There is always a risk of becoming pregnant when you are sexually active. However there are many contraceptive methods available but some people wants to avoid pregnancy naturally. There are some natural ways to avoid pregnancy but they are not 100% reliable.
In natural birth control method, you don’t need to use any medicines, pills or devices. These are completely free of these and low cost methods. However their effectiveness is round 75% to 85%. These methods are generally considered as Fertility awareness method or Rhythm methods which are completely dependent on your own body signs and signals.
Table of Contents
7 methods of birth control to avoid pregnancy naturally
These are some natural methods to avoid unwanted pregnancy, as many couple wants to have kids only with planning. Before choosing any of the following method, be sure in your mind that none of them is 100% reliable and you still can get pregnant but the chances are relatively less. Natural methods are always cost effective with no side effects and if you use them properly, you can avoid getting pregnant also.
1. Track your cycle (Fertility Awareness methods)
In this method you need to keep track of your monthly cycle so that you can calculate the most fertile days of the month. This are the days when you are at high risk of getting pregnant and are considered unsafe to have sex without using any contraception method. But the accuracy of this depends on how accurately you track your cycle and how regular your cycle are. It’s very common for menstrual cycle to vary and irregular, which makes it harder to calculate the fertile days.
Read here to know about how to track your monthly cycle in detail
For example if your cycle is of 28 days then the days from 7to 21 are most fertile days. Ovulation happens 14 days before your next period so you should avoid unprotected sex 1 week before 14th day and 1 week after 14th day. So your fertile window is around 7 to 21 day of your menstrual cycle.
If your monthly cycle is 35 days then subtract 14 from 35 which is 21 and if you calculate fertile window then days from 14 to 28 are most fertile and unsafe to have unprotected sex. This can be a great method to avoid pregnancy naturally if your cycle is predicted or you are calculating it accurately.
2. Withdrawal Method (Pulling out)
Withdrawal method also called pulled out and it’s a great method to avoid pregnancy naturally. In this method men pull their penis out before ejaculation, like this semen will not get a chance to meet egg and pregnancy will not happen. For this a lot of self control and practice needed because only a single drop of semen can also make you pregnant. This method will only work if men withdraw before any ejaculation.
3. Herbs as a birth control (Herbal birth control)
Some herbs work as a birth control and are used to avoid pregnancy naturally. But there is no research on that and these are not FDA approved methods. There are some herbs like
- Wild carrot seeds prevent egg form implantation and must be taken for at least a week after having unprotected sex.
- Cotton root bark can be taken everyday like a green tea to prevent pregnancy.
- Parsley, which is easily available and can be used in many ways to avoid pregnancy naturally.
- Neem can be used by men to promote temporary sterility in them. It can be used by female also which can kill the sperm naturally.
- Some other herbs are castor bean, Thunder God Vine, and gossypol and so on which can be used as a birth control method to prevent pregnancy.
4. Breastfeeding
If you are exclusively breastfeeding your baby like every 4 to 6 hours (Pumping milk is not countable) then this can prevent your body to release an egg which will prevent pregnancy naturally. This can work as an effective method to avoid pregnancy naturally. When you breastfeed baby exclusively on regular interval, your body stop ovulation. However, this method works only for first few months (5 to 6 months) only if your periods have not started yet. After that, this method is not that effective.
5. Listen to your body signs like cervical mucus and Basal body Temperature
It takes lots of practice and observation for this method to work. Your body gives you some signals when you are ovulating like changes in the cervical mucus and basal body temperature. You can notice the changes in your cervical mucus throughout your cycle.
When you are ovulating, there can be lots of cervical mucus and it can look clear, stretchy or slippery. Before using this method as a birth control option, it is always a good idea to observe your cycle for at least six month and note down the pattern for calculating ovulation.
Same like cervical mucus your basal body temperature also changes while ovulation. There are special thermometers for checking basal body temperature; otherwise it’s very difficult to check this. You can keep a record of your temperature and try to take the temperature same time every day for an accurate calculation.
But again these are not full proof methods of preventing pregnancy and basically the idea is to avoid sex on most fertile days. There are many other lifestyle factors that affect the production of cervical mucus and cause changes in basal body temperature which can confuse you. This is why these methods are harder to use.
6. Some fruits and dried fruits to prevent pregnancy
There are some fruits and dried fruits which are helpful in avoiding pregnancy naturally. Some of them are:
- Citrus fruit which are rich in vitamin C are a great source to avoid pregnancy naturally. You can also take high potency vitamin c capsule also like 500mg three times a day to prevent pregnancy.
- Eating papaya can also help sometime. It will not let the fertilization happen and hence prevent pregnancy. Some also claim that papaya temporarily reduce the sperm count so it can be consumed by the men also to avoid pregnancy.
- There are some more fruits and dried fruits believed to prevent pregnancy like pineapple, Ginger, Cinnamon, Dried figs, dried apricot, Neem and so on. But there are no proofs that any of them are effective in preventing pregnancy.
7. Having no vaginal Sex
Yes, you heard me right. Having no sex is the only method which is 100% reliable till now. No other method whether it natural or not, can give 100% reliability of avoiding pregnancy. Having no sex means that you can’t have vaginal sex which will keep the semen away from vagina and it will not cause any pregnancy.
Some people think having no vaginal sex means no sex on fertile days but it’s ok to have sex on non-fertile days. But there are still chances of having pregnant. You can always talk to your partner take decision according to that. Remember, there are always other methods available, which can give you protection against pregnancy. Sex is an important part of a healthy relation, so in my opinion it’s not a good idea for long term to rely on.
Getting pregnant with irregular period? FAQs about irregular period and pregnancy
Things to keep in mind about natural methods to avoid pregnancy
There is no birth control method with 100% guarantee of preventing pregnancy. But when you use natural methods to avoid pregnancy, the risk is more. These are not approved methods to prevent pregnancy because there is no research on them.
- Natural birth control method don’t give protection against STDs
- They are only 75 to 85% effective if you use them properly.
- You cannot use natural methods to avoid pregnancy for long-term, for this you should always consult with your gynecologist.
