So far so good with it lol. We use condoms every now and then too. Just a double precaution since we od want to have more kids, but once Marissa is about two-years-old or so. Not four and a half months.

Haha, I understand that, I got pregnant when my oldest was 6 months. :(

Ucka. I was on Ortho Tricyclen Lo, and it was absolutely terrible for me!

I got pregnant on that, lol... I was on it 6 months! I tell everyone. I know I am one of those .2% women, but I had been on other birth control brands before, and after and, obviously, they worked. Wouldn't trade my precious girl for anything, but it was a shock, nonetheless.

lol, withdrawal is so not a method of birth control. :-P

I was on some form of hormonal BC for 4 and a half years. Fiotr the first year, I was on the patch Orthro Evra, but I did not like that. It has an increased risk for blood clots/stroke, which is why I switched to the pill . Then I was on Yasmin, and the the generic version-called Ocella.

The biggest problem to me is that when I was on hormonal BC, it lowered sex drive. :-/

Everyone is affected differently by BC. All you can do is try something with the help of your doctor and see how it works for you. You might love something that others have problems with. It's hard to say.

Oh, I also forgot to say that for the last few months when I was on Ocella, I started getting headaches monthly. That was fun. Heh.

Withdrawl is a method, and it is recognized by health officials. It is not reliable for most people, but when it has been working for us, using NO OTHER bc for two and a half years, its a method, I just dont want any doubt.

What health officials? That would be ridiculous. Just because you haven't gotten pregnant does not make it a birth control method.

Many of them, they recognize it as birth control, but they say it is NOT reliable. I never made the claim that it was reliable, I said it was recognized.

http://www.americanpregnancy.org/preventingpregnancy/withdrawal.html

They are a non profit organization from Texas, that has some information on their website. That's lovely, but that information didn't come from an OB GYN. All it says is that it reduces the possibility semen will reach the uterus. It doesn't say it prevents pregnancy, because it technically can't.

I get that people do it, whatever makes you happy. I'm just saying it does not count as a method of birth control.

It doesnt count to you, that doesnt mean that it doesnt count for others. Planned parenthood lists it, and my doctor, when he asks what I use, I tell him that, he says, you know that there are more reliable methods out there right? Yes I know that. Which is why I am looking into them. But the pros and cons to all of them make the decision very hard.

Just because it isnt BC to YOU doesnt mean that is the be all end all. I am not trying to shove it down your throat saying that it is reliable, I am saying since April 2007, this, and the counting method, is the only method of BC we have used, and I am not pregnant, yet when I was on the pill both times I got pregnant.

Why is it that everytime someone doesnt share the same opinion as someone else, they are always wrong?

It doesn't count to most people. It's not just "my" opinion-it's a pretty widely accepted fact.
I have honestly never met a person who thought it was BC before. It's something I assumed most people know.

It counts to many people. Not just me. And I am not ignorant about this, I have researched, and studied it. Just because YOU dont consider it BC doesnt mean I am wrong for using it. It has worked for me. Would I recommend my daughters use it? No, there is too much risk, I know that, I dont think it is fool proof, then again, the only way to not get pregnant is not have sex.

I never said you were wrong for using it. Do what makes you happy. If you really want to be sure (have no doubts, as you said earlier) I'd suggest the pill or another form of hormonal BC-because it supresses ovulation. Good luck to you.

There is a recognised method of birth control called FAM or the Billings method where you learn your cycle so you are aware of when you ovulate, then you just use condoms or avoid sex during that fertile time. Or if you're trying to get pregnant, the opposite. It's how I concieved my son and it's my preferred method of contraception, but my husband insists it's unreliable (and considering I'm 6 months postnatal and have erratic cycles, he's quite right) and uses condoms anyway.

We call that the rhythm method here.

Oh, I know all about FAM, I am doing that right now, myself. :)

in some schools health classes they do teach that withdrawal is a method but they also teach kids that it is the least reliable and should not be used but that it is a method.

That's a pretty ignorant thing to tell kids, then-because they are likely to try it and think it can work for them.

I believe it's called the Family Planning method. And, actually, it was taught as a method of BC in highschool. They pushed condoms and BC pills on us if we weren't planning on using abstinence, because those are the most reliable. But family planning was also taught.

I have never heard of a 'family planning' method. Do you mean FAM/Fertility awareness? because that is something else entirely.

Nope, but I might have the name wrong. Perhaps they were calling it the pull-out method when I was in school. It was a while ago. But yeah, it was something we were taught.

Family Planning involves charting your fertility signs and practicing abstinence during fertile times to avoid pregnancy (or have sex during fertile times to achieve pregnancy).

Yep. So I was half right, because indeed they DID teach us this method in highschool. Pulling out was mentioned, also, but it was taught as a method to avoid.

Ahhh, okay that makes sense now. For some reason it didn't compute at first that you were actually talking about NFP (Natural Family Planning). Sorry about that :-P They call it NFP when you abstain during fertile days, and they call it FAM when you use condoms during the fertile days. So we were actually talking about the same thing :)