The Ultimate Birth Control & Pregnancy Thread

[Arjuna]

Originally Posted by alehark

So I'd like to know two things, if you'd indulge me...

1) Is there any quality benifit to buying a box of store-condoms vs. the ones in bathroom vending machines?

2) If one were to masturbate beforehand, then several hours later engage, would it decrease the likelihood of a pregnancy assuming proper use of a condom?

1) Store-bought is always safe. Vending machine condoms aren't necessarily unsafe, but you have to be wary of a few things. Check the expiration date. Make sure the machine isn't located in a place that gets direct sunlight or is in an unusually hot environment.

2) You make an ungodly number of sperm every minute - and you never get to the point where you'd be shooting blanks. In a male with a normal sperm count, masturbation a few hours before sex is going to decrease the semen volume, but we're still talking millions of sperm, so I don't bet on it affecting fertility very much.

[alehark]

Originally Posted by Arjuna

1) Store-bought is always safe. Vending machine condoms aren't necessarily unsafe, but you have to be wary of a few things. Check the expiration date. Make sure the machine isn't located in a place that gets direct sunlight or is in an unusually hot environment.

2) You make an ungodly number of sperm every minute - and you never get to the point where you'd be shooting blanks. In a male with a normal sperm count, masturbation a few hours before sex is going to decrease the semen volume, but we're still talking millions of sperm, so I don't bet on it affecting fertility very much.

Always good to know, thanks!

[mike27]

are you telling me that having sex on 8 occasions with a condom, without pulling out, will (statistically speaking) result in a pregnancy?





edit: nm

[:ninja:]

Originally Posted by Arjuna

ARP is for the year.

Typical use of the pill = 5% ARP - so of every 100 couples using the pill only, 5 will become pregnant in the course of the year.

and this is for couples ejaculating inside the vagina each time?

[:ninja:]

I was wondering if someone could clear up some confusion I have with Seasonale.
My girlfriend is taking it, and has been on it for about a year. She is good with taking it; sometimes she'll take the pill right in front of me. I don't doubt her reliability with taking the pill; she's been one form or another of birth control for almost seven years now (she's 18). When she gets periods, they are painful, heavy, and she gets migranes and nausea... so the BC isn't primarily for actual BC, it's to stop her from having periods, and thus having migranes and nausea. The Birth Control part of it is just a perk.


Anyway, with Seasonale you get four periods a year. My GF told me that those four a year aren't even traditional periods, meaning there is no true ovulation, only light bleeding. If this were the case, we could have sex like normal before she started her period. But reading around on Google, I'm not finding this information.

Could someone help me out and explain what is actually happening during those four periods a year? She's coming up on her white pills in about two weeks (meaning she'll start her period), and we don't want to use condoms. We both lose sensitivity with them.

[Loose Cannon]

Originally Posted by :ninja:

and this is for couples ejaculating inside the vagina each time?

Yes.

The numbers used to make up the ARP are derived from a large sample of sexually active couples using no other method of contraception for one whole year. Since for FDA purposes withdrawal is considered a "contraceptive", the sample population for the Pill must necessarily not have been using withdrawal, since to do so would have counted as two contraceptive methods, thereby skewing the numbers. The FDA offers no comment on the frequency of intercourse among the sample couples, but the sample population size is such that either extreme should be averaged out.

[Loose Cannon]

Originally Posted by :ninja:

I was wondering if someone could clear up some confusion I have with Seasonale.
<snip>
Could someone help me out and explain what is actually happening during those four periods a year?

OK, while you're on a contraceptive pill that contains progestins/oestrogens (including Seasonale), you do not ovulate. This means the body does not thicken the uterine lining as much as if you were not on the Pill, hence why "Pill periods" are generally so much lighter than regular ones.

Seasonale contains levonorgestrel, the same hormone used in the Norplant system, known for its high efficacy (though do have a look at my other posts for some of the side-effects). Something about the formulation of Seasonale allows pills to be taken for 3 months straight. Note that it is possible to do this with regular contraceptive pills (though not recommended as a habit), with much the same effect - you can postpone your period by continuing with the active pills, and your period will not arrive until you move on to the placebo sugar pills. The Seasonale formulation has been approved for this pattern of use.

In short: She should not be ovulating while on Seasonale and the uterine lining consequently develops very slowly, but the body can only be fooled into holding back uterine thickening for so long, hence the need for Pill periods.

Clearer?

[effigy]

I have a general question that I dont think was brought up. I am 21, and have been taking birth control since about 17. Lets say in 5 or so years, I will want to have a kid. How do you "stop" taking birth control? Is there a few months where you shouldnt get pregnant after taking the pill?

I think that is the only unanswered question I have. Beyond that I feel I am very well birth control versed.

[dmbgirlie]

What measures have been taken to have the men control birth control? I dare you to answer this; There are measures to have those men get erections so that they can have sex, that pisses me off. What have they actually and factually done to keep a woman from getting pregnant, and don't you dare tell me it's her problem - or you can and you'd be a punkfaggit.

[dmbgirlie]

Originally Posted by effigy

I have a general question that I dont think was brought up. I am 21, and have been taking birth control since about 17. Lets say in 5 or so years, I will want to have a kid. How do you "stop" taking birth control? Is there a few months where you shouldnt get pregnant after taking the pill?

I think that is the only unanswered question I have. Beyond that I feel I am very well birth control versed.

Are you stupid? Talk to your own GYN... Dumbass.

[Arjuna]

Originally Posted by dmbgirlie

What measures have been taken to have the men control birth control? I dare you to answer this; There are measures to have those men get erections so that they can have sex, that pisses me off. What have they actually and factually done to keep a woman from getting pregnant, and don't you dare tell me it's her problem - or you can and you'd be a punkfaggit.

Male BC is in final (IIRC) FDA testing. Not sure when it is scheduled to hit the market, but hopefully in a few years.

[Arjuna]

Originally Posted by dmbgirlie

Are you stupid? Talk to your own GYN... Dumbass.

Chill out.

BC is fully reversible. Normally fertility should resume quickly once you stop taking the pill.

[gg]

Originally Posted by dmbgirlie

Are you stupid? Talk to your own GYN... Dumbass.

buh bye

[Loose Cannon]

Originally Posted by effigy

I have a general question that I dont think was brought up. I am 21, and have been taking birth control since about 17. Lets say in 5 or so years, I will want to have a kid. How do you "stop" taking birth control? Is there a few months where you shouldnt get pregnant after taking the pill?

I think that is the only unanswered question I have. Beyond that I feel I am very well birth control versed.

In response, this taken from www.epigee.org:

I have stopped using birth control. Why am I unable to conceive?

Because of the prolonged effect of the birth control drugs on your body, you may be infertile for some time. For combined oral contraceptives, the average length of infertility is 2-3 months, but some women will remain infertile for 6 months or more. For Depo-Provera users, infertility typically lasts from 6 to 12 months. You may not have any periods during this time.

That said, some people get pregnant when they miss one pill. But 2-3 months is the average length of time for fertility to return to pre-pill levels.

[Heinrich Himmler]

Quick way? Simple, become a Nazi. They don't value love or compassion, or fun. Just ask ForeverLurk-MK2.