The Mommy Club: To Join, or Not to Join?
February 6, 2017I am a planner and I always have been. When I travel, I plan my entire trip down to the hour, if not the minute. I know which mode of transportation is best and I build in “free time.” I know where I am going and how I’m going to get there. That applies not just to vacations, but to my entire life—especially to building my family.
I have always wanted to have kids, but it was not my first priority. I had a Plan. First, I wanted to get a master’s degree, become a director of an organization, travel the world, and have enough money to feel secure. (One can do all these things while being a parent, of course, but did I mention that I have a Plan?) The Plan is still in motion and I still have my chosen method of contraception in place—an intrauterine device, or IUD.
I got my first IUD while I was in graduate school. I wanted highly-effective, non-hormonal contraception that left little room for personal error. My doctor had advised me to go off of the pill because of my migraines and the estrogen in the pill. I decided I wanted a break from hormones altogether and after some time spent researching, questioning, thinking, and overthinking, I finally decided that the ParaGard IUD was the best fit for me.