The cervical cap is a small cup made of the same material as a condom. It is also filled with spermicidal cream and inserted into the girls vagina and placed over the cervix.

The last is the contraceptive sponge which is a soft saucer shaped device made from the same material as the female condom.

Now that we have discussed the different barriers, it is time to discuss about hormonal birth control methods.

Hormonal devices appear in the form or an implant, patch, pill or shot. They are designed to prevent the woman ovaries from releasing an egg monthly, cause the cervical mucus to thicken so the sperm will have a difficult time penetrating the egg or thin the lining of the uterus which reduces the chances of a fertilized egg from ever implanting on the uterus wall.

Some experts believe that they are very effective but they cannot protect you from sexually transmitted diseases or STD.

Birth control pills can be acquired from your health provider. Depo-Provera is an injection that costs a little bit more than the pill and can prevent pregnancy for 3 months. Something similar to Depo-Provera is lunelle but this can only prevent pregnancy for up to one month.

The Nuva Ring or vaginal ring is a flexible ring that is inserted into the vagina for three weeks before this is removed and replaced with a new one. The ring contains chemicals such as estrogen and progesterone that releases this into the body.

The birth control patch works like the ring as it releases hormones into the body while the IUD is a small plastic device that contains hormones and copper and changes the cervical mucus to decrease the chances of an egg from fertilizing.

Withdrawal is simply removing your penis out of the girls vagina before ejaculation. Sterilization closes the fallopian tubes permanently and this is better known as tubal ligation. Men can have the same thing and this is called a vasectomy.

Natural family planning is simply controlling the number of kids that you want to have.

Abstinence is not engaging in sexual intercourse at all that is perhaps the most effective type of birth control. Contraception is a term used to prevent pregnancy. There are different types of them around. Some are used by men while others are for women.

About the Author

Jim Woodall has 49years business exp. He is in Affiliate and Internet Marketing. Get you 3 free ebooks NO obligation at http://freegiveaways.jwoodl.com/index.html Also for some good info be sure to visit our birth control website http://jwoodl.com/birth-control

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MENOPAUSE

Menopause is the point in a woman’s life when there is permanent cessation of menstrual periods. This is a natural event that occurs following the loss of ovarian activity. The average age of menopause in this country is approximately 51 years old, although women who smoke usually begin several years earlier.

The perimenopause is the time period immediately before and after the menopause. This is a time that marks the transition from the reproductive years to the postmenopausal years. The effects of the perimenopause are related to waning ovarian function and include: disturbances in menstrual pattern, vasomotor instability (or "hot flushes"), mood swings, and other physical symptoms.

Unfortunately, over the years, the menopause has been associated with negative symbolism, when in fact this should be viewed as a point in a woman’s life where she has decades of productivity and healthful living ahead of her. For many women hormone replacement therapy is the cornerstone of this transition.

Hormone replacement therapy (or "HRT") means the replacement of the female hormone estrogen in physiologic doses. Modern therapy involves daily oral estrogen tablets or weekly estrogen patches applied to the skin, with the addition of the hormone progesterone for women who still have their womb. Older therapies include estrogen injections, and sub-dermal pellets. HRT can alleviate most of the annoying effects of the menopause, such as hot flushes and mood swings. HRT also may provide some health benefits, although the recent Women's Health Initiative (WHI) study has demonstrated that it should be used with caution.

In addition to providing relief from hot flushes, other health benefits include a significant reduction in the occurrence of osteoporosis (brittle bones), and a 29% reduction in the risk of death from colon cancer. However, as I mentioned above, risks do exist. The WHI study (see my article "Warning on Hormone Replacement") demonstrated higher risks of breast cancer, stroke and heart disease, although these events were mostly seen after 5 years of treatment.

Another benefit of HRT was mentioned in a study by the National Institute on Aging, published in 2000 in the journal Neurology found that women who used estrogen reduced their risk of Alzheimer’s disease by 54%. Alzheimer’s disease affects twice as many women as men. Although the authors felt that further studies are needed on this issue, this is nonetheless important news.

