This is a topic of considerable consternation because my two daughters in their 20s are using these terrible hormones. Why? Well both would say they just find periods to be a hassle.
I also suspect that for my “older GenZ” there was the cultural myth that her cohort of college co-eds really believed: the high likelihood that they could be a date rape/rape victim, hence…the need for birth control.
When she began at “Flagship State U” dangerous frat parties and hook-up culture were still in full swing. (Of course, a few wise choices and this “problem” would, poof, disappear! But such reasoning did not hold much sway.)
Anyway come spring of her sophomore year and Covid rolls into town and dramatically limits — but does not completely kill off — this campus activity. But for all intents and purposes, it is back to “periods are a hassle.”
I have tried with both daughters to explain that (as they like to think of me) their “hippie mom” never used birth control —not only was I abstinent till marriage but (positively speaking) because I embraced the whole natural process of womanhood… “you will never feel better than when you’re ovulating” no matter how many cramps you have to put up with. (My engineering major was not swayed in the least.)
Interestingly, just this week I watched a YouTube “short” by a rather amusing female stand-up. The joke she made was: I’d like to quit using birth control (pause) because I’d like to meet myself. I thought, this young woman suspects that having an artificial, emotionally flat affect is not to know yourself (at the very least). Who knows, maybe she also experiences hormone- induced depression. Honestly every female needs to see some chart that correlates the huge rise in women’s depression with the growing use of birth control — one of the most suppressed medical facts out there.
And finally, there is the worry that my daughters have set themselves up for fertility issues down the road. Recently, thanks to Jordan Peterson, I watched the first part of the documentary, Unplanned Childlessness. The shocking factoid in the film is that 50% — 50% — of women who wait until 30 to conceive FAIL. One would assume that the vast majority were taking hormonal birth throughout their 20s, if not teens and 20s. I doubt we will see a peer reviewed study on THAT.
You if have gotten this far, thanks! My final word is one (I) must pray — even though it’s so hard to witness the state of the world into which innocent babies are being born. Still I must challenge myself to have faith that God still desires procreation and that it will be a blessing to my three daughters one day.
God bless you! Your daughters are blessed to have their "hippie" mom give such wise advice, hopefully they will take it to heart someday.
When I was in med school, one of our biology lecturers had to give a formal apology, and seemed absolutely shattered as a person, after he offended the women in the class by making the 100% true point that Peterson makes too, that fertility drops dramatically quickly with age. It is a truth strenuously suppressed by our culture. But the gods of the copybook headings win out eventually...
I experienced depression on HBC after having my first child. Get on birth control so you can plan, they said. Well it spun me into a depression so deep I couldn’t function. With a newborn. 😩 I got off and have never looked back.
My friend said when she and her husband got married she started using it. And all of a sudden she was repulsed by him. Her theory is that it messed up her natural hormones and pheromones. To the point she moved out. Something clicked and she stopped taking it. Quite literally the switch was flipped and she felt like herself again. They’ve been married a dozen years now.
Two anecdotal stories. But it’s plenty enough for me to say no.
Also I love this: “You’ll never feel better than when you’re ovulating.” So true ;)
I hope your daughters will see the light. Keep telling them the truth. I wish more women understood how their bodies naturally worked, from our hormonal cycle through the process of birth. ❤️
I had three natural births. I stayed far away from the hospital. It was such a beautiful test of my endurance physically, mentally, and spiritually. I loved what my body could so powerfully and naturally do to bring forth my children. It truly was euphoric. I know medically for a lot of women in our day it might not be safe to deliver at home. But glory it was incredible.
As a retired pediatric pulmonologist, I have become convinced that the blinkered, hard-working pediatrician can no longer hide behind her profession. The transgender craze represents the worst medical malfeasance of my recently concluded 40+ year career. As a retired person, I have availed myself of the in-depth perspectives of lots of skeptics, many of whom write on Substack. I am shocked at the cut corners, the lack of true informed consent, the disinterest in the data on detransitioning outcomes, and the deference to the American Academy of Pediatrics and the endocrine societies. I am not up to speed on OCPs and depression but find Adrian's overview compelling. I have opposed the AAP for decades. It has never been interested in really finding out what its members want. It goes with the leadership's bias and the "permanent" staff in Washington, DC.
