Christian's on birth control?

[beansprout55]

Just curious as to what birth control you fellow Christian's deem acceptable?

Touchy topic. Mixed advice online and an embarrassing topic to ask church leaders.
We gave birth to our first 3 months ago so obviously I'm not keen on getting pregnant for at least another year, but I'm stuck on what method to use.
My periods have always been irregular so natural planning would be hard. Condoms are such a mood killer and due to birthing injuries I can't feel much when DH wears one, but it seems like they might be our only option.

There seems to be lots of talk about the pill and IUD causing abortions therefore I'm hesitant to use either without advice and prayer.

Thoughts?

The combined pill stops ovulation so there would be no egg to fertilise

The issue seems to be based on if the method can also stop a fertilised egg from implanting.
Think the combined pill does.

I didn't realise it's considered life at the point of conception (when fertilisation occurs) - makes finding suitable birth control tricky.

Interested in what other Christians use?? Anyone?

It's the mini pill that creates the hostile environment. We used condoms and natural family planning.

"Christians"? You're going to have to be more specific I think.

On the specific question though, the full pill prevents ovulation and hence cannot be seen as producing an abortion. The mini-pill and the Mirena coil don't always prevent ovulation so if you're taking an extremely strict line you personally might prefer to avoid them.

Combined pill stops ovulation so there is no egg to fertilise.

Thanks that's helpful.

Newer mini-pills like Cezarette also stop ovulation.

Also it doesn’t matter what the talk is in your church as long as you’re happy with your choice.
Abortion and preventing
implantation are not considered to be the same thing by doctors.

I think only the most hard-line Christians would be against the pill. Most would use whatever works best for them.

Only the Roman Catholic church has rulings on contraception, and they are not against all forms. There's nothing noticeably natural about taking your basal temperature every morning and charting, and that's fine with the RC church (even though the intent - using a method to avoid the transmission of life - is exactly the same)

If not RC, then any method is fine. And as you mention you would use condoms, then I'm assuming you are not RC.

I can see why you might prefer a method such as a combined pill or hormonal IUS, which suppresses ovulation, rather than one which interferes with implantation, such as copper coil)

I use cerezette, and don't have periods at all, so I can reasonably assume I'm not ovulating. I can't take the combined pill. Other mini pills may act differently, but I took advice from Christian doctors before I started.

Slightly strange asking about what ‘fellow Christian’s’ do…I am Christian but am also pro choice.

My Mum was as devout a Catholic as you could get, virgin on her wedding night etc but chose to take the pill to stop her getting pregnant for a 4th time. Her priest told her it is between her and God and she said well he knows my heart and knows why I have chosen to take the pill to stop any future pregnancies. He understands my reasons and until my husband can arrange his vasectomy I will take the pill. Also she had horrific periods and the pill was a life saver in that respect so she continued to take it even after my Dad's vasectomy. Again she said God knows why I am doing this.

@TwoWeeksislong thanks so much! Cetrazette is the one.

www.cmf.org.uk/resources/publications/content/?context=article&id=1191

So, almost all contraceptive pills thin the lining of the uterus in addition to either stopping ovulation or making cervical mucus thicker.
The issue is, pills obviously aren't 100% effective at stopping ovulation, so the odd egg will be fertilised. Thinning the lining of the uterus makes implantation of that egg near impossible, resulting in the fertilised egg not surviving. If we are to consider a fertilised egg a human life then purposefully taking a drug that will stop it surviving could be considered unintentional abortion.

Certrazette seems to be the only pill on the market that doesn't stop a fertilised egg implanting. It's aim is to stop ovulation and making cervical mucus thicker. If that fails, it won't interfere with the human life's survival.

I want to make it clear that this is just a Christian perspective, and only some Christians ..... I'm not here to fight or push my point across or anything. Merely wanted to hear other Christian's thoughts on contraception. I don't judge anyone else for having different opinions.
Thanks for your comments and input. It's been so helpful.

@bathorshower thanks that's great! Read up on it. Lots of Christian doctors will only prescribe that one.

@jumperoozles I don't think it's strange asking what fellow Christians would do? Why is that strange? I didn't so much as hint in my initial post that I judge those who abort or are pro choice. What's strange is that someone who is pro-choice thinks it's strange that I'm asking for advice so I can make MY choice! Go figure?

I think anyone can see that it's clear from my post that I merely wanted a bit of advice, not to insult anyone and not to debate.

Sorry @bathorshower, did cetrazette make your skin bad? I see that's a common side effect. I used to get acne as a young adult. Hope it doesn't make it come back!

I think think is Christian's business. Poor chap.

Most Christians are sensible enough to realise that contraception and abortion are two different things. Some are fundamentalists who have such a minimal understanding of biology that they think a fertilised egg is the same thing as a baby. Hopefully you're in the first group not the second.

You could just have a think about whether you really would have a probably with another baby sooner than in 12 months. May be you are breastfeeding too so that might delay a new pregnancy or be a natural way of perhaps putting off by a few months.

RC.

Always used whatever method of contraceptive suited us. Condoms, pill, IUD variously.

I don’t think even most Catholics are against any particular form of contraception these days. Only very extreme religious beliefs would prevent you from using any of the most common forms of contraceptive, surely,

I'm a Christian but I'm pro choice, I've used several different forms if contraception.

Do you realise that different denominations of Christianity have different beliefs about birth control? You seem to be addressing the Catholics but not the Protestants. It’s important to make the distinction.

Natural Family planning was the way forward for us, I had 3 babies in 4 years and after that I needed a break.

I did speak to my female vicar about contraception about 10 years ago when I considered the coil, but the situation with preventing implantation also put us off.

It was tricky when I was younger as my periods were irregular too, however it really wouldn't have been the end of the world if the NFP had failed. Strangely enough as I got older my cycles got much better and are now very regular, we still use NFP and other than a short unsuccessful break ttc in 2018/9 it's worked for us since 2008.

Use whatever contraception you feel comfortable with. As a Christian, my contraceptive decisions consider my health (physical and mental) above faith. I believe in a gracious God, not a wrathful one.

The thing is OP, there are an enormous number of women in the world who consider themselves Christian but who have no problem using contraception, and lots who feel it’s not perfect but much better than dealing with more pregnancies or children than they can manage. Being this strict about ´life begins at fertilisation’ is pretty rare.