Do you know the pro’s and con’s of your contraception of choice?  I recently partnered up with America’s Wholistic Gynaecologist, Dr Shaw Tassone and wrote Contraception Deception, a book dedicated to helping women understand contraception better.  Dr Shawn has also become a spokes person against the sterilisation device, Essure, a ‘contraception’ that has left thousands of women with horrific side effects.  In this episode, Cecelia picks Dr Shawn and my brains to help us not only understand birth control better but offer solutions should you choose to use or transition off it.

In this episode you’ll learn;

1:30 – Cecelia lists types of contraception and we talk a little about why I collaborated with Dr Shawn Tassone to write Contraception Deception.

3:04 – First time we met Dr Shawn we talked fibroids and menopause – check out that episode here.

3:33 – Shawn suggests that we argue a lot, with a difference of opinion and our disagreements were at times around birth control so we thought writing a book coming from both angles would be useful for our audience(s).

5: 35 – Shawn shares his preferred form of female birth control… vasectomy.  We talk about vasectomy’s and the logistics.

7:30  Shawn talks about his transition as a practitioner in wholistic medicine.  He enjoyed learning about fertility awareness methods by writing the book and the accuracy, he has had a monumental shift in his thoughts around this.

8:50 – I talk through my bias audience and how it may have over time skewed my perception of contraception.  It also helped me to soften and be more open to the reality that there is no one size fits all.

11:20 – My beef with ‘natural family planning.’

12:26 – Our lack of awareness around our body (it’s not actually a vagina…)

14:41 How physicians are using synthetic hormones to ‘treat’ problems and how the good part of the discussion in Contraception Deception  is that we are looking at this and can we fix the problem rather than mask it.

16:10 – How a withdrawal bleed is not the same as a period and women who are potentially menopausal have no idea whilst on the pill where they are at in their life cycle.

16:50 – How the aim of the book is to give you awareness so that when you are at the doctors office, you can ask the right questions and nut out a plan together that is individual.

18:54 – Long term effects of synthetic hormones – how Shawn loved understanding vitamin and mineral deficiencies from its use as well as other side effects.

20:20 – Using nutraceuticals to support women whilst using birth control is key in supporting long term health and wellbeing and how Shawn uses these with his patients.

22:30 – The class action filed in her in Australia for women with the Essure device (sterilisation device that’s been fitted since 2002)

24:14 – What the Essure actually is and how it scars shut the tubes by causing inflammation. (which can cause all kinds of problems)

24:50 – Shawn taks about the other side effects he discovered correlated with the Essure device – which were surprising to him like Arthritis and Hashimotos.

26:35 – How women’s pain isn’t taken as seriously as men (we wait 16 min longer for pain relief that men) – we ask Shawn what he thinks.

28:03 – studies on female viagra – all the studies were done on men…

29:50 – Shawn says there is no great way to remove the Essure, so he has created his own method which is extremely effective with less trauma and complications.

30:51 – In 2006 Shawn started fitting the ensure device, in 2013 a few months after fitting a device, a doctor called him to tell him that one of his patients had fallen pregnant after he fitted the device… this lead Shawn on a path or research which completely changed his approach and opinion of the Essure.

33:03 – Mel Wards similar story with her breast implant we covered in episode #25.

34:16 – the FDA in the US gave the company who invented the Essure a waver meaning they can’t be sued in the US (no class action).  This has only ever happened two times in the history of FDA….

35:05 – What do women need to ask their doctor with the removal of the Essure to ensure it’s being done in the right way.

37:05 – How we need to step up and have great communication between you and your health care professional.

Get the episode HERE.

If you haven’t had a chance to get your copy of Contraception Deception – it’s here for you!  For just $1.99 understand your contraception options better, learn what works when and what is best for you.  Best of all, understand how you can support your body whilst using birth control (or not) for optimal health.  We only have one body – it’s worth supporting it each and every day.

I’d love to know your thoughts about this episode.  Do you have an Essure device fitted?  Is it problematic?  How about your contraception?  Let’s have and open and honest discussion!  i read each and every one of your comments and reply too!