The term “health” can cover so many areas of life. This includes being responsible with your sexual activity. Today’s guest blogger, Florence Aguilar is a registered nurse who knows her birth control methods. Keep reading to know your options!
To live a happy and contented life we ought to make plans. Get a decent job in the corporate world, find a suitable lifetime partner and bear three adorable kids. Fast forward to a few years later and you landed on a respectable white-collar job in the city, got married to a gorgeous wife and had five beautiful children. What ever happened to having three kids you ask?
Birth control or otherwise known as fertility control and contraception makes use of devices and methods in order to prevent pregnancy. When a husband and wife work together to plan the number of children they are going to bear they are actually practicing family planning. In order to gain control the couple must decide to utilize any of the contraceptive methods introduced to the public. Aside from the use of contraception to thwart pregnancy it is also used to prevent sexually transmitted diseases.
Since we all want the best for our family/spouse it is imperative that we choose the best birth control method there is. But how can we know if what we chose is the best? The following are the accepted birth control methods that can be practiced and used by couples who want to control their pregnancies.
1. Abstinence. Abstaining vaginal, oral and anal sex at all times. This is the surest way to prevent pregnancy and to protect you against sexually transmitted diseases.
2. The natural family planning method or the rhythm method. With the rhythm method you don’t copulate or use barrier methods on days when your wife is most fertile days (days when she is most likely to get pregnant). This is applicable and is most useful for women who have regular menstrual periods. Her fertile days will be five days before and three days after she ovulates including the day of ovulation. For the rhythm method the woman should check her cervical mucus as well as her body temperature. Her vaginal discharge during fertile periods will be slippery and clear and her temperature will rise to about 0.4 to 0.8° F on the first day of ovulation.
3. Barrier methods. Examples that fall under the barrier methods are condoms (both male and female), diaphragm, cervical cap and cervical shield. The female condom is a thin and flexible rubber worn inside the vagina and this serves as a barrier to keep sperm from getting inside. The condom must be inserted up to eight hours before intercourse. The male condom is made of polyurethane or latex placed around the erect penis. This keeps the sperm from entering the vagina.
A diaphragm is a thin latex cup, the cervical cap is shaped like a thimble and it’s also made of latex, the cervical shield is made of silicone and has a one-way valve. This valve creates a suction that enables it to fit perfectly inside the cervix. Before intercourse add spermicide in all devices and then insert gently inside the vagina. All three must be left inside for about six to eight hours after sexual intercourse. This is done to ensure the prevention of pregnancy. The diaphragm can stay within twenty four hours but not more than that. The cap and the shield can stay a day longer, that’s 48 hours.
Before you decide on a method you must consider a few things. One is your overall health, how frequent you have sex, the number of sexual partners you intend of having, the number of kids you are planning on, the mechanics of each contraception and its side effects and the level of comfort you’ll soon experience with contraceptives. These considerations are important so you can narrow down your options. Also, it is important that you seek the opinion and advice of your doctor. They can very well explain each method with precision.
About the Author
Florence Aguilar is a registered nurse working for NaturalTongkatali.com, is an avid health writer who keeps himself abreast of the latest research and studies on Tongkat Ali Extract and Health Topics. He believes in the benefits of continued learning and aims to inspire and make the world a better place for both men and women through his writings.