KissMeGoodnight
eLearning Series:
Your Sexual Health
Teenage
Girls: Your Birth Control Options
Safe sex and birth control are like apples
and oranges. They are both fruit but are different. There are
several safe birth control methods that a teenage girl can
consider for birth control. Condoms are great for controlling
sexually transmitted diseases and HIV. If you are in a committed
relationship with your partner that means you and your partner
are sleeping only with each other. It is still important to
make sure you both have been checked for sexually transmitted
disease within the past six months. If you have then it is
worth your time to look into other birth control options.
What types of birth control do not work?
Pulling
Out Method – A man may tell you he will not ejaculate
inside you and he may even be very sincere. In the passion
of the moment, some men cannot pull out before ejaculation.
If you are unprotected, you can find yourself pregnant. If
any ejaculate or pre-ejaculate makes its way into your vaginal
area, those little sperms will find their way to your egg.
The
Rhythm Method - can work if you have a very regular cycle
and practice it perfectly. Unfortunately, many teenagers and
grown women do not have a regular cycle. This type of birth
control demands constant attention along with the cooperation
of your partner, because you cannot have sex at certain times.
Douching
with carbonated beverages (or any other substance), jumping
up and down, hot baths. The folkloric
methods people
have to prevent pregnancy can range from useless to dangerous.
DO NOT use them! The moment the semen in inside you, it makes
sure the sperm find their way to the cervix and from there
they find the egg. There is no way to "get it out" except
do not get it in there in the first place. The fluids that
come out of the vagina after sex is dead sperm, seminal fluid
and vaginal fluid, not the good sperm that will get you pregnant.
What types of birth control do work?
Condoms are effective at inhibiting sexually transmitted diseases
and keeping the sperm from making their way to the cervix.
If you go this route, you want to choose latex condoms and
use a water-based lubrication. An oil-based lubrication can
destroy the latex. When used properly, condoms have an effective
birth control rate of about 98 percent.
The
Female Condom - Sold in the United States under the name
Reality. A polyurethane tube looks a bit like a big male condom.
One end goes inside the vagina, covering the cervix, the other
end remains outside the vagina. This makes a plastic tunnel.
This may be a consideration if your partner refuses to wear
a condom. On the other hand, if your partner refuses to wear
a condom, you may want to consider what their reasons are.
Do not be the only one in the relationship giving into sexual
preferences. This is the only birth control method besides
the male condom that offers near-total STD and HIV protection.
The success rate is approximately 80 percent.
The
Pill - Hormone pills you take at the same time every day.
Used right, they are approximately 97 percent to – 98 percent
effective in preventing pregnancy. (Remember, they offer no
protection against STDs or HIV.). Some women experience side
effects--painful breasts, weight gain, nausea, headaches, and
depression, while others have none. There are different varieties
of Pill, so you can switch kinds if you are having trouble.
One plus for women with painful periods is that the Pill often
makes this special time almost cramp-free, as well as shorter
and less gushing. Long-term effects on fertility after being
on the pill for many years can cause problems later when wanting
children.
Norplant
– is match stick-size capsules that the doctor plants
in your arm. Over five years, they slowly release synthetic
progesterone and approximately four percent of women who are
on Norplant become pregnant. However, smokers should avoid
this method, because Norplant increases the risk of cardiovascular
problems. Like the Pill, it has also been linked to breast
cancer. In addition, about 75% of women using Norplant have
irregular menstruation the first year, and some have serious
spotting between periods. It does not offer STD or HIV protection,
and it may be less effective for women who weigh more than
154 pounds. # # # # #
KissMeGoodnight.com
: 2006
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