Tagged:

birth control

July 9th 2010

Miss Manners and Captain Courteous Go Halfsies

- Stefanie

The other night I met Miss Manners for happy hour. She was asking my advice on switching birth control methods. Don’t you talk about birth control in a crowded bar? I think the two dudes sitting next to us got a very useful refresher course in both manners and pregnancy prevention. You’re welcome.

Miss Manners: “I think I want to switch to a long –lasting method.”

Me: “That is a good idea. I know a couple people who have recently switched and they love it.”

Miss Manners: “Yes, I think it’s time. I’m tired of my method. Plus, Captain Courteous is going to pay for half.”

I look at Miss Manners amazed. I start to get a little choked up.

June 25th 2010

The Ring – It Won’t Get Lost in There!

- Provider Perspective

The vaginal contraceptive ring, a.k.a. the Ring or NuvaRing, is an easy to use, safe, and effective birth control option. It’s a soft, flexible ring that you change once a month. When I discuss vaginal contraception with my patients, some are initially wary about using a vaginal birth control method and have lots of questions about it. These are the most common questions I hear, and my answers.

June 11th 2010

Elephants, Birth Control, and Baboons: Things I Learned in South Africa

- Stefanie

I’m back! Let the crazy stories re-commence.

I was sitting in a lecture listening to some professor wax poetic about elephants. No joke. The rest of the class was taking copious notes. I was just short of drawing horses in my note book. I’m not the best graduate student.

So the professor is yammering on about elephants when he says, “Some wish to control the elephant population with birth control. Elephants can destroy the vegetation in an area if the population is not in check.” He now had my full attention.

I turned to Miss Happy Face and said “How do they get the elephants to take the birth control?”

May 28th 2010

Secret Birth Control: Know Your Privacy Settings

- Provider Perspective

Modern birth control methods have done wonders to give women control of their lives. You might be like me--one of contraception’s biggest fans, shouting its praises from the rooftops.

But sometimes, you just want to keep your birth control on the down low. You could be worried about your little brother finding your pills and flushing them one-by-one down the toilet. Or maybe your younger sister thinks your NuvaRing is a jelly bracelet. Sometimes privacy around use of birth control is no laughing matter. Controlling parents or partners who find out about your birth control may get angry. If you need to keep your birth control method private for any reason, check out these options.

May 12th 2010

Contraception for Dudes: Blast to the Testes!

- Liz Sabatiuk

Wow. Could it be that scientists are finally on the brink of finding a safe, low-cost, long-acting, reversible method of birth control...for men?

May 10th 2010

Respect Me, Respect My Birth Control

- Laura Sessions Stepp

This piece is cross-posted from The Huffington Post.

*****

The title of the facebook post doesn't tell the whole story. But it says a lot:

"Standing Up To Idiots Who Think They Can Get Away With This"

April 30th 2010

The Contraception Learning Curve

- Provider Perspective

Not everybody’s doing it: about half of U.S. women younger than 20 are sexually active. But among women who are having sex, younger women are more likely to experience an unintended pregnancy. What’s the deal?

First let’s look at the numbers. A new report shows that, compared to older women, sexually active women aged 15-19 are more than twice as likely to have an unintended pregnancy.

March 26th 2010

Infertility: Birth control=Rubber, STIs=Glue

- Provider Perspective

Women under 30 years old are incredibly fertile – their ability to get pregnant is at its peak. In the U.S., about three in four sexually active women under 30 are using some type of birth control. But many of them ask me, does using birth control now hurt my chances of getting pregnant in the future? Sigh of relief: it does not.

All reversible birth control methods will help prevent pregnancy while you’re using them, but none have long-lasting effects on your ability to get pregnant when you stop. That’s why women who use the Pill but accidentally forget to take it for a few days can get pregnant that month.