In summary, the decision to take or not to take replacement hormones remains a very personal and complicated one. A woman should discuss this with her physician before reaching any conclusions. Although not for everyone, hormones may provide relief of some of the annoying symptoms of menopause, but all should be aware that potential risks exist. For those not willing to take the risks there are alternatives. These alternatives may not provide the same level of relief, buy do not carry the risk either.

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Anesthesia

Anesthesia for the obstetrical patient has evolved rapidly the past several years. The important difference in this group of patients is that each patient is really two patients, mother and child. Also, the pregnant mother is herself a different patient physiologically from a non-pregnant female, with necessary special considerations. Together, these issues have been the reason for the direction that obstetrical anesthesia has taken.

Mothers have been having babies without anesthesia for most of the history of humankind. It has only been since the mid 1800's that a scientifically based approach to relieve the pain of labor has been attempted. These early attempts started in England, and involved the mother breathing the vapor of ether or chloroform from a soaked cloth held over the face by a physician. While effective in the relief of labor pain, complications from the use of this approach led to the search for safer techniques. One of the important complications centered on the fact that pregnant moms retain food and fluid in their stomachs, not emptying their stomachs as non-pregnant adults do. When made unconscious under anesthesia, mothers were placed at risk for regurgitation and aspiration of stomach contents, sometimes with severe consequences. In addition, the process making the mother unconscious often resulted in a sleepy or depressed baby.

These considerations still hold true today even with our more modern and safer anesthetic drugs and techniques. While general anesthesia is safely and effectively given to pregnant patients today, the fact that these risks remain has led to the refinement of regional anesthetic techniques for labor, delivery, and cesarean section. Anesthesia falls roughly into three approaches for labor and delivery. The first is essentially the non-pharmacological approach. Many mothers select this feeling that it is best for them and their babies. Also, Lamaze and other techniques have become more popular as methods for dealing with the pain of labor, and in some women, may be enough. Certainly, the pain of labor can vary from one patient to another. For many, the pain of labor is something they choose not to suffer if it can be safely dealt with, and it can.

The next approach would be to give mom some pain relieving medication, usually a narcotic, by the intra-muscular or intravenous route. This approach has been used successfully for many years. It has some drawbacks. It is a systemic approach in that the drugs are distributed to the mother's entire system. Consequently, they can also effect the baby, again potentially resulting in a sleepy or depressed baby. The dosage and frequency of these drugs has been adjusted over the years to minimize effects on the baby. The mothers frequently become sleepy, and may have less or no memory of this important first experience with their new child.

The most sophisticated and direct approach is regional anesthesia. And this is where an anesthesiologist becomes involved. He or she will evaluate the patient (with the patient's obstetrician) to determine that epidural anesthesia is appropriate and to choose the best timing for starting an epidural. Epidural anesthesia is a technique for blocking the pain sensations in the appropriate nerves directly, specifically to avoid systemic effects on mother or baby. It involves using a needle to place a very small plastic tube (called a catheter) into the mother's epidural space in her back. The needle is removed and only the soft plastic tube remains. Medications can then be given in a controlled fashion as needed to relieve pain without making mother or baby sleepy or unconscious. Also, the catheter can remain in place for hours or even days to continue to give relief. Frequently, a small pump with a reservoir of medication is attached to give continuous pain relief without interruption. An added benefit is that should the patient require C-section, the epidural can be used for anesthesia for that as well by simply giving a larger, stronger dose of local anesthetic. The risks of this procedure are well defined, very low, and avoidable. This makes epidural anesthesia for labor and delivery the standard all across the nation if not the civilized world.

If C-section is necessary in a patient who has not chosen an epidural for labor, a regional anesthetic technique is still the prefered approach. Most commonly, this is late in labor and there may be some urgency. A similar technique called a subarachnoid or spinal block is most commonly used. It is easier and much quicker to perform, using a smaller needle and less medication, and having a more rapid onset of action. Again, the risk is very low, causing this to also become a standard practice in obstetrical care.

This summary is an overview of the available options. Many variations of these techniques exist and your anesthesiologist may feel that one of these approaches or even another not specifically mentioned here would be best for you. Contact your anesthesiologist in the Anesthesia Department of your hospital to have your questions answered.

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