How to Use Wild Yam Cream for Birth Control

You may want to get away from the plastic devices and synthetic hormones of today's birth control and try something natural, based on ancient wisdom. Wild yam (dioscorea villosa) has been touted by some modern midwives and herbalists as a natural method of birth control. Wild yam has many excellent antispasmodic uses, but there is no proof that you can effectively use it for birth control. Still, if you're willing to experiment on yourself and accept the risk that wild yam may not work at all, then you can readily purchase wild yam creams that, even if they don't prevent pregnancy, may have other benefits.

Things You'll Need

• Wild yam (dioscorea villosa) cream

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Instructions

• 1

  Study the facts about wild yam use for contraception. Midwife Willa Shaffer writes that she has recommended it to her patients with good effect. However, the University of Maryland reports that it has no female reproductive benefits other than to ease menstrual cramps and possibly to help offset the effects of estrogen replacement therapy. Some proponents of herbal medicine believe wild yam can work for contraception because it contains diosgenin, a phytoestrogen that can be chemically converted into the hormone progesterone. Diosgenin was used in the lab to make the first birth control pills in the 1960s, but the human body cannot convert the diosgenin in wild yam into progesterone on its own. Without that chemical conversion, the phytoestrogen in wild yam may do nothing for the human body.

• 2

  Purchase wild yam cream if you still want to try wild yam for birth control and are willing to accept the risk of pregnancy. The cream is a nice way to use the herb, which is readily absorbed through the skin and directly into the bloodstream. You can also use it in tea or tablet form.

• 3

  Purchase a wild yam cream that says it contains "natural progesterone." This is a synthetic formulation that is called natural because it is identical to human progesterone (medroxyprogesterone acetate). This type of wild yam cream may be more helpful for your purpose.

• 4

  Apply wild yam cream twice a day to one of the following soft parts of the body: the inside of the upper arms (one at a time), breasts (one at a time), belly, buttocks (one at a time), and the insides and the backs of the thighs (one at a time). Rotate each day from one site to the next, beginning with the uppermost site down to the lowest, then rotate back to the uppermost site. Use the amount specified on the container for your chosen brand of cream.

• 5

  Combine wild yam cream with another method of birth control for two full menstrual cycles before using it alone. While using wild yam cream, your body continues to ovulate normally. There is no proof for how or why diosgenin may work for birth control, but the hypotheses are that it works by making the egg sterile or by thickening the outer membrane of the egg cell so sperm cannot penetrate. Since nothing is proven, at least give your body time to build up a concentration of diosgenin before expecting it to work for this purpose.