paganism and Birth Control

[flowersofthelady]

The other day my husband and i were joking around about him getting me pregnant again, i wont go into details but its a running joke after us having 3 children in 4 years.

He said that i couldnt use any kind of birth control or work out my dates . if i was a REAL pagan i'd have to just keep pumping out babys. (please dont misunderstand this he really was joking, so i dont want anyone attacking what he said)

well this got me thinking, i know what MY personal beliefs are on this subject and i wondered what you think. Unlike catholics and other religions i had not ever concidered wicca's general stance on it or what other pagans think.

anyway let me know what you think.

[JBRaven]

I think that paganism teaches us to find our own truths. So any answer is the "pagan" answer as long as you can support your own ideology. Personally I have not used birth control in over 7 years. I have one child and she was planned by my husband and I. I know that this is not how it is for everybody, a friend of mine get's looked at and she winds up pregnant (5 children in 7 years).

[Raconteuse]

IMO, pregnancy has nothing to do with religious dogma of any kind unless you chose it to be. I choose never to have children and that choice also has to do with my personal lifestyle choices and no baring on my spiritual standpoints. Unless you are part of a major world religion (mostly the mono-theistic ones) which do make points on this subject, honestly it all comes down to what you want and that its just the natrual way of things to procreate as all spieces do.

[flowersofthelady]

5 in 7 years! ouch! lol, our first was a suprise! he was sort of planned but came about 2 years after we gave up trying. the other two were planned.
having a few year break before we have anymore

[_Kaimira_]

my pregnacy was a surprize i am still currently pregnant. i do have a question though how bad does it hurt to give birth? i am nervious about it.

[Tasariel]

I think that pregnancy and birth control are deeply personal choices that should go way beyond religion. It's a lifestyle change, first and foremost, so you need to be able to consider whether it's right for you in your LIFE, before you try to think "oh, would my religion accept this?" Because to me, it doesn't matter what your religion says, if you can't afford it or can't handle the work of having a child, you shouldn't have one. If you can, then go for it! Go hog wild if you can afford to have twenty children! But if not, definitely take living conditions into account. There are a lot of options out there, and I'd rather use one of those than bring a child into the world that I can't take care of. So I just think that it's a PERSON'S choice, before it should be allowed to be a RELIGION'S choice.

[Aurelian]

Egads, you're more than a walking uterus! lol

I think 9/10 pagans, when asked this question, would tell you that self-determination is the best policy concerning your body, your family, and your husband. i.e. it's totally up to you!

[_Kaimira_]

look at me for an example i study the pegan arts and nothing destorying my babies. i want 10 kids i know i know i must be nuts. after this set of twins we are taking a small break and do some witchcraft, wait a min me duhhh i am doing a few spells tonight.

[flowersofthelady]

my pregnacy was a surprize i am still currently pregnant. i do have a question though how bad does it hurt to give birth? i am nervious about it.

well i wont lie to you it hurts a lot...but..it was not like normal pain of being hurt or ill, its like someone squeezing you round the middle very tightly, its almost a good pain as you know every contraction you have is one closer to holding your baby. Its not constant pain either, only for a few mins with a few mins of it not hurting between so just relax and just go with it. if it was really THAT bad, why do people do it again and again? also almost instantly you get a lovely rush of hormoans that fill you with the happiest feeling ever, you look into your babys eyes and recognise them as if you have always known them and you forget the pain! you just dont care!
you seem to be quite a spiritual person from what i have seen on here so trust your body as you do when you are practicing or doing a ritual.
We are women! its what our bodies were made for and everyone one on this earth was brought into this world from one of us. (apart from any scientific experiments :/)

hope this helps! just relax and you'll be fine!

[FireQueen]

I agree with the others re self-determination.

Also, there are natural systems for pregnancy prevention, the Billings Method being just one of them. The method that I favour is based on the cycle of the Moon in conjunction with tracking your bodies normal cycle.

If anyone wants more info please feel free to PM me.

Brightest blessings.

[Kitty]

like the others I completely believe it's personal choice

the only influence i can really see paganism as having is that some might be more likely to go for the natural stuff like a rubber cap or something

[Symandinome]

your body your choice!!!!

[Melindrose]

Your bod your choice, and the only religious establishment that speaks on birth control is the catholic church and for years they said no birth control no abortion no nothing.

[flowersofthelady]

ooohhh dont get me started on that lol!

i was just wondering if anyone on here thought that perhaps birth control was un natural or even go as far as to say preventing life is wrong or something.

personally i wont go near the artificial means of BC because i tried the pill once and it turned my psycho! never again, im very wary of them all now. so i go for a natural method.
its vey nice that everyone says "your body your choice" which is how it should be i think!

i do think religion has a part to play though, as it is life and death. my beliefs probably would affect my decisions on BC if i hadnt already decided to go the natural way before i returned to me path.

[FireQueen]

I don't think that birth control is un-natural, rather that when the time comes for the child-to-be to arrive, he/she will be born ~ spirit has a role to play as well as free will.

Brightest blessings.