Not to be dense, but what is the best way to vet a pediatrician? Do I schedule an appointment for an in-person interview? Email them a questionnaire? Try to reach the office manager on the phone and ask that person? I have really never seen this done before—and I really agree with you and want to do it. Thanks.
Great question, not dense at all! There are a couple ways I’ve experienced. I suppose it depends on the practice, but I would advise against the questionnaire or phone calls, they usually prefer in person visits. The two ways I’ve been vetted by my own patients:
1. Sometimes parents will schedule a “meet the doctor” or “establish care” visit. This is most commonly a pregnant mom with questions about our approach when baby comes, but I’ve also met families who bring older kids in to say hi and ask some questions to get to know our practice. The downside to this method is that you will likely have to pay out of pocket since if there is no “diagnosis” involved the insurance company won’t pay for it.
2. More commonly, and covered by insurance, is to bring up concerns at a well visit (ie yearly well check for older kids, almost monthly well checks for little babies). I have parents ask me all the time at these well checks what I think of so and so issue. The doc will likely be busy and not have 30 minutes to argue about it, but if you ask politely just to get a sense of where they stand on an issue (“do you think kids need a Covid booster? I have a friend whose kid is coming out as transgender, what do you think of gender affirming care? Etc etc) hopefully you can get some semblance of a straight answer!
It’s so frustrating! There are so few choices because of insurance regulations. Last well visit the doctor tried to bully me into the HPV vaccine. I’m no anti-vaxxer, but, the pressure is ridiculous. I haven’t even bothered trying to find a doctor for myself.
That is an excellent article. I’m glad you shared the link. I found your comment on Unreported Truths just a bit ago. Thank you for speaking out against the medical tyranny.
And yet, the Netherlands seems to have largely dodged the youth mental health crisis plaguing the rest of the world. And they widely use The Pill starting quite early, I hear.
This may be long, but here goes…
This is a topic of considerable consternation because my two daughters in their 20s are using these terrible hormones. Why? Well both would say they just find periods to be a hassle.
I also suspect that for my “older GenZ” there was the cultural myth that her cohort of college co-eds really believed: the high likelihood that they could be a date rape/rape victim, hence…the need for birth control.
When she began at “Flagship State U” dangerous frat parties and hook-up culture were still in full swing. (Of course, a few wise choices and this “problem” would, poof, disappear! But such reasoning did not hold much sway.)
Anyway come spring of her sophomore year and Covid rolls into town and dramatically limits — but does not completely kill off — this campus activity. But for all intents and purposes, it is back to “periods are a hassle.”
I have tried with both daughters to explain that (as they like to think of me) their “hippie mom” never used birth control —not only was I abstinent till marriage but (positively speaking) because I embraced the whole natural process of womanhood… “you will never feel better than when you’re ovulating” no matter how many cramps you have to put up with. (My engineering major was not swayed in the least.)
Interestingly, just this week I watched a YouTube “short” by a rather amusing female stand-up. The joke she made was: I’d like to quit using birth control (pause) because I’d like to meet myself. I thought, this young woman suspects that having an artificial, emotionally flat affect is not to know yourself (at the very least). Who knows, maybe she also experiences hormone- induced depression. Honestly every female needs to see some chart that correlates the huge rise in women’s depression with the growing use of birth control — one of the most suppressed medical facts out there.
And finally, there is the worry that my daughters have set themselves up for fertility issues down the road. Recently, thanks to Jordan Peterson, I watched the first part of the documentary, Unplanned Childlessness. The shocking factoid in the film is that 50% — 50% — of women who wait until 30 to conceive FAIL. One would assume that the vast majority were taking hormonal birth throughout their 20s, if not teens and 20s. I doubt we will see a peer reviewed study on THAT.
You if have gotten this far, thanks! My final word is one (I) must pray — even though it’s so hard to witness the state of the world into which innocent babies are being born. Still I must challenge myself to have faith that God still desires procreation and that it will be a blessing to my three daughters one day.
God bless you! Your daughters are blessed to have their "hippie" mom give such wise advice, hopefully they will take it to heart someday.
