.Sex Ed 101.- so, you don’t want to get pregnant? July 30, 2008

.authored by something.of.substance.

Having sex? Cool with me. I’m not going to don the uniform of the morality police and provide unending lectures about how you should conduct your libido. That’s not my job. However, I would like to provide some very real and, it turns out, some very needed information about the mechanism of birth control in your life.

And by “your life”, I mean the life of everyone you’re having sex with as well. You see, the first thing you need to know is that it takes at least two people to get pregnant. With that being said, I’d like to provide some factual answers to some common misconceptions about pregnancy that, for some reason, still linger today:

1) You can get pregnant your first time.

Sperm and eggs don’t really care that you were a virgin before today or that you didn’t last as long as you intended. If they’re ready and you’re performing, there is always a chance for conception.

2) You can get pregnant even if you douche afterwards.

Really.  Douching actually can have the opposite effect of what’s intended; rather than cleaning out any fluids, you are more likely forcing them further toward your uterus.  Yikes.

3) You can get pregnant even if you’re having your period.

Sometimes your ovulation cycle is off or your body is bleeding for the wrong reason. You just don’t know. So, always assume it’s a possibility.

4) You can get pregnant while using birth control pills (or any form of birth control, for that matter) .

Birth control, of course, lowers the possibility of getting pregnant. However, neither birth control pills nor condoms nor spermicide completely prevent the risk of pregnancy. If you’re having sex, there is always a risk.

5) You can get pregnant even if you don’t, ahem, come inside.

There are sperm in the pre-ejaculate that is released. “Pre-” means before, so this substance is secreted before climax. Also, sperm can and have traveled. If they are anywhere near a vagina, they might boogie on in.

Now that those myths have been tackled, I’d like to explain the mechanism of the birth control pill. Before I do that, let me start by saying that BIRTH CONTROL PILLS DO NOT PREVENT STDs. This isn’t an STD blog (one of those is coming at a later time), but it always deserves mention. Also, CONDOMS DO NOT ALWAYS PREVENT STDs. I could discuss other methods of birth control such as a diaphragm and IUD, however, if you’re reading this site to inform you about pregnancy, you’re probably not talking to your doctor about one of these custom-fit devices. And, anytime you have sex, you’re agreeing to a risk of STDs and pregnancy. That’s just the deal you make for the good time.

Now, to explain the birth control pill. I’m not going to get into all of the biomechanical hormone specifics of The Pill. For the basics of what you need to know, they don’t exactly matter. Nonetheless, here is a run-down of how (the majority) of the Pills work:

The hormones in the birth control pill trick your body into thinking it is pregnant. If your body thinks it is pregnant, it will not ovulate. If you aren’t ovulating, you have nothing to fertilize and therefore aren’t going to get pregnant. At the end of the month, you take a couple of placebo, or sugar, pills and your body, no longer receiving the hormones, sheds your uterine lining sans egg. There it is. Simple, right? Well, not exactly. Sometimes, the hormones in the Pills aren’t strong enough and you still ovulate while taking them, making you open to conceive. And, if you don’t take the Pill every day at the same time, the levels of hormones in your body could flucuate and cause you to ovulate mid-cycle. If you miss a pill or two or three, the same thing could happen.

Also, you need to wait a bit for the hormones to work. If you start taking the pill at the end of your period, you have to wait at least 7 days (one week) before you are most probably protected. If you start taking them any other time, it would be best to wait an entire month and use condoms during that time!!! Really, you should wait a month no matter what and be using condoms anyway. Birth control pills are not full-proof and, again, the Pill does ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to prevent STDs.

Condoms are more effective at controlling the spread of STDs but do not have a 100% accuracy rate. They don’t prevent 100% of pregnancies, either. If a condom breaks or even gets the slightest tear in it, sperm could get out and you could become pregnant. Wearing double condoms doesn’t help; in fact, it has the opposite result! Two condoms on top of each other provide friction which could cause them to tear easier. If the condom slips off, you could become pregnant. And, even if used properly with absolutely no problems, sperm could still escape. Unlikely, but anything’s possible.

And, don’t ever assume the other person will be packing the protection. Taking care of yourself is always your responsibility! Go see a doctor about contraception , visit a clinic for a prescription for birth control pills, or head over the drug store to purchase some condoms. Embarrassed? Then why in the world are you letting someone bond with your crotch? I, personally, can’t imagine anything more embarrassing that telling someone that I barely know that not only am I carrying their non-love child, but that they seem to have given me a life-time subscription to Herpes Monthly.

The over-all message is that if you agree to engage in sexual activity, you agree to taking responsibility for your actions. Using nothing is making a pretty clear choice. And, only using some form of contraception some of the time is making the same choice: the choice to let nature take its course. If you feel fine about having someone else see you naked and share their body parts and fluids with you, you need to feel more than fine about talking about the consequences of those actions. Feeling good can be a riveting and positive consequence of sex, but that doesn’t mean everything else can go unmentioned.