“Stop Your Bitching…naturally” End PMS & Menstrual Cramps

Posted by Cathy on

“Stop Your Bitching…naturally! The Step By Step Guide to Balance Your Hormones & Ending PMS & Menstrual Cramps”

And the Guidebook “30 Days of Tips to Stop Your Bitching…naturally!” will be available in print mid-October 2013!

The ebook is currently available at www.gkbooks.net

 

Are your Periods out of control? Are you a moody mess during your
menstrual cycle! Well, the answers are here in “30 Days of Tips to
Stop Your Bitching… naturally!”

This fun and easy to follow Guidebook is packed full with simple tips,
one for each day of the month. It takes just 5 minutes to read each
day to learn the secrets of creating balance and harmony for your ever
changing hormones. Download this Ebook to your phone and you will be
shocked how fast you can change your monthly mood swings, cramps, and
end the cycle of bitching when you follow the easy steps everyday.

Written by a Traditional Chinese Medicine doctor this books translates the
wisdom from Eastern medicine philosophies to modern day reality. Not
the usual stuff you hear from Western medicine. This book teaches
you how to create balanced hormones regardless of age– teen, young
woman to pre-menopausal women will all learn valuable insights into
why moods and uncontrollable symptoms make them crazy each month. Get
it today and learn the secrets nobody is talking about. From food to
sunscreen, estrogen dominance to cervical mucus you won’t believe
nobody told you how these are all affecting your thinking, your skin,
your weight and your moods. If you’re depressed, this will help. If
you’re over weight this explains hormonal cravings if you sometimes
feel overwhelmed with mood swings here are the answers. Girls, moms,
dads, boyfriends and husbands you need to get the women in your life
on this program. Super simple, 30 Days of Tips will change your life.

 

 

 

 

 

Alternatives for Period Pain

Posted by Cathy on

Tylenol dangersDid you hear? A really important consumer update from the FDA was released this month concerning the dangers of taking acetaminophen.

 

 

All of us take pain-relievers from time to time, but did you know that one of the most widely used medicines in the U.S. can cause a rare but serious skin reaction? Acetaminophen (Tylenol) can cause 3 serious skin diseases whose symptoms are a rash, blisters, and permanent damage to the skin. If you develop a rash or other skin reaction, or have in the past while taking this drug, stop using it and seek medical attention right away. There is no way to know who will be at risk for these potentially fatal reactions.

Acupuncture and Chinese Herbs have a long history of helping people with pain. Check here if you use any products containing Tylenol (i.e. Midol) for menstrual cramps and period pain. There are alternatives!

The 5 Biggest “Health Insurance” Tips You Will Ever Need

Posted by Cathy on with 1 Comment

Love your body, be healthy and prevent disease.I having been surrounded (quite literally) for the past three days by so called “healthy products”,  everything from fortified lolly pops, safer nail polish to every type of infused water possible. I had three days of endless conversations with wellness experts from around the world, Naturopaths, Dieticians, Chiropractors, Acupuncturists, Herbalists, Homeopaths and Bio-Chemists to name a few. Every health professional I spoke to had the same resounding theme, the key to better health is not in any one of these hot new health products that you’ll find at the Natural Products Expo and later on a store shelf.  It’s not about curing a disease, it’s about PREVENTING it in the first place. The key is and always has been about PREVENTION.

