Birth Control

Before I start talking about how birth control affects women from a Chinese medical perspective, I want to say this:

I'm not anti-birth control for those who need it to prevent an unwanted pregnancy. It is FAR more detrimental to EVERYONE involved to carry, birth and care for through the age of 18, a child who isn't planned or wanted. What a horrible existence, knowing that you weren't wanted (and yes, children can sense this, whether you say it out loud or not, there's no fooling them).

The birth control use that I'm going to be talking about is for those women who are prescribed birth control for non-birth control reasons. There are probably millions of you out there. Some common reasons are : acne, irregular periods, PMS, mood stabilization, severe cramping or heavy bleeding during your menstrual cycle and many more.

So, let's start.

Throughout a woman's month, the Spleen, Kidney and Liver each play their own part in controlling her menstrual cycle. The Liver plays it's biggest role between ovulation and menstruation. During this time, the Liver's energy will start to surge in preparation for helping the woman's body to release the uterine lining, if she has not become pregnant.

This is often why women will experience Premenstrual Symptoms. The Liver, when it is not functioning properly, can create symptoms such as breast tenderness, cravings, bloating, and the dreaded mood changes.

So let's take a moment now to look at hormonal birth control from a Chinese Medical perspective. In my clinical experience, hormonal birth control is like adding a boost of Liver energy to a woman's system. In a woman who is already struggling with a Liver that isn't moving her energy properly, this will only aggravate her health problems. It's no wonder side effects associated with hormonal birth control consist of weight gain, mood changes, headaches, digestive complaints, etc. All of these complaints relate to an improperly functioning Liver!

Now what about those few women out there who are actually helped by hormonal birth control, you may ask? I've treated some of these women as well, and what I have found is that these women, at the point they start taking hormonal birth control, are deficient in Liver energy (this is SUPER uncommon, as the Liver almost always exists in excess, but there are those out there who don't have enough!). So their symptoms get better for a while. However, what I've seen, is that this symptom relief is temporary, or they develop new symptoms. Yep, they've been supplementing with Liver energy, and all of a sudden they have too much, and like many other women, start suffering from the standard PMS symptoms, as well as a host of other health complaints.

So, if you're a woman who suffers from PMS, headaches, migraines, digestive complaints, insomnia, etc. - Think back to when you started taking birth control. Did these symptoms exist prior to taking birth control? Did they start after starting birth control?

Everyone has to make the right decision for themselves regarding birth control, their health and the necessity to not have children. But we also all need to be aware of the side effects of hormonal birth control that biomedicine usually dismisses as "normal." These symptoms are not normal, they are a sign of imbalance, and can be alleviated by acupuncture and Chinese herbs.