Can Plants Really Be Used As "Birth Control"?
I know some are you are probably wondering…can plants *really* be used as birth control?
First, we have to unpack what “birth control” really is and does.
Hormonal contraceptives (like the pill, patch, Mirena IUD, and Depo shot) function primarily by suppressing ovulation.
This prevents an egg from releasing from the ovary, which means there is no egg available to be fertilized.
Even in the case of non-hormonal contraceptives, like the copper IUD, ovulation can still be affected, due to the inflammatory environment that the synthetic copper creates in the uterus, and its effects on our micronutrients.
If you know me, you know I talk about how ovulation isn’t only necessary for conception – it’s vital to our overall health.
Hormonal contraceptives and the long term suppression of our ovulation can negatively impact our health by:
Depleting many micronutrients
Hindering our metabolism and gut health
Inducing estrogen dominance, which is correlated with ovarian cysts, fibroids, endometriosis and some cancers
“Flattening” our emotional state, depriving us of our full range of expression
…and so much more.
The “Plan B” pill functions similarly, by temporarily stopping ovulation.
Now this is important: This means if you’ve already ovulated and you take Plan B, it will not work!
Here’s why:
An egg is viable for 12- 24 hours after ovulation.
So, if you have sex where conception is possible in the day after ovulation, Plan B won’t prevent a pregnancy.
Yikes – where’s that on the label!?
Honestly, that’s not my only qualm with Plan B. Another little-known piece of information is that Plan B’s effectiveness drops rapidly above a certain weight.
It loses effectiveness over 165 lbs, and is completely ineffective over 176 lbs.
Combine that with the cont, disruption to our hormonal health, and the ineffectiveness after ovulation…and it’s got a lot of drawbacks.
This is why I personally trust fertility awareness practices and plant allies MORE than I trust Plan B.
I use and teach the symptothermal method of fertility awareness, which uses basal body temperature, cervical mucus and cervical position to track your fertility day-to-day.
This method is 99.4% effective in preventing pregnancy when used correctly –That’s more effective than the copper IUD, both combined and progestin only pills, and condoms!
(Check out my free fertility awareness workshop here!)
So what about when there’s an “accident,” and you need a plan b?
With plants, we are working with a different mechanism than with pills.
Instead of trying to stop ovulation, we can disrupt our internal environment to make the uterus uninhabitable for a pregnancy, and encourage menstruation.
We can do this by:
Decreasing progesterone: plants that disrupt progesterone production can prevent a pregnancy from forming, by decreasing blood supply to the uterine lining so that a fertilized egg doesn’t have a chance to implant
Encouraging menstruation: there are a whole class of plants called “emmenagogues,” which encourage menstruation to begin, by increasing circulation to the womb and increasing oxytocin, which causes the uterus to contract
There are dozens, if not hundreds, of plants that have these properties each with different energetics and properties.
What’s important to know is that Plants. Are. Not. Pills.
They are sentient beings – and just because they are “natural,” doesn’t necessarily mean they are gentle! Some plants have risks of toxicity, and it’s important to understand how they function, your risk tolerance, and have a care plan.
Some common emmenagogue allies include:
🌿Cotton root bark
🌿Queen Anne’s Lace (also disrupts progesterone and can inhibit implantation)
🌿Mugwort
So in short, I don’t call plants a form of “birth control” – birth doesn’t need controlling.
Rather, they are allies in our reproductive sovereignty: our divine birthright to govern our own wombs, and work with our physiology to either support or prevent a pregnancy from forming.
If you feel called to explore this plant wisdom in depth and understand how you can feel totally confident in being sovereign from medical contraceptives, apply to work with me in The Womb Room, in my year-long container for womb sovereignty!
Sources:
Can we identify women at risk of pregnancy despite using emergency contraception?
This is not medical advice. Womb sovereignty is not a medical event.