So how do you PREVENT disease?  It’s actually not that difficult. Everyone can do it.
What you eat of course plays a big part and being a fast food society does cause “eating challenges”. (the subject of a later blog)
However, every health practitioner that I spoke with agreed that since all dis-ease (disease) is associated with inflammation and hormonal imbalances, getting those two area of the body in balance is the beginning to true prevention.
Think of prevention as the most cost effective “health insurance” available. Here are 5 tips to help your body be less acidic and more alkaline to keep inflammation to a minimum and a couple easy steps to balancing your hormones. (especially essential for women)
1. Reduce the sugar, it leads to inflammation. This includes fruit juices and products sweetened with fruit juice.  Most fruit is highly acidic.
2. Stay away from artificial hormones such as birth control pills, hormone replacement therapy and artificial “muscle building” powders. You can easily balance your own hormones through exercise and diet and you won’t need hormone replacements.
3. Get good quality sleep. Sleep helps the body heal and restores natural energy. When you sleep well, you will naturally produce more hormones. You won’t need that artificial, sugar laced energy drink and one cup of coffee will be enough. 
4. Add tea’s rather than coffee to your diet. There a thousand types of teas to choose from bags, loose leaf everyone can find something pleasing. Green teas (and others) naturally reduce body acidity and help reduce inflammation. Don’t misunderstand coffee has health benefits, but adding variety to your diet with tea’s provides other unique health benefits.
5. Exercise and learn some new stress releasing techniques like Yoga, Qi Gong breathing, Tai Qi and other types of relaxation / breathing exercises to reduce your stress. (All sorts of Youtube videos are freely available on these subjects) Get at least 45 minutes of sustained exercise everyday even if it’s just a brisk walk. Movement helps stimulate natural hormone production in your thymus, pituitary, adrenals and thyroid glands. Do it daily, for the greatest disease insurance.
It’s been said that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, I think it’s something closer to a ton of cure.
This post is proud to be part of “Prevention Not Prescription Tues” at The Kathleen Show

Can Cash Register Receipts Cause PMS?

Posted by Cathy on

As women, our hormonal cycles can make us an emotional mess! From our first period to our last, we are dominated by our hormones.  These tricky little messengers can run around amuck in our bodies for years and are often never “on a short lease and house trained.”  This is my motto and the way I like my hormones.

 

In other words, I want some predictability.   I don’t want the unknown creeping into my day and then I blow a fuse without any warning.  I think my family appreciates this too, especially my kids!   But life is not always so predictable and neither are our hormones.  If you agree, then it’s time to do something about them!

 

Hormonal balance is possible, in fact it’s absolutely essential to maintaining our good health. This has become harder to do with all the chemicals we find everywhere and so many products we take for granted our safe to us.  The fact is our bodies absorb many chemicals through our skin that can throw our hormonal balance into a spiraling nose dive.  As you probably know hormonal imbalance is the precursor to PMS, menstrual cramps, peri-menopause and menopause symptoms. So keeping the balance is crucial no matter what your age.

  

Here's one tip on a chemicals you may have already heard about but didn't realize it could be sneeking into your body in ways you never considered.

The chemical is BPA’s (Bisphenol A)  a known endocrine disrupting chemical which acts like estrogen in our body. Did you know that cash register receipts are made from thermal papers that contain high amounts of BPA’s.  When you touch these receipts or even handle cash today, (much of the BPA’s are landing on our cash) you potentially have high amounts of BPA’s on your hands. The cumulative effect is the effect we are worried about here.  Your action step to prevent BPA’s entering your body is easy.

Wash your hands before you eat or touch you mouth.

It should be part of our daily hygiene anyway.  But often times we eat on the run, pick up fast food and have just touched the receipt of the food we bought.   Just be cognitive, that you may not really need that receipt.

Politely decline taking the receipt. Washing your hands may seem like a simple baby step to creating better health and healing for your body from PMS to menopausal symptoms.  But,  adding a whole lot of small healthy steps together takes you from a standstill to a full sprint in creating better health.  If you have more questions revisit the information on BPA’s in the book, Stop Your Bitching…naturally! or get "30 Days of Tips To Stop Your Bitching…naturally!  The book of tips is an easy to follow guidebook with one TIP for everyday of the month to help you bring balance back to your hormonal shifts..NATURALLY.  

Get 30 Days of Tips FREE from October 18-20th, 2013 on Amazon downloadable books. 

 

 

Natural Menstrual Cramp Relief fast with PMS Relief Herb Pack from Pacific Herbs

Midol For Period Cramps – Now On FDA Watch List For Serious Side Effects

Posted by Cathy on

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has added all acetaminophen containing products to its quarterly list of products to monitor because of serious risks or new safety information. The side effects include liver disease or liver complications and skin rashes according to the FDA website. (www.FDA.gov)

 

The quote below is direct from the FDA website:

"What you may not realize is that more than 600 medications, both prescription and over-the-counter (OTC), contain the active ingredient acetaminophen to help relieve pain and reduce fever. Taken carefully and correctly, these medicines can be safe and effective. But taking too much acetaminophen can lead to severe liver damage."

