My Story: Understanding That Hormonal Contraception Is Not for Me

L explains why she decided to stop taking hormonal contraception.

Note: L is a native French speaker. Instances of improper English grammar are not typos of the transcript processor. 

Transcript:

OBOS Today: You’ve spoken a little bit about not using any kind of hormonal contraception and your interest in having a natural birth. How has really being in tune to your own body, and having these natural experiences, what has drawn you to that, as opposed to a lot of modern methods? 

L: What brought me to them? 

OBOS Today: Or drawn you to— do you know what I mean?  

L: Yeah.  

OBOS Today: Wanting to track your cycle and all this? 

L: Yeah, it’s a good question. I, I’m not sure I can answer it actually.  

I was, I grew up feeling misunderstood and I’m quite sensitive and I never lost that connection to myself of my sensitivity, but I was brought up by parents that always messaged me, I mean gave me the, the, the message that being sensitive was a weakness and that I had to like toughen up. And, and, I was very depressed growing up, for, like high school was a long nightmare and, and then, like, after high school I started university and I could not—I was already so disconnected, and I feel like school and education played quite a part in that disconnection also there was a lot of negative relationship between my parents at the time, at the time at home.

And so, I was very depressed, and I reached a point where I, I thought to myself, it’s either I change now or I’m gonna die or I’m gonna break. And, and, and then it’s like depression, I think that really started something new in choosing that I, I wanted to change. And I decided to quit taking the pill that I had been for so long and I realized that I didn’t have my periods for, I don’t know, almost two years after that. And the absence of, of my periods was a big, “Oh wow.” There is something that’s like broken or that’s like dis-regulated, and then I started looking for—I thought okay, all the doctors and all the education and all the philosophies that I’ve received up to this point are not helping me and are not satisfying me and making me happy so I’m going to go and start looking for, for something else. And I think that’s because I grew up in the era of Internet and being able to look for information so easily and then finding answers so easily as well. I, I discovered like a whole new world of, of doing things. And there were a few people that I that I met on that path, but really provided me with the great information and guidance.