FrozenPlease is a blog about re-defining birth control. Because it wouldn’t be 2015 without an updated version of everything, I propose it’s time for an updated version of birth control: Birth Control 2.0.
The current definition of birth control is narrow, one-sided and often misleading. Control, in the context of birth control means only one thing: prevention. And when control only means prevention, it implies that being out of control (i.e., not being on the pill, using condoms, etc.) definitely leads to birth. This, combined with a general lack of dialogue with our doctors about fertility, and a media landscape that bombards us with ‘older’ celebrities having babies leads us to think we have plenty of time.
This, combined with a general lack of dialogue with our doctors about fertility, and a media landscape that bombards us with celebrities having babies later in life leads us all to think we have plenty of time.
More importantly, I would argue that most women don’t have a good sense of their own reproductive health until they are in a position of having tried to conceive naturally for at least a year (because most doctors don’t even run tests until you’ve been trying for about that long, depending on your age).
For so many reasons, we need to change this. We should be striving for a new generation of young women who have a clear understanding of all forms of birth control much earlier in life. A generation of women who can attain uncompromised fulfillment of all desires, from careers to motherhood, to everything in between, without the undeniable pressure of the pesky biological clock that inevitably kicks in. A world where preserving their fertility is just as much part of birth control as getting on the pill.
So let’s start talking about Birth Control 2.0 – the notion that control isn’t just about prevention, but also about proaction and more comprehensive education. Birth Control 2.0 includes the current forms of prevention AND proactive efforts to get pregnant either now, or at some point in the future. Ultimately, my hope is that preserving our fertility is just as accessible as getting on the pill – that means it is presented by our doctors as an option earlier in life, and is more systematically covered by health insurance.
The blog will represent this topic in an approachable way, so that we can have these conversations easily, without fear of stigma or judgement. It will be a diary of personal journeys of having eggs . . . well, frozen please. It will also represent the point of view of women who have experienced either having their eggs frozen, or other fertility treatments.
I hope it adds to the dialogue in a way that helps make this topic less extreme and more main stream. Because oocyte cryopreservation should be an option for anyone who isn’t ready to have babies right now. It should be thought of as birth control. Birth Control 2.0