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Ladies, I know that in many schools, abstinence is the main thing that is taught for sex ed. They kind of drilled it into our heads that we shouldn't have sex. In my opinion, they should be teaching us about birth control and how to use a condom and all that stuff.
What I'm proposing is that some of you who have had the sex ed that taught you how to properly use contraceptives should tell us what you have learned.
Please post below so that girls like me can have a better understanding on how to use contraceptives.
15. In love. Taken. Band geek. And that is about it. 
Taken for 1 lovely year
Taken for 1 lovely year
Superbandgeek wrote:
Ladies, I know that in many schools, abstinence is the main thing that is taught for sex ed. They kind of drilled it into our heads that we shouldn't have sex. In my opinion, they should be teaching us about birth control and how to use a condom and all that stuff.
What I'm proposing is that some of you who have had the sex ed that taught you how to properly use contraceptives should tell us what you have learned.
Please post below so that girls like me can have a better understanding on how to use contraceptives.
- Condoms (male and female): Easily accessible by anyone, relatively cheap, and/or free (some charities/organizations will give them away for free). Good for preventing both STIs and pregnancy, though some STIs can still occur, if it's a skin-to-skin contact STI (herpes, syphillis, warts, pubic lice, etc), and there's an area that's exposed other than the guy's actual penis. Pretty effective, in general. There are videos on youtube on how to properly put them on.
- Hormonal pill: Need a perscription to get access to them. Can be free/covered by insurance, but are more expensive if not (I think the average in the States is around $25-50 per month?). Only protects against pregnancy, and doesn't protect against any STIs. Is usually pretty effective if you take it at the same time every day, but everyone's body is different and will react differently to different brands. Some girls' bodies don't take to the pill and there's a chance that it could not protect you from pregnancy at all (there was actually a girl on here a few years ago who took her pill religiously and still got pregnant multiple times). You might get side effects from this (because it's hormonal), including headaches, irregular periods, nausea, mood swings, lack of sex drive, weight loss/gain, etc. It's usually good for regulating periods, or helping to clear skin, but there are always some cases where it will actually just throw your period/skin out of sync even more.
- Depo Provera Shot: I'm pretty biased against Depo because of everything my sex professor's told me... but I'll give it a shot at trying to be as neutral as possible, lol. They created this as a way to medicinally castrate men in prison who were in there for being serial rapists (because it lowered their sex drive to absolutely nothing- they didn't quite realize that a lot of these guys don't rape for the sexual pleasure of it). Anyways, they eventually realized that it also prevents ovulation in women. Common side effects are: lack/loss of sex drive, weight gain (some people lose weight but weight gain is a more common complaint), skin isues, bloating, nausea, headaches, mood swings. You basically get one shot every 3 months (or it might be 4... I can't remember), and you should be protected against pregnancy, but not against any STIs. No idea of cost, lol.
- Implant (Implanon): You get a little stick full of hormones implanted into the inner side of your upper arm. It's good up to 3 years usually (though in some, the hormones can stay in you for up to 5), before you get a new one implanted (and/or have the previous one removed). Pretty much the same side effects as both other hormonal contraceptives, except there is also the potential to have the implant "lost" within your fat/muscle. It'll degrade (safely) in your body if that happens, but if you have any quick plans to get pregnant, it might delay you a little bit. You're again protected against only pregnancy, and not against STIs. No idea of cost, lol.
- Hormonal patch: You wear a patch for 3 weeks, then take a week off, and then replace it with a new patch. It should stay on in most cases (though you'd have to read the packaging to be sure), and only protects you against pregnancy. A common complaint about this one is that some girls don't remember to check that their patch is on every day, so some may lose it and become pregnant by forgetting to check it, or not putting one back on after swimming/period, etc. Same general possible side effects as the other hormonal contraceptives.
- Nuva Ring: Same idea as the hormonal patch, except the nuva ring is a springy little rubber ring that gives hormones into your body every day. Keep the same one in for 3 weeks, then take it out for a week, and then put a new one in. Some girls might get a rash/irritation in their vagina because of the nuva ring. It generally can't be felt during sex, which is an upside.