When I was in med school, one of our biology lecturers had to give a formal apology, and seemed absolutely shattered as a person, after he offended the women in the class by making the 100% true point that Peterson makes too, that fertility drops dramatically quickly with age. It is a truth strenuously suppressed by our culture. But the gods of the copybook headings win out eventually...
I experienced depression on HBC after having my first child. Get on birth control so you can plan, they said. Well it spun me into a depression so deep I couldn’t function. With a newborn. 😩 I got off and have never looked back.
My friend said when she and her husband got married she started using it. And all of a sudden she was repulsed by him. Her theory is that it messed up her natural hormones and pheromones. To the point she moved out. Something clicked and she stopped taking it. Quite literally the switch was flipped and she felt like herself again. They’ve been married a dozen years now.
Two anecdotal stories. But it’s plenty enough for me to say no.
Also I love this: “You’ll never feel better than when you’re ovulating.” So true ;)
I hope your daughters will see the light. Keep telling them the truth. I wish more women understood how their bodies naturally worked, from our hormonal cycle through the process of birth. ❤️
I had three natural births. I stayed far away from the hospital. It was such a beautiful test of my endurance physically, mentally, and spiritually. I loved what my body could so powerfully and naturally do to bring forth my children. It truly was euphoric. I know medically for a lot of women in our day it might not be safe to deliver at home. But glory it was incredible.
You really believe Jordan Peterson?
As a retired pediatric pulmonologist, I have become convinced that the blinkered, hard-working pediatrician can no longer hide behind her profession. The transgender craze represents the worst medical malfeasance of my recently concluded 40+ year career. As a retired person, I have availed myself of the in-depth perspectives of lots of skeptics, many of whom write on Substack. I am shocked at the cut corners, the lack of true informed consent, the disinterest in the data on detransitioning outcomes, and the deference to the American Academy of Pediatrics and the endocrine societies. I am not up to speed on OCPs and depression but find Adrian's overview compelling. I have opposed the AAP for decades. It has never been interested in really finding out what its members want. It goes with the leadership's bias and the "permanent" staff in Washington, DC.
This is excellent, thank you
Thanks for taking brave, unpopular? positions, at least unpopular with seemingly a great number of folks
Not to be dense, but what is the best way to vet a pediatrician? Do I schedule an appointment for an in-person interview? Email them a questionnaire? Try to reach the office manager on the phone and ask that person? I have really never seen this done before—and I really agree with you and want to do it. Thanks.
Great question, not dense at all! There are a couple ways I’ve experienced. I suppose it depends on the practice, but I would advise against the questionnaire or phone calls, they usually prefer in person visits. The two ways I’ve been vetted by my own patients:
1. Sometimes parents will schedule a “meet the doctor” or “establish care” visit. This is most commonly a pregnant mom with questions about our approach when baby comes, but I’ve also met families who bring older kids in to say hi and ask some questions to get to know our practice. The downside to this method is that you will likely have to pay out of pocket since if there is no “diagnosis” involved the insurance company won’t pay for it.
2. More commonly, and covered by insurance, is to bring up concerns at a well visit (ie yearly well check for older kids, almost monthly well checks for little babies). I have parents ask me all the time at these well checks what I think of so and so issue. The doc will likely be busy and not have 30 minutes to argue about it, but if you ask politely just to get a sense of where they stand on an issue (“do you think kids need a Covid booster? I have a friend whose kid is coming out as transgender, what do you think of gender affirming care? Etc etc) hopefully you can get some semblance of a straight answer!
It’s so frustrating! There are so few choices because of insurance regulations. Last well visit the doctor tried to bully me into the HPV vaccine. I’m no anti-vaxxer, but, the pressure is ridiculous. I haven’t even bothered trying to find a doctor for myself.
Oh my goodness, it is frustrating indeed. Way to stand up to the bully!
Thank you for being a good Catholic doctor!
I’m not a Catholic (nobody’s perfect!), and who knows how much longer I’ll be allowed to be a doctor, but I truly appreciate the kind words!
That is an excellent article. I’m glad you shared the link. I found your comment on Unreported Truths just a bit ago. Thank you for speaking out against the medical tyranny.
Thank you!
And yet, the Netherlands seems to have largely dodged the youth mental health crisis plaguing the rest of the world. And they widely use The Pill starting quite early, I hear.