 

If you are taking a OTC pain reliever like Midol, Tylenol, Premsyn PMS (a brand name of acetaminophen) for menstrual cramps for several days every month then consider other options for your pain. Period pain is often times one of the main reasons young women take OTC pain relievers and they often not understanding the risks.  Doubling up on acetaminophen by taking a cold and flu product or drinking alcohol while taking this OTC pain killer can cause serious liver damage.

 

If you have unrelenting menstrual cramps and period pain each and every month. Run, don't walk to this link and the book, "Stop Your Bitching…naturally!  A Step By Step Guide to Balance Your Hormones and End PMS & Menstrual Cramps".  You'll have all the answers you need to get off the liver damaging pain killers like acetaminophen.

 

 

Chinese Herbs Reduce Hot Flashes Says American Menopause Society

Posted by Cathy on

HT Hormone Therapy Risks

The American Menopause Society recently published the results of a study on the use of Chinese herbs as a menopause treatment.  It's always nice to see a clinical trial like this published in English (many are in Mandarin only)  and this study was completed in a manner consistent with top notch clinical protocol.  The study was double-blind, randomized and controlled…..ahhhh the gold standard for clinical research.

 

Chinese Herbal Formulas Can Reduce Menopausal Hot Flashes Safely and Effectively

The women in the study were experiencing menopausal hot flashes and were between the ages of 40 to 50 years old.  The participants drank either a concentrated extract of herbal granules twice daily for 12 weeks or a placebo, fake herbal tea.  The women who drank the Chinese herb remedy found their hot flashes dropped by 62%.  Most importantly, the dosage of herbs was discussed in this trial and the participants used 15 grams of concentrated extracts in a sachet each day.  (See Menopause Relief Herb Packet herbal granules here)
 
 
It is important to note the herbs were dried into granules and no pills or capsules were used in this trial. Pills and capsules always contain fillers. It is also very difficult to take 15 grams (15,000 milligrams) of herbal concentrate when taking pills or capsules because it requires a high number of pills to be swallowed.  In this case it would be 15-20 pills per dose.
 
 
THE TREND CONTINUED

Even three months after the study ended, the participants said their hot flashes did not increase after the study ended and they stopped using the menopause herbal remedy. This study shows, compared with Hormone Replacement therapy, Chinese herbs are a safe and viable alternative for menopause symptoms. 

 

Although previous studies have found that Chinese herbs can help reduce hot flashes, those studies were not of the same quality methodology as this study, according to the researchers at Menopause: The Journal of The North American Menopause Society.

 

SOURCE: Menopause: The Journal of The North American Menopause Society, online February 25, 2013.

Is This A Trend? Breast Cancer Lawsuits Against HRT and Wyeth

Posted by Cathy on

Breast cancer has climbed to 1 in every 8 women and now the finger is beginning to point to drug manufacturers. Wyeth and Pfizer have made combination hormone drugs for over 30 years and these HRT drugs (hormone replacement therapy) are commonly used for menopause treatments. About 10,000 cases against these pharmaceutical giants have already been filed and Pfizer has spent nearly $900 million to resolve about half of them.

 

Some go to trial, others settle more quietly out of court. Just last week, a Utah jury found Wyeth responsible for one woman’s breast cancer and awarded her $5 million in compensation.  Utah does not allow for punitive damages.

 

Studies, such as the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) study, released this statement with it’s results:  “Women using Hormone Replacement Therapy (“HRT”) are more likely to develop breast cancer than those who are not using HRT.”

 

The National Institute of Health completed the Million Women Study in Britain a few years ago. Based on the results, the NIH concluded that the “Current use of HRT is associated with an increased risk of incident and fatal breast cancer; the effect is substantially greater for oestrogen-progestagen combinations than for other types of HRT.” 

 

One expert testified that his research showed as many as 15,000 cases of breast cancer per year occurred in women taking the combination hormone drug. Yet the “defense witnesses told you the same thing, the same story line, that Wyeth wanted them to tell you over and over — that no one knows what causes breast cancer,” said Russell T. Abney, another attorney representing Okuda. “We are not arguing that Ms. Okuda didn’t have an abnormal cell in her body. What we are arguing is that [estrogen plus progesterone] promoted that abnormal cell to grow.”

 

Women don’t have to choose between drugs and cancer for debilitating symptoms of menopause. There are other choices of menopause treatment.

References:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12927427

 

Energy Drinks Are Not Sexy!

Posted by Cathy on

Health Energy Booster Herb Pack with ginseng Even though energy drinks are readily available in every convenient store and a staple among students for the instant “pick-up”, the facts are now coming out about the damage they cause to your teeth.  Is a temporarily buzz worth all the cavities and what about the other side-effects?

Dental erosion doesn’t have anything to do with hygiene, it doesn’t have anything to do whether you brush your teeth or not. It’s just pure acid in the drink.

Sugar is Not Sexy Either

The other main ingredient in energy drinks is sugar. Energy drinks contain A LOT of sugar! For example a can of Monster energy drink contains 52g of sugar. A teaspoon of sugar weighs about 4g so the Monster drink contains an equivalent of 13 teaspoons of sugar.

This sugar acts to give a quick surge of energy. However an invasion of sugar into the bloodstream activates the release of insulin. Insulin is used by the body to regulate the level of blood sugar at a constant level. Insulin also stimulates the storage of fats and the increase in triglyceride levels. High triglyceride levels usually go in conjunction with low levels of HDL (good) cholesterol. Both of these are risk factors in cardiovascular disease.

Eating or drinking sugars per se does not cause diabetes but there has been research that has shown the link between the consumption of sweet drinks and increased levels of diabetes. High sugar levels also depress the immune system. Vitamin C and glucose have similar chemical structures so the process that allows sugar into the cells is the same as that which allows vitamin C into the cells. The result is that the more sugar there is the less Vitamin C there is. White blood cells require Vitamin C, with less, your immune system suffers.

There is also a link between consumption of sugar and teeth decay. Sugars assist plaque to form and develop on teeth. Plaque causes tooth decay. Tooth decay is not only painful it is also costly in terms of dental cover. Energy drinks are a particularly bad form of sugar intake in relation to teeth as they are usually consumed outside mealtimes.

Caffeine – An Adrenaline Rush Your Body Cannot Sustain

Energy drinks usually contain a large amount of caffeine. Some energy drinks have been found to include between three and five times as much caffeine as a can of cola. Caffeine is addictive; as the body gets more tolerant to the effects then increased levels of caffeine will be required to obtain the same level of stimulation. There have been many studies dealing with caffeine and human health over the years which have shown a number of adverse effects on the body:

  • Caffeine is a stimulant and so can cause heart palpitations, insomnia and anxiety attacks.
  • It is a diuretic and so causes your kidneys to remove extra fluid from your body. If this occurs whilst you are exercising then there is a danger of becoming severely dehydrated very quickly. Energy drinks should never be consumed in conjunction with exercise.
  • Caffeine has been shown to have an  adverse effect of the calcium balance in bone health so leading to a greater risk of fractures.
  • Mood or behavioural problems can occur from caffeine intake/
  • There have been links between caffeine intake and cancer.

Advertising for energy drinks is often targeted at children and young adults. You only have to consider advertising and sponsorship of extreme sports, snowboarding and skating. Although these drinks are often directed at adolescents they are the ones that are at greater risk from consuming caffeine. Doctors from the University of Miami paediatrics department warned “Frequently containing high and unregulated amounts of caffeine, these drinks have been reported in association with serious adverse effects, especially in children, adolescents and young adults with seizures, diabetes, cardiac abnormalities, or mood or behavioural disorders and those who take certain medications”. One report found that one can of energy drink given to children aged between five and twelve would result in seven out of the ten of them having consumed dangerous levels of caffeine.

There has also been a trend of mixing the energy drinks with alcohol because it makes the person feel alert and energetic even when they are drunk. This however is a lethal combination as both the caffeine and the alcohol act to dehydrate the body. The cocktail of energy drinks, alcohol, dancing and heat has led to numerous hospitalisations.

The bottom line is that large quantities of caffeine and refined sugars and bad for our bodies. The temporary boost given on the consumption of these drinks is masking the short and long term damage being caused. There are natural alternatives that will provide an energy lift that do not contain the caffeine and sugar. Pacific Herbs has the only all herbal, 500 year old Energy Booster in a packet. Twelve natural herbs like ginseng, goji berries and others which have been used for centuries in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Get a boost for your mind and body without the unwanted side effects.

