It was December of 2019.
I was using a popular period tracker app to track my fertility after almost a decade of trial & error with hormonal birth control.
I tried almost everything prior - from different pills to the ring to the hormonal IUD. I always experienced negative side effects - from aura migraines to weight gain to suicidal ideation & more.
I wasn’t having consistent sex at that time, /so I decided to use a popular period tracker app to track my fertility.
Well, a bumble date led to one thing or another & I had unprotected sex on a day this algorithm based period tracker app told me I was not fertile. I still decided to take Plan B “just in case”, & did so within 12 hours, the recommended guideline.
Unfortunately, the app was inaccurate & I was ovulating that night. & I, along with many women, didn’t know Plan B only delays ovulation & is obsolete if you are already ovulating.
So, I found myself pregnant & decided to terminate.
One of the many reasons I am a huge advocate against period tracker apps that use algorithms to tell you your fertile days.
Fast forward only 6 months later, I got into a relationship & decided to get on the copper IUD, as I didn’t want to be in the same position I was in just months prior. I was told since the copper IUD is hormone free, it’s “more natural” & side effects were uncommon.
Within two months of having this IUD, I fell pregnant again. Yes, it was properly placed. Yes, they claim it to be 99% effective.
I was not going to make the same decision I did months prior, & my boyfriend at the time was on board to follow through with the pregnancy.
I went into the OBGYN office almost immediately to see my options, but I wasn’t told I had options at that time.
I was told the only choice was to remove the IUD if I wanted a healthy pregnancy. I trusted the OBGYN.
Unfortunately, the gestational sac had formed around the IUD, which the OBGYN was aware of from an ultrasound prior to removal.
When she removed the IUD, it ruptured the gestational sac, causing me to miscarry.
I started to do my own research after and found out many women have full term pregnancies with an IUD never being removed in these scenarios, & ultimately deliver the IUD with the placenta.
One of the many reasons I’m a huge advocate for informed consent today.
After both of these events, I was at a loss of what to do for pregnancy prevention (obviously, abstinence is always an option, I know. Remember, I was raised catholic😉).
A friend had mentioned The Fertility Awareness Method (FAM), and at first, I was so skeptical.
This skepticism mainly came from what I had been fed my entire life — birth control is the only reliable way to prevent pregnancy (again, apart from abstinence).
After the miscarriage, I also deeply wanted a birth control that wouldn’t affect a pregnancy if one were to accidentally occur.
Since I didn’t feel like I had much to lose anyways, I decided to give FAM a shot.
I hired a certified instructor to teach me how to use FAM for birth control, & immediately became obsessed.
This was SO simple! Why hadn’t I learned about how my body & fertility worked sooner?
This newfound information & freedom led me to geek out about it to my friends often, & the efficacy was there!
Yes, it required a commitment to myself & communication with my partner, but this was simple compared to my prior fertility struggles.
Since I quickly became very passionate about the topic, I decided to dive into becoming an educator myself and took the training through FEMM about a year after learning as a student.
I’ve shared the IUD story many times, but I don’t often share my abortion story for many reasons — it’s very intimate, I was raised catholic, it’s not an easy, black & white topic politically, fear of judgement, the list goes on. While I consider myself pro choice still at a fundamental level, this was by far one of the most difficult things in my life & I never wish it on any woman. I don’t know any woman who’s made this decision that doesn’t think about it regularly.
I’ve decided in 2025, fuck keeping things quiet for the fear of judgement. If sharing more aspects of my story authentically on social media could help other women, I absolutely want to do it.
Because I know that the reasons I went through these heartbreaks was to lead me to this work. I wouldn’t be here teaching The Fertility Awareness Method today if I hadn’t had both of those experiences.
My testimony led me to my purpose.
& 4.5 years later — The Fertility Awareness Method has ten fold been more reliable as birth control than pharmaceuticals & algorithm based apps ever were.
Thank you for being here, trusting me with your own intimate experiences, & continuing to show up for yourself when big medicine & big pharma continues to gaslight us.
I am so happy you’re here❤️
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