All women and men should have control over if and when they become parents. Making decisions about birth control, or contraception, is not easy - there are many things to think about. Learning about birth control methods you or your partner can use to prevent pregnancy and talking with your health care provider are two good ways to get started.
There is no "best" method of birth control. Each method has its own pros and cons. Some methods work better than others do at preventing pregnancy. Researchers are always working to develop or improve birth control methods.
The birth control method you choose should take into account:
your overall health;
how often you have sex;
the number of sexual partners you have;
if you want to have children;
how well each method works (or is effective) in preventing pregnancy;
any potential side effects; and
your comfort level with using the method.
Bear in mind that NO method of birth control prevents pregnancy all of the time. Birth control methods can fail. But you can greatly increase a method's success rate by using it correctly all of the time. The only way to be sure you never get pregnant is to not have sex (abstinence).
What are the different birth control methods that I can use?
There are many methods of birth control that a woman can use. Talk with your health care provider to help you figure out what method is best for you. You can always try one method and if you do not like it, you can try another one.
Keep in mind that most birth control does NOT protect you from HIV or other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) like gonorrhea, herpes, and chlamydia. Other than not having sex, the best protection against STDs and HIV is the male latex condom. The female condom may give some STD protection. Other birth control methods that involve using a spermicide (a cream or jelly that kills sperm) also may give some protection against chlamydia and gonorrhea.
Don't forget that all of the methods we talk about below work best if used correctly. Be sure you know the correct way to use them. Talk with your health care provider and don't feel embarrassed about talking with her or him again if you forget or don't understand.
Know that learning how to use some birth control methods can take time and practice.
The fact that the only physician to support contraceptives was a woman speaks volumes about the disconnect between the male and female perspective on the issue. It begs the question: Can a man objectively weigh in on this issue? Since inarguably both the physical sacrifice and emotional burden of carrying to term and caring for an unwanted child lay solely on the
Samuel A. Pasquale, M.D., and Jennifer Cadoff, The Birth Control Book: A Complete Guide to Your Contraceptive Options, New York: Ballantine Books, 1996
educating women more on the pill and the way it works, the after effects of
Modern birth control pills were approved by the FDA in the 1960s. This was heralded
Two major types of birth control are contraceptives and condoms. Condoms prevent STDs by stopping the flow of semen in to the vaginal canal. Contraceptives are more complex. Birth control contraceptives help to prevent pregnancies by combining the hormones estrogen and progesterone to prevent the egg from being released during the monthly cycle. Not only do the contraceptives prevent the egg from dropping but they also thicken the mucus around the cervix making it hard for sperm to enter the uterus just in case any eggs were released. (Hirsch 1)
Having babies is a wonderful thing embraced by many women; however, having an unplanned one is not so nice. It is good to have an option of avoiding that, contraceptive methods can hold the pregnancy till the time is right. Thanks to John Rock, who was the first man to ever invent the birth control pill, we have the option of waiting until we are ready. Even though this sounds like a wonderful idea, there are major health risks to receiving any form of contraceptive. Even though your Gynecologist does not mention it, no birth control is truly safe.
Now a days there are several different methods of birth control. The first that I am going to talk about is called the rhythm method. As its synonym implies, this method is based on the assumption that, for each women, there is a rhythmic pattern of menstruation and ovulation that can be identified by keeping a careful record of the dates of menstruation. A second assumption is that
The only guaranteed option of birth control is abstinence. Abstaining from having sexual intercourse will ensure that pregnancy does not occur and also prevents sexually transmitted infections. People may find it difficult to abstain for long periods of time and tend to end their abstinence without being prepared to protect themselves against pregnancy or venereal diseases. Many choose outer course which is sex play without vaginal intercourse. For others, it is sex play with no penetration at all. It is a 100% effective against pregnancy unless pre-ejaculate or sperm gets onto the vulva or into the vagina. Outer course however, frequently leads to intercourse, therefore another form of birth control and protection from infection has to be used.
Contraception, contragestion, (preventing the fertilized egg from implantation - morning-after-pill) and the chemical or surgical induction of abortion are all types of birth control routes to prevent or end pregnancy (“What”). Contraception is the devices, drugs, agents, sexual practices, or surgical procedures to prevent a pregnancy. Contraception tends to help a women decide if and when she would want to have a baby (“What”). There are around 17 different types of birth control methods. According to the article from Oxford there are three main categories of contraception. They are the barrier methods, intrauterine, and the hormonal methods (“Contraception”). They vary from a pill, patch, shot, an implant and a condom to name a few. The most common type of contraception for women is the birth control pill. This pill includes estrogen and progestin to stop the release of the egg and thin the lining of the uterus. If the contraception device is used correctly, only about 3 in every 1,000 women will beco...
Research has demonstrated that consistent condom use is an effective way to prevent the transmission of HIV and other STDs and in the prevention of pregnancy.
