QTP Founder, Kara Ferreira
I know what it’s like to rely on hormonal birth control to manage your symptoms and to be told that you need to be on the pill for your health. I understand the frustration, confusion and constant search for answers – I’ve been there too!
I was on the pill for ten years. I was told to go on the pill early for some minor acne and stayed on it through my teens. In college, I tried to go off of it, but my acne came back about ten times worse. I went back on it.
Fast forward another year or two, and I tried again. And then again. Every time I went off of it, my period would go missing (and my hair would fall out), and my acne would return with a vengeance.
There were no answers, no solutions – just hormonal birth control. “Take this pill and your problems will go away.” Sound familiar?
But, something didn’t feel right. While my body did relatively well on the pill, I always found myself thinking that I shouldn’t need to take medication in my teens and early twenties to be healthy. I knew there had to be a way to get off the pill without my period going missing or my skin getting out of control.
So I started to do some research.
Hormonal birth control depletes your body of essential nutrients such as magnesium, B vitamins, selenium and zinc. Many of these nutrients are important for emotional stability and mental health. Birth control was never intended for long term use, and the effects of long term use are still being studied. The pill can compromise gut health and the microbiome. Hormonal birth control disrupts communication between the brain and the ovaries. Some forms of birth control can shrink the clitoris. Birth control may increase the risk of certain cancers, such as breast cancer.
These are things we should be told when we are prescribed hormonal birth control.
I learned that that while the pill was masking my symptoms, it was actually exacerbating the root cause of my issues by depleting important nutrients and compromising my gut health.
I studied the medical journals and came across studies that indicate that the pill and other forms of hormonal birth control may cause certain cancers, that it creates a dark spot on the liver, and a whole host of other not fun stuff.
I became even more determined to learn how to heal my symptoms holistically. This led to a year of self-study, another year at the Institute of Integrative Nutrition, and a six-month apprenticeship with “Fix Your Period” expert Nicole Jardim.
Now I know that the answer to these problems was never hormonal birth control. The answer is true self care, working with and not against your body, and focusing on nutrition.
The end result: I feel better than I ever have before and I know that you can too.
Professional Bio
Kara Ferreira (nee DeDonato) is a certified health coach specializing in women’s hormonal health. She is a passionate advocate for healing cycle and skin issues without the use of hormonal birth control (HBC). Since launching her first health and wellness blog, Libera in 2014, she has helped over 100 women to stay off HBC, transition off of HBC and to troubleshoot post-HBC problems for optimal health. In 2016, she launched Quit the Pill to reach more women and serve them on their journey to optimal health and fertility. Kara’s writing has been featured on MindBodyGreen, ourbodybook.com, Appleseed Fertility & elsewhere!
Training & Credentials
PRIMARY TRAINING
I am a certified health coach specializing in women’s hormonal health.
- From 2014-2015, I attended the Institute for Integrative Nutrition to receive my health coaching certification.
- In 2015, I did a 6-month apprenticeship with women’s health expert and creator of the ‘Fix Your Period’ e-courses, Nicole Jardim.
ADDITIONAL PROGRAMS & STUDY
I am always looking to acquire more knowledge in this space! In addition to reading countless studies in medical journals, articles by leaders in women’s holistic wellness and listening to podcast interviews with experts in the field, I have completed the following courses, classes and trainings:
{Nicole Jardim} Fix Your Period E-Course, Fix Your Period Apprenticeship II, Fix Your Birth Control Protocol
{Holistic Hormonal Health} HER Fertility, Cervical Fluid Master Class
{Integrative Women’s Health Institute} Birth Control Master Class, Chronic Pelvic Pain & Yeast Master Class, The Blood Sugar Spectrum & Women’s Health Master Class
Conferences: Hack Your Cycle Conference, November 2018 | Cycles & Sex, April 2017
