If you know me at all by now (hey, hi, I’m Rachel), you’ll know that I will forever be at the front of the pack waving my pom-poms for using fertility awareness and charting as an effective and natural method of birth control.

While I absolutely believe that you don’t need artificial hormones to prevent pregnancy, I also believe that every woman is entitled to know *all* of her options so that she can make an informed decision about what’s best for her birth control needs in her current season of life.

So, we’re mixing it up in this episode and I’m talking you through the most common hormonal birth control options (that aren’t the Pill).

Want to know what matters more than size?

Length. (Of your luteal phase, that is)

Those couple of weeks in the lead-up to your next period are too often given a bad rap. This is when a lot of women experience those fun PMS symptoms, and if you’re trying to conceive, it’s the two week wait from hell.

But did you know that it’s the luteal phase that gives you the most valuable information about your fertility, your cycle, your overall health annnnnd (if you know what you’re looking for) it will help you to predict your period down to the day and will likely be your first sneaky-peek into pregnancy.

Sound familiar?

You’re slowly building your confidence with tracking your cycle every day. You feel like you’ve finally made sense of your cervical mucus patterns every month and it’s time to start tracking your daily body temperature too.

But your daily temperatures make absolutely no sense!

High one day, low the next. Completely all over the place and not even close to matching up with your mucus patterns.

You’re more confused than ever and wondering if maybe you’ve had it wrong all along.

Contrary to what we’re all told, hormonal contraceptives are not the only effective option for birth control. If you’ve decided to finally ditch the hormones forever, or if you’re contemplating taking the leap, you’ll still need to know how to manage your fertile window if abstinence isn’t your thing.

Contraception can be used during the learning phase of fertility awareness and charting, when you’re still learning about your body’s unique menstrual cycle, and on wonky days when you’re just not sure (they happen to everyone!).

So forget what you were told in sex ed, I’m breaking down for you the most effective contraceptive options for managing your fertile window that are 100% hormone-free.

Ready to ditch hormonal contraceptives for good but feeling completely clueless about how to do it and what to expect?

In this podcast episode, I’m talking you through the 5 steps to coming off the Pill.

Whether you’re ready to start preparing for pregnancy or you just want to explore a natural method of birth control, I’ve got you covered!

Did you know that the pill was the very first medication that was prescribed to perfectly healthy women to treat something that was not a health problem?

Instead, it works by shutting down a completely natural process of the female body – ovulation.