 

Wall Street Journal Reports on Placenta Popularity

Posted by Cathy on

After nine months of gestation and then birthing a child, a women has every right to be exhausted.  What every new mother needs is a diet rich in nutrients and blood building foods to replenish her body.  The placenta is the secret that can return a woman’s vitality quickly.  

I’m happy to see the Wall Street Journal report on what seems incredulous, eating your placenta.   American hospitals have treated childbirth as practically a disease that needs medical intervention for decades. This growing phenomenon, of eating the placenta is as natural as childbirth and a welcome return to the wisdom of women.

A placenta holds a wealth of nutrients and should never be disregarded as medical waste.

Here’s the blogs I wrote on Eating Your Placenta, more than a year ago.   Enjoy!

Never quite sure what will inspire me to write a blog but seeing this video today did the trick.  This blog is about the human placenta and why women are now calling  “a placenta cooking lady” to prepare their placenta’s into pills to ingest after childbirth.   The placenta is attached to the fetus via the umbilical cord.  Once the baby is born the placenta and cord are considered medical waste (so we’re told) at the hospital.  We’ve known for some time the  umbilical cord  is a source of stem cell research and many wealthy parents now have the cord frozen and stored, a insurance policy of sorts for future medical needs.  Recently, in a return to ancient wisdom and in conjunction with science we are relearning about the tremendous nutritional value of the human placenta.  Chinese Medicine has understood this value for generations. Ingesting dried placenta in pill form can help a new mother recuperate from childbirth and reclaim some lost blood and nutrients.

 

You can have your placenta cooked, dried and placed into pills to supplement your child birth recovery.  Those that have used  placenta pills after birth swear they have a shorter recovery from postpartum hemorrhaging, more energy from replenished nutrients, increased milk production and no post-partum depression. In fact, a good friend of mine recently gave birth and she has just finished taking her placenta pills.  This was the first time she had placenta prepared into pills and she reported feeling energized and healthier than after her previous child births.  She said it was a little like a caffeine type energy boost without the caffeine and she had an extremely easy recovery overall.  This was her sixth child!

 

According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, placenta is considered a powerful and sacred yang tonic. The placenta is cooked with a few herbs and wine.  Wine in Chinese medicine has a dispersing action and therefore helps to distribute the placentas nutrients throughout the women’s body.  The placenta is full of natural oxytocins which are responsible for contracting the uterus, it also contains  hormones which is believed to be the reason it helps with postpartum depression.  Historically Chinese Medicine has used human placenta for those who have low energy.  Interestingly, it is the only meat that comes from life, not death and other mammals do eat their placentas.  Maybe the animal kingdom has something to teach us.

Check out this link at Time Magazine, there is a short video showing the placenta being prepared,  in case you’ve never seen one.

BPA’s and PMS, Is there A Connection?

Posted by Cathy on with 1 Comment

Does Japan know something we don't, about BPA's in paper receipts and in aluminum cans?  Why did Japan phase out BPA use over 10 years ago?

 

BPA's are dangerous chemicals that mimic estrogen in our bodies. A study just published in the journal of Environmental Science and Technology says people handling receipt paper often, like store clerks, are at a high risk for BPA exposure.  (If you are a cashier, consider using gloves.)

 

BPA's, also known as Bisphenol A, are chemicals that act like estrogen and can cause hormonal imbalances, PMS, irregular menstrual cycles and they have been linked to problems with reproduction and sexual development. Even behavioral and developmental problems in young children and some kinds of cancer have been linked to BPA exposure. 

Should you care about cash register receipts?  YES!  This is another easy way to avoid excess exposure to BPA's.  If you don't need the receipt don't touch it.  Also always wash your hands before eating just in case you've been exposed to BPA's which can be found in many paper products, including toilet paper, tickets, food wrappers, newspapers and napkins. 

If you are a woman constantly having mood swings, PMS, menstrual cramps and menstrual irregularities consider the paper you touch everyday and if you don't need it, don't touch it.   Sometimes it is the small things in life that can make a big difference in our health. Be Well.

 

Sources:  Kannan, K. Environmental Science and Technology, Sept. 23, 2011.

Teens Use The Pill For Cramps and Acne?

Posted by Cathy on

The results of a study by the Guttmacher Institute were just released.  It tells an interesting story about why American teenage girls are choosing birth control pills for noncontraceptive reasons. 

