©PREGNANCY PLANNING
AND HEALTH
Mrs. Gloria Riggsbee
Dear Mrs. Rigpbee:
In 1968 I had an IUD and
I was told it would regulate
my periods - it didnt.
I'w had trouble with my
periods ever since I can remem
ber and I'm 23. Sometimes it
comes on twice a month, other
times on today, off tomorrow,
on the day after that and then
back off again. Sometimes it
stays on weeks at a time.
I ve been from doctor to
doctor and my period hasn't
been regulated yet. I've even
tried the pill - no go!
I want to play my family
using the Rhythm Method
only. How can I do this if my
period is so wishy-washy?
Baffled
Dear Baffled:
Your letter baffles me for a
number of reasons:
1! The IUD is not designed
to regulate menstrual periods.
It is a very good method of
contraception which usually
takes the womaji's womb a few
months to get used to. During
this time some women have
some cramping, some have
heavier periods than usual and
some have a little spotting be
tween periods. These problems
usually clear up in a short
while.
2. I'm not sure what you
mean when you say "no go"
about the pill. Do you mean
you didn't have regular periods
while on the pill? If so, it is
not uncommon for women
who begin taking the pills to
skip a period or spot while
their bodies are adjusting.
They just continue to take
their pills as directed whether
or not they have a period. Of
course, if a woman misses as
many as three periods, she
should check with her doc
tor.
Maybe you mean that after
you quit taking the pills your
periods were as irregular as
before. The pills influence
leaves your body when you
quit taking them. Then, your
body acts as it did before you
began taking the pills.
3. The rhythm method is
one of the least effective
methods of birth control even
for women who have always
been regular. Rhythm, for
most women, is only a little
better than using no method
at all, and for someone as ir
regular as you are, it would
be exactly like no method at
all.
Why don't you quit worry
about how irregular your
periods are - more women are
irregular than regular in their
menstrual cycles, so you are
definitely not alone. Why not
use an effective method of
contraception? If you are un
able to adjust to the loop, why
not take birth control pills, if
your doctor says it's O.K. for
you to do so, until you are
ready to have a baby. If not,
there is always the diaphragm,
the condom, foams, spermici
dal creams and jellies. The
diaphragm and the condom
are not as effective as the pill
and the IUD, but they are still
good methods if used correct
ly every time and the couple
has sex. Foams, creams and
jellies are not as effective as
even the diaphragm and the
condom, but all of these
methods are more effective
than rhythm.
You also might consider
having the children you want
now, and afterward having one
of the permanent operations
tubal ligation or laparoscopy
so that you would never have
to worry about birth control
again.
Above ail, quit worrying
•bout how irregular your
periods are ane enjoy your
family and your aex life.
Dear Mrs. Rtggsbee:
Would you please send me
your booklet on birtb control?
Also answer a question if
possible. How can a person
toll if they are that way?
1 would appreciate a speedy
A. B.
Dear A.8.:
What way? Pregnant? If so,
the indications of preg
nancy are a missed menstrual
period; nausea and vomiting,
particularly in the morning;
breast tenderness and tingling;
frequent and sudden urges to
urinate; constipation; fatigue, a
white vaginal diKharge. If you
think that you are pregnant,
why don't you check with a
doctor to be sure. He can give
you a pregnancy test. Theae
tests, however, are accurate
only if 2 weeks have passed
since your missed period. This
is 4 or 5 weeks after the
probably date of conception.
By 6 weeks after the missed
period, a doctor can often
make a diagnosis bfcsed upon
physical examination alone.
And by about ten weeks after
the missed period the physical
signs of pregnancy are obvious.
I am sending you the free
booklet you requested "The
Right Way to Birth Control."
Let me know if you have
any more questions.
***
Address letters and requests
for free booklets on birth con
trol to: Mrs. Gloria Riggsbee,
214 Cameron Avenue, Chapel
Hill, North Carolina 27514.
Black Youths
Become N. Y.
Archeologisfs
For a report on archeolo
gical probes into the history of
black culture, Black Journal's
cameras might have ranged
through Africa or the Middle
East.
Instead they went to Brook
lyn, to film "Digging for Black
Pride," the second program of
Black Journal's new fall series
on PBS Tuesday, October 12
at 9:30 p.m. on channel 4,
WUNC-TV.
The archeologists are black
children, searching in Brook
lyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant dis
trict for links with their 19th
century ancestors.
Under Project Weeksville,
yoifhg students are uncovering
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SATURDAY. OCTOBER 9, 1971 THE CAROLINA TMES-
COMING TO CAPITAL CITY T>ramatic soprano Jeannette
Walters, acclaimed to be the possessor of one of the most beau
tiful voices in her generation is coming to Raleigh. She will
appear as a lyceum feature at Saint Augustine's College on
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New Classroom Building.
A native of Priladelphla, Pennsylvania, she is a product of
Peabody Institute and was awarded a scholarship to the Pea
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chak, after completing high school in 1959.
evidence of a sophisticated
black community which
flourished in their neighbor
hood 150 years ago.
With the help of archeolo
gist William Harley, they are
unearthing artifacts of Week*
ville. And with the help of
historian Robert Swann - and
the memories of elderly local
residents -- they are piecing to
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gether the history of the high
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The settlement maintained
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off white raiders during the
Irish Draft Riots in 1863.
7A
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