I would argue that giving birth isn 't always the most responsible option. If a woman knows that she won 't be able to effectively take care of the child I’d say it’s more responsible of her to have an abortion and prevent them both from having a future full of hardships. People also say that if a woman had practiced safe sex and used contraception than she could have avoided it all together. According to Newsweek, a report released by the U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that, “fewer than half of high schools and only a fifth of middle schools teach lessons on all 16 of the nationally recommended topics for sexual health education.” They also found that, “schools were least likely to teach kids how to obtain or use condoms.” This shows that not everyone is informed on how to obtain or correctly use contraceptives, so avoiding a pregnancy might not always be an
Bam: You’re pregnant. Says that little pregnancy test, (at least if one is a girl). Imagine the shock of a woman who suddenly finds out that a potential child has started the first stages of its life inside of her. Her life is turned upside down, this wasn’t something she wanted or planned, this isn’t something that she will be able to handle. Quickly, she thinks of her future and suddenly there’s no longer one person that she has to take care of, but two. The only thing that she can say to her say to herself is, “I wish I hadn’t done it”. But the thing is that a young woman, or any woman, should not have to abstain from sex, because she doesn’t want a child, or always put the burden on the partner for a fail proof plan. Birth control should
Women have a moral right to decide what they do with their bodies. For the most part, female bodies past the age of twelve are capable of holding, developing, and “incubating” a baby; with the help of antibiotics, cesareans, and powerful drugs, girls are able to survive the actual process of childbirth. But being able to have a child and being a parent are two very different concepts. By agreeing to parent a child you are investing and ensuring at least eighteen years of love, support, health, money, time, and dedication. It can be argued that raising a child is the biggest and most transformative thing that most of us will ever do and the notion that a woman should just “go with it” upon finding themselves pregnant after rape or a broken condom completely diminishes the role of motherhood. I’m pro-choice because just like humans, contraceptives are imperfect. The Pill has become one of the most sought after forms of birth control with headlines blaring the famous, “99% effective.” With its fifty year legacy, it easily makes the Pill the oldest and seemingly the most reliable contraceptive. Under perfect use the pill works 99% of the time. However, people are imperfect, and each year in our imperfect world, one out of every eleven women on the
There are many forms of artificial contraception. I am going to discuss some of those forms and the Church’s opinion. Condoms, or rubbers, are shaped like a balloon and are made of a special kind of rubber. Condoms prevent sperm from reaching the cervix. They are placed over the male’s erect penis before intercourse. They are 80-90% effective. No prescription is needed to use them. They protect against STD’s. They are more protective in preventing AIDS, then preventing pregnancy. They are not fully effective because they can break, have defects, be slippery, or it can be too old. Spermicides such as: creams, foams, vaginal supporsitones, and vaginal film form a chemical barrier that kills or makes the sperm inactive, which makes it impossible to become pregnant. They are 80% effective. It is available without a prescription and provides some STD protection. Effectiveness is increased if used with condoms. Vasectomies are common for men. The tube that carries the sperm is cut and tied which prevents sperm from being ejaculated. It is 99% effective This procedure is permanent and is done through a small incision near the testicles. It does not affect sexual arousal. A cervical cap is a soft rubber dome that forms a barrier to prevent sperm from reaching the cervix. The spermicidal gel kills the sperm. It is 85% effective. It may give some protection against chlamydia and gonorrhea. The diaphragm does the same thing as a cervical cap and is 85% effective. It is a flat rubber-like disk which has to be fitted from a doctor. It is placed inside the woman’s vagina before having intercourse. It is often used with cream or jelly that is placed around the edge of the diaphragm. There is a very high failure rate because sometimes they are not fitted or inserted correctly. They create fewer health risks for women. It may reduce the risk of cervical cancer and provides some STD protection. There are also injections for men and women. In men, a drug is injected into the sperm duct to disable the sperm for a period of time. Depo-Provera injections that contain the hormone, progesterone is injected and it prevents the release of an egg from the ovary. It is 99% effective. It is long lasting and highly effective. It also protects against uterine cancer. But it does not protect against STD’s. Female condoms are 75-85% effective but 95% effective if used correctly.
Preventing teenage pregnancy has been a goal for many years now. Statistics have tried to keep up with the change in the teenage generation. Many people have different opinions on the subject of teen pregnancy, because to some people teens seem to be getting pregnant expeditiously in these times. People fail to realize that having a baby is a privilege to many people and not a problem. Many people take having a baby as a lightly. Getting pregnant and having a kid has many pros/cons. Having a child can be very hard on some people and cause them to break. When babies are brought into this world there are a lot of things to worry about. The greatest problem associated with teen pregnancy is financial instability. Most teens do not have the salary to support a child. In the prevention of teen pregnancy there are many things that are helpful. Abstinence is a for sure way of not getting pregnant. There are also other helpful ways to help prevent teen pregnancy, such as sex education and birth control. All of these things are essential in the helping to prevent teenage pregnancy.