Only protects against pregnancy. - IUD (hormonal, or non-hormonal): Pretty much, it's this little T-shaped device that's put into your uterus. It won't necessarily stop you from ovulating (unless you get the hormonal one), but it will stop any fertilized egg from being able to attach itself to the uterine wall, by making the environment "not suitable" for that of a growing fetus/zygote. If you get the hormonal one, it has essentially the same possible side effects as the other 3, plus it's possible to also have more severe cramping during periods, and more heavy periods in general. For the non-hormonal IUD there wouldn't be any hormonal changes in your body, but you might still get more cramping/heavier periods. The risk with this one is that it's possible to become lodged into the side of your uterus, possibly perforating it. It's rare, but it can cause a girl to become infertile if it's not caught early, or if it does enough damage. The IUD can stay in there for as little as (and I might be a bit off on my numbers here) 5 years, or as many as 10 years. Depends on which one you get. It's more expensive to have put in (in Canada it's between $200-400, depending on brand/type), but it does last longer. You're protected again only against pregnancy with this one)
- Spermicide: Not usually recommended, but I'll add it in either way. Basically you use a spermidal jelly to kill any sperm that may get into your vagina. It's usually better as a sort of back up (ex: if you/partner have both been tested for STIs, and only worried about pregnancy, it's often used to back up a hormonal form of birth control), but it's important to remember that most spermicidal jellys shouldn't be used on condoms (or check the label at the very least- a lot have been known to reduce the effectiveness of condoms).
- Diaphragm: Put into the vagina, and basically creates a seal against the vaginal walls to prevent any sperm from getting past it. This is often used with spermicial jelly as well, and doesn't have quite as high of a pregnancy protection rate as the hormonal options, or condoms.
- Dental Dam: The same ones used in a doctor's office! These are used for giving oral to a girl (or a guy, though it's less common to use a dental dam), to prevent their partner from getting any possible STIs. Shouldn't be used for intercourse, but it's good to know about them!
- Emergency Contraceptive (AKA Plan B): Prevents pregnancy by making your cervical mucus thicker, preventing you from ovulating, and helps prevent any fertilized egg from attaching to the uterine wall. It's possible to become pregnant even a week after having unprotected sex (sperm are pretty determined- they can take a while to die inside of you!), but most EC pills are good up to 72 hours after having unprotected sex (though I think they recently came up with a new brand/version that's good up to 5 days after unprotected sex?). The earlier you get to the emergency contraceptive after unprotected sex, the better your odds are of it being effective. Despite myths, it does not make you infertile or ruin your uterus. It can mess with your period for a little bit (up to 3 months- it's basically a giant dose of hormones), and may make you moody, or nauseous, or give you a headache, or fatigued. Generally costs around $40 per dose, but some city's sexual health clinics will give it away cheaper (in my city I can get it for $5).
And here's a list of all the contraceptives (I'm mising a few) and their average pregnancy rates while using them!
| Method | Typical use | Perfect use |
|---|---|---|
| No birth control | 85% | 85% |
| Combination pill | 8% | 0.3% |
| Progestin-only pill | 13% | 1.1% |
| Sterilization (female) | 0.5% | 0.5% |
| Sterilization (male) | 0.15% | 0.10% |
| Condom (female) | 21% | 5% |
| Condom (male) | 15% | 2% |
| Copper IUD | 0.8% | 0.6% |
| Hormone IUD | 0.2% | 0.2% |
| Patch | 8% | 0.3% |
| Vaginal ring | 8% | 0.3% |
| Depo Provera | 3% | 0.3% |
| Implant | 0.05% | 0.05% |
| Diaphragm and spermicide | 16% | 6% |
| Withdrawal | 27% | 4% |
| Standard Days Method | ~12-25% | ~1-9% |
Becca
www.babysnaurus.tumblr.com
www.babysnaurus.tumblr.com
