Sexual Health

If a woman is sexually active and she is fertile—physically able to become pregnant—she needs to ask herself, “Do I want to become pregnant at the present?” If her answer is “No,” she should make use of some technique of birth control (contraception).

If a woman does not want to get pregnant at this point in her life, when does she plan to become pregnant? Soon? Much later? Never? Her answers to these questions can decide the method of birth control that she and her male sexual partner exercise—at the present and in the future.

There are numerous dissimilar ways to describe birth control. Terms take in contraception, pregnancy prevention, fertility control, and family planning. But no matter what the process itself is named, sexually active people can prefer from a plethora of methods to lessen the likelihood of their becoming pregnant. On the other hand, no method of birth control obtainable in the present day offers perfect protection against sexually transmitted infections (sexually transmitted diseases, or STDs), not including abstinence.

It is estimated that there are 3.6 million accidental pregnancies every year in the United States. Half of these unplanned pregnancies take place for the reason that a pair does not make use of any birth control at all, and the other half take place for the reason that the couple makes use of birth control, but not properly.

In plain terms, all techniques of birth control are based on either stopping a man’s sperm from contacting and entering a woman’s egg (fertilization) or preventing the fertilized egg from implanting in the woman’s uterus (her womb) and starting to grow.

Birth control techniques can be reversible or permanent. Reversible denotes that the technique can be stopped at essentially any time with no long-standing effects on fertility (the ability to become pregnant). Permanent typically denotes that the technique cannot not be undone or reversed, most probable for the reason that it involved surgery. Examples of permanent techniques take in Vasectomy for the male or tubal ligation for the female.

Birth control techniques can as well be classified according to whether they are a barrier method (e.g., a condom) that blocks sperm, a mechanical method (e.g., an intrauterine device), or a hormonal method (e.g., the “pill”).

“Natural” techniques do not rely on devices or hormones however on observing some aspect of a woman’s body physiology in order to prevent fertilization.

The direct responsibility for most of the methods of birth control that are currently available rests with the woman. On the other hand, responsibility for contraception should ideally involve the man as well as the female. The selected technique (or techniques) of birth control should therefore optimally be a choice and an activity shared by both partners. The input of their health care professionals may sometimes be essential. New techniques of birth control are being developed and tested all the time. And what is suitable for a couple at one point may modify with time and circumstances.

Sorry to say, no birth control technique, except abstinence, is considered to be 100% successful.

Tags: Birth Control //