"Growing research supports the hypothesis that epigenetic mechanisms are causing persistent changes in gene expression of estrogen receptor beta that result in autism in offspring of mothers who use oral contraceptives. What is perhaps most troubling, is that it may be that the adverse effects of DNA methylation of the estrogen receptor gene are transgenerational." Oral Contraceptives, Epigenetics, and Autism
My husband and I did not use birth control except for a very short period while I underwent testing to see if I had a condition that was causing us to lose babies. In case you are wondering, we are not Catholic or Amish. :-) We are Christians with Baptist backgrounds. We sought God's Word in depth and prayed for wisdom and understanding for months before coming to the conclusion that God wanted His us to trust Him not just with our careers, who we married, seeking jobs, our finances, and etc, but also with our reproductive lives. If we trust God with our soul, it sounds reasonable that the rest of our life should be fairly easy to give to Him. Over the 17+ years we have left our reproductive lives in God's hands, we have seen Him keep His promise to take care of us. As our family grew, our income did also. We have lacked for nothing and have always had something we could share with others. Our home is filled with joy, and our friends often tell us they can see God's grace in our lives. While it was challenging to take that step to "let go and let God," following Him in this manner is one of the best decisions we have ever made.
However, we recognize that not all Christians are convicted in the same areas. If one is going to use birth control, it seems like choosing one that does not harm the body with known short term and long term side effects is the better choice for health. Yes, one can opt to use it and pray against the side effects and hope God does give that protection, but that begs the question: Why would one knowingly and willingly use something that they have to ask God to protect them from to keep what God calls a "reward" from coming into their lives? (see Psalm 127:3)
Whatever you decide, I am praying God will bless you abundantly in your role of mothering!
