7 Birth Control Myths
You can fudge lots of things in life – knowing the difference between Beaujolais and Bordeaux, how much money you made last year (versus how much money the IRS thinks you made), your shoe size, your cup size, whether you really came three times last night. But one thing you don’t ever want to fudge is your birth control. Nearly half of all pregnancies in the U.S. are unintended. If you don’t want to contribute to this statistic, read on to get the facts about some enduring contraception myths. After all, you know what they call people who either don’t use birth control or use it incorrectly? Parents. Plus: Test your birth control IQ…Myth #1: Breastfeeding prevents pregnancy.Fact: It is true that prolactin, the same hormone that produces breast milk, suppresses ovulation.
And under very specific circumstances – your baby is under six months old, your periods haven’t restarted and more than 90% of your baby’s nutrition comes from breastfeeding – the lactational amenorrhea method (a fancy term for breastfeeding as birth control) may work.
And under very specific circumstances – your baby is under six months old, your periods haven’t restarted and more than 90% of your baby’s nutrition comes from breastfeeding – the lactational amenorrhea method (a fancy term for breastfeeding as birth control) may work.
However, gynecologists don’t recommend relying on it because if your breastfeeding routine changes one iota, all bets are off.
“Women can ovulate while breastfeeding, so it’s not an excellent form of birth control,” says Dr. Bruce Rosenzweig, gynecologist and director of urogynecology at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.
“Breastfeeding shouldn’t be looked at as contraception. It should be looked at as what it is intended for – an excellent way of giving nutrition to a baby or young child.”
Myth #2: You won’t get pregnant if you’re using contraception.
Fact: Yes, the whole point of birth control is to prevent pregnancy.
But there’s a reason birth control methods are evaluated in terms of “perfect use” and “typical use.”
Most unplanned pregnancies occur because women don’t use their birth control “perfectly.”
They forget their contraception or cross their fingers that “just this once it’ll be safe.”
Obviously, you’re far less likely to get pregnant if you use your birth control correctly and consistently.
But even so, abstinence offers the only iron-clad guarantee.
“Women can ovulate while breastfeeding, so it’s not an excellent form of birth control,” says Dr. Bruce Rosenzweig, gynecologist and director of urogynecology at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.
“Breastfeeding shouldn’t be looked at as contraception. It should be looked at as what it is intended for – an excellent way of giving nutrition to a baby or young child.”
Myth #2: You won’t get pregnant if you’re using contraception.
Fact: Yes, the whole point of birth control is to prevent pregnancy.
But there’s a reason birth control methods are evaluated in terms of “perfect use” and “typical use.”
Most unplanned pregnancies occur because women don’t use their birth control “perfectly.”
They forget their contraception or cross their fingers that “just this once it’ll be safe.”
Obviously, you’re far less likely to get pregnant if you use your birth control correctly and consistently.
But even so, abstinence offers the only iron-clad guarantee.
“No birth control is one hundred percent effective for preventing pregnancy even if you believe you’re using it correctly all the time,” says Dr. Mitchell Creinin, director of family planning at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. The fact is, women have gotten pregnant after having their tubes tied.
Women have gotten pregnant after hysterectomies. “It’s very rare,” says Baltimore, Maryland-based OB/GYN Dr. Jean C. Hundley.
“But the bottom line is that any time you have sperm and egg, there’s a chance of pregnancy.”
Still, that’s no reason to take unnecessary chances.
According to Planned Parenthood, 85% of women ages 15-44 who don’t use contraception during intercourse become pregnant.
“The better you are at using your contraceptive method in the exact way it was intended, the closer you are going to get to one hundred percent,” Rosenzweig says.
Myth #3: Birth control pills are the most effective contraception.
Fact: Women who take the pill can have less than 1% risk of pregnancy.
But what’s not always understood is that this is only with “perfect use,” meaning the pills are taken consistently and correctly every single day, 365 days a year.
“For most humans, that’s impossible,” Creinin says. “Nobody says ‘I plan on missing two pills three months from now; I plan to forget to get my prescription refilled.’”
According to Planned Parenthood, only about 28% of women who take the pill take it correctly.
And with more typical use – meaning you miss a pill or don’t take it at the same time every day – there’s an 8% risk of unintended pregnancy.
By contrast, intrauterine devices (IUDs) have a typical use risk for pregnancy lower than 1%. (For more information on efficacy rates, visit plannedparenthood.org/birth-control-pregnancy/birth-control.htm.)
Myth #4: Your body needs a break from birth control pills.Fact: If you’re comfortable with your birth control pills, there’s no reason to take a break – unless you’re aiming to get pregnant.
“The only thing cycling off birth control pills does is to increase the likelihood that you will get pregnant,” Creinin says.
And staying on birth control pills provides many health benefits that have nothing to do with contraception – lower risk for acne, osteoporosis, pelvic inflammatory disease, ovarian cysts, anemia, PMS symptoms, and menopause-related vaginal dryness.
Research also shows that taking combination birth control pills (containing both estrogen and progestin) for as little as six months lowers a woman’s lifetime risk for ovarian and endometrial cancer by about 50%.
Take them for up to 10 years, and the risk drops by 80%.
“The only thing cycling off birth control pills does is to increase the likelihood that you will get pregnant,” Creinin says.
And staying on birth control pills provides many health benefits that have nothing to do with contraception – lower risk for acne, osteoporosis, pelvic inflammatory disease, ovarian cysts, anemia, PMS symptoms, and menopause-related vaginal dryness.
Research also shows that taking combination birth control pills (containing both estrogen and progestin) for as little as six months lowers a woman’s lifetime risk for ovarian and endometrial cancer by about 50%.