 

The study points out that little data has been gathered previously on the use of oral contraception for purposes beyond that of preventing pregnancy.   The federally funded survey done from 2006-2008 titled the "National Survey of Family Growth" examined the reasons why women and teens are  using the pill for noncontraceptive reasons.

 

The Guttmacher Institute estimated from this survey that 1.5 million women in the U.S. are using oral contraception for noncontraceptive purposes.  This includes reasons such as acne, primary dysmenorrhea, prevention of migraines, fibroids, excessive pelvic pain, bleeding and other "side effects" of menstruation.  The Guttmacher institute says "The reliance on birth control pills for noncontraceptive reasons is highest among pill users who are teenagers. In fact, teens are more likely to report using the pill for noncontraceptive purposes than for birth control: Some 82% of 15-19 year-olds who use OCPs say they do so for non-contraceptive reasons".6  The three most common reasons are: menstrual pain, menstrual regulation and acne.   The survey did not ask about other hormonal methods of contraception ie. the ring, patch, implant or IUD.  The data was gathered using in-person interviews with 7356 women aged 15-44.

 

Oral contraception is artificial hormone regulation of the endocrine system and the risks of these drugs can be serious.  A friend of mine, healthy at age 30 suffered a stroke from birth control pills and four years later still has no use of her left arm and walks with an extreme limp. She started the "Pill" at age 15 to alleviate her painful periods.  I do not want to scare you, so I will refrain from further stories from patients or friends, about the use of birth control pills.   But, do the 82% of teenagers using the pill for noncontraception reasons understand the risks of these drugs?  Do they know all the possible ramifications of their choices? My friend has said many times,

 

"I wish I had known, I never would have taken the pill if I knew this could happen." 

 

Dr. Larry Norton is a well known breast cancer doctor at Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital in New York City and when interviewed on Oprah.com  had this to say about birth control pills.  "Birth control pills are an estrogen-progesterone combination, so they bring up the same fears as HRT. Some disagree with me, but I just don't see a reason to take the Pill–even for younger women. The fact is, breast cancer cells, at least in the formative stages, like estrogen. So the more continuously you feed them the estrogen, the greater the likelihood you'll have a malignancy. With the sexually transmitted diseases that we have to worry about nowadays, I think barrier methods make a lot more sense." 1

 

Do our teenagers have this information?  Do they know that in 2005 the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that "combined estrogen-progestogen oral contraception is carcinogenic to humans."2

 

Do these teenagers know about  BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 genes?  Are teens getting checked to see whether they carry this gene mutation?  This mutation gives a woman "a 36-52 percent risk of  developing breast cancer by age 70"3.   Personally, I would want this information to make my choice about oral contraception an informed one.  I want to know about any drug that can possibly cause cancer cell growth, especially if I have a gene that puts me at a higher risk for cancer.

 

The Breast Cancer Fund has a book called "State of The Evidence"4   (this book is free and online) in which they sum up a number of studies on birth control pills with the following statements: "Numerous studies have shown an increase risk of breast cancer in women using oral contraceptives …. especially those who start taking birth control pills earlier in life and take them for a longer period of time."5

 

What do you think?  Do the teenagers possess this information and are they making informed choices about their health?  Is all the information available to them and are  the facts presented  properly?  Drugs have serious ramifications and not all are immediately evident.  Teens choosing oral contraception for menstrual cramps and acne is a personal choice that requires some serious study.

 

Women have more choices today than ever before.  Choices have ramifications and choices about our health and drug use are no exception.  Freedom of choice is a wonderful thing and I support it 100%.  I believe choices should be made after carefully weighing benefits and risks.  Due diligence is especially important when the choice could involve serious health consequences.

 

____________________________________________________

References:

1.  http://www.oprah.com/omagazine/Breaking-News-on-Breast-Cancer/2#ixzz1dzBMRJKk

2. http://www.iarc.fr/en/media-centre/pr/2005/pr167.html

3. Dr. Susan Love  http://blog.dslrf.org/?p=24

4. & 5.  Breast Cancer Fund  http://www.breastcancerfund.org/assets/pdfs/publications/state-of-the-evidence-2008.pdf

6.  Guttmacher Institute study   http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/Beyond-Birth-Control.pdf