Take them for up to 10 years, and the risk drops by 80%.
Myth #5: Condoms are for guys.
Fact: The Female Health Company makes condoms for women.
Sold over-the-counter in the U.S. under the brand name Reality, the female condom is a polyurethane sheath with rings at both ends.
One ring fits over the cervix; the other sticks out of the vagina and partially covers the vaginal lips, a plus because it can rub against the clitoris and enhance sexual pleasure.
Female condoms can be inserted up to eight hours before sex, and they’re a great option if your guy gripes about wearing condoms himself.
Compared to male condoms, which are 85%-98% effective at preventing pregnancy, female condoms are 79%-95% effective.
Male and female condoms are the only birth control devices that also protect against sexually transmitted diseases.
You’ll find female condoms in drugstores and online.
Fact: The Female Health Company makes condoms for women.
Sold over-the-counter in the U.S. under the brand name Reality, the female condom is a polyurethane sheath with rings at both ends.
One ring fits over the cervix; the other sticks out of the vagina and partially covers the vaginal lips, a plus because it can rub against the clitoris and enhance sexual pleasure.
Female condoms can be inserted up to eight hours before sex, and they’re a great option if your guy gripes about wearing condoms himself.
Compared to male condoms, which are 85%-98% effective at preventing pregnancy, female condoms are 79%-95% effective.
Male and female condoms are the only birth control devices that also protect against sexually transmitted diseases.
You’ll find female condoms in drugstores and online.
Myth #6: IUDs are dangerous.
Fact: Intrauterine devices (IUDs), which are implanted in the uterus, got a very bad rap in the U.S. because one type of IUD, the Dalkon Shield (introduced in 1970 and recalled in 1975), caused pelvic infections that led to the deaths of 33 women and sterilized many others.
The problem with the Dalkon Shield, say gynecologists, was its multi-filament cotton tail that hung down through the cervical opening into the vagina.
“The cotton wick had these micro-niches that bacteria could get into.
They could crawl their way up the string and get into the uterus and then set up infections in the [fallopian] tubes,” Rosenzweig explains.
Today’s IUDs have tails made of single-filament synthetic material, and, according to Planned Parenthood, infection is rare.
“They are not the elevators for bacteria that the Dalkon Shield was,” Rosenzweig says. IUDs can stay in place for 5-12 years depending on the device.
That’s good news because fewer insertions lowers the risk of infection.
Fact: Intrauterine devices (IUDs), which are implanted in the uterus, got a very bad rap in the U.S. because one type of IUD, the Dalkon Shield (introduced in 1970 and recalled in 1975), caused pelvic infections that led to the deaths of 33 women and sterilized many others.
The problem with the Dalkon Shield, say gynecologists, was its multi-filament cotton tail that hung down through the cervical opening into the vagina.
“The cotton wick had these micro-niches that bacteria could get into.
They could crawl their way up the string and get into the uterus and then set up infections in the [fallopian] tubes,” Rosenzweig explains.
Today’s IUDs have tails made of single-filament synthetic material, and, according to Planned Parenthood, infection is rare.
“They are not the elevators for bacteria that the Dalkon Shield was,” Rosenzweig says. IUDs can stay in place for 5-12 years depending on the device.
That’s good news because fewer insertions lowers the risk of infection.
But because there is still a slight chance that vaginal bacteria will hitch a ride into the uterus during insertion, spread into the fallopian tubes and cause sterility, use condoms to protect yourself from STDs if you have multiple partners.
“An IUD won’t increase your risk of getting an STD,” Rosenzweig says. “But if you’re exposed to someone with an STD, it can increase the risk of it becoming an upper-tract infection.”
Myth #7: Plan B is a form of abortion.
Fact: No doubt because they are both pills, Plan B (aka emergency contraception or the morning-after pill) is often confused with the abortion pill, Mifeprex (aka the early-option pill).
Here’s the difference: Plan B is a concentrated dose of progesterone that reduces the risk for pregnancy by 75% if it’s taken within five days of having unprotected sex, although taking it within the first 24 hours is optimal.
Some regular birth control pills may also work.
Ask your gynecologist or call the Emergency Contraception Hotline at 800-584-9911 for information on where to find Plan B or how to use your own birth control pills for emergency contraception.
Mifeprex, on the other hand, is taken after you are already pregnant and decide you don’t want to be. It works with the synthetic hormone misoprostol to end the pregnancy within the first 49 days.
“An IUD won’t increase your risk of getting an STD,” Rosenzweig says. “But if you’re exposed to someone with an STD, it can increase the risk of it becoming an upper-tract infection.”
Fact: No doubt because they are both pills, Plan B (aka emergency contraception or the morning-after pill) is often confused with the abortion pill, Mifeprex (aka the early-option pill).
Here’s the difference: Plan B is a concentrated dose of progesterone that reduces the risk for pregnancy by 75% if it’s taken within five days of having unprotected sex, although taking it within the first 24 hours is optimal.
Some regular birth control pills may also work.
Ask your gynecologist or call the Emergency Contraception Hotline at 800-584-9911 for information on where to find Plan B or how to use your own birth control pills for emergency contraception.
Mifeprex, on the other hand, is taken after you are already pregnant and decide you don’t want to be. It works with the synthetic hormone misoprostol to end the pregnancy within the first 49 days.
Do You Know Your Birth Control Basics?Think you can separate contraception fact from fiction? Take our birth control quiz to find out if you're playing it safe... or playing pregnancy roulette.
By Norine Dworkin-McDaniel, Special to LifeScript
My favorite birth control method can be used by ANYONE, and it is 100% sure.
ReplyDeleteOral sex.
No one ever gets knocked up.