The words: vagina, penis, sperm, cervix, womb, and uterus will be spoken about

during this slide show, simply to describe how pregnancy occurs and how

contraception works. If at any time you need to step out of the presentation, that’s no

problem at all. No hard feelings

American Heritage Dictionary: Voluntary limitation or control of the number of children

conceived, especially by planned use of contraceptive techniques.

Laymen’s terms: a way to prevent pregnancy

*Note, there’s forms of contraception for both men and women*

Birth Control

Pregnancy can only occur when a man’s sperm touches a girl’s egg. Transmen and

transwomen who have gone through genitalia surgery can not become pregnant

or get another person pregnant.

The only way to 100% prevent pregnancy is to NOT engage in sex or sex-like activities with a partner of the

opposite sex. Some of the “strongest” forms of contraception have a .01% of having pregnancy

occurring, but even then, there’s still a slight chance. The more forms of birth control the lesser the chance.

Myth: Women use birth control just to stop getting pregnant

False! Women use birth control to help regulate their periods, prevent pregnancies, and to relieve symptoms of “PMS” and their cycle

Myth: The pill is the only form of birth control for women

False! Women have a wide selection of methods to try to use. Every woman responds differently to hormonal based treatments.

Myth: You don’t need birth control while breast feeding

False! While the hormones that contribute to pregnancy are LOWERED during breast feeding, this is nowhere near “bullet proof”. This myth has contributed to many “unplanned” pregnancies

Myth: If you miss your menstrual period while taking birth control, you’re unhealthy

False! While a missed period could mean a woman is pregnant if she’s recently had sex, it could also just be the aftereffect of taking the birth control, as stated earlier, everyone reacts differently to hormonal based treatments

Planned Parenthood’s suggestions for male contraception are:

1) Abstinence

2) Condom usage

3) Vasectomy

4) Withdrawl

ABSTINENCE

Abstinence is the act of physically/consciously choosing to refrain from having sex

CONDOMS

Condoms are latex (or latex-free) ways to wrap the penis or cover the vagina to prevent body fluids from contacting the partner’s body. Not all condoms are built the same and different condoms have different pregnancy rates

VASECTOMY

Vasectomies are a medical procedure in which a man’s sperm is prevented from leaving the body, it is a sterilization process for men

WITHDRAWL

Withdrawing is the process of removing the penis from the vagina before ejaculation occurs. This requires a large amount of self control and is not always 100% effective.

Counting a girl’s days between her monthly cycles is an EXTREMELY unreliable way to

prevent pregnancy. Different life circumstances can possibly effect a

woman’s menstruation cycle such as: stress, diet, exercise change, etc…

IMPLANON/NEXPLANON

The implanon and nexplanon are implants that go into the arm. The implanon lasts 3 years and the nexplanon lasts 5 years. They both have a .1-1% chance of pregnancy occurring. It is hormone based.

ORTHO EVRA (THE PATCH)

The patch is literally a patch you stick on your body for one week, replace it, and continue it until you have done it for 3 weeks, “break” for a week, then start the cycle over again. The packages come in a month’s supply. It is hormone based and has 1% chance of pregnancy is used correctly. Women can NOT put this patch over their breast tissue and it is discouraged to put the patch over the same area on the body for more than a week.

PILLS

The pill is a form of birth control where a woman takes a pill once a day, every day (sometimes not, depends on the brand, some require a certain hour it needs to be taken on every day). Different brands have different rates of contraception. It is hormone based.

DEPO PROVERA (THE SHOT)

The “depo shot” is a shot that goes in the body that lasts for 12 weeks and must be continued once every 12 weeks for it to be used for its full effective use. It is hormone based. It has a less than 1% chance of pregnancy.

TODAY’S SPONGE (THE SPONGE)

The sponge is a sponge inserted in a woman’s vagina to prevent pregnancy and contains spermicide. It prevent sperm from reaching the woman’s egg. It is more effective for women who have never given birth. It has a 9% pregnancy rate for women who haven’t given birth and a 20% chance of pregnancy.

NUVARING (VAGINAL RING)

The nuvaring is a small, flexible ring insert into the woman’s vagina to prevent pregnancy. It lasted 3 weeks, the woman “breaks” a week, and then the cycle continues. It is a hormone based contraception. It has a less than 1% chance of pregnancy when used properly.

CERVIX CAP (THE CAP)

The Cap is a cap inserted into the vagina to prevent pregnancy. It is highly recommended to use with spermicide. It blocks sperm from meeting with the egg. For women who have never given birth, it has a 14% chance at pregnancy. For women who have already given birth, it has a 29% pregnancy rate.

DIAPHRAGM

The diaphragm is a cup inserted into the vagine to prevent pregnancy. It keeps sperm from joining with the egg and it’s recommended to use spermicide with it. For women who use it as directed, there is a 6% chance of pregnancy.

IUD

The IUD is a T-shaped device inserted into the uterus via surgery. Paraguard (contains copper) brand last 12 years. Mirena, another brand lasts 5 years (hormone based), Skyla, another brand lasts 3 years (hormone based). The hormone based brands prevent the egg from leaving the ovary to join with the sperm. There is less than 1% chance of pregnancy with all forms of the IUD.

Every woman’s body reacts differently to hormones. What might be “smooth sailing” for one

woman might be total hell for another woman. Please consult with a doctor and discuss all

medications you take, any illness/pathogen you suffer from, etc… before considering taking

hormone based contraception (also, try to see if you have an allergy to latex because of condems).

Sometimes gynecology clinics give out “free samples” of contraception. Some contraception is

1000+ USA dollars. Everything depends on individual plans (insurance), the brand, and what venue you use to get the contraception (doctor,

gynecologist, etc…).

Personal experience, I have Blue Cross Blue Shield, the patch cost ~120 dollars for 1 month’s supply, nexplanon cost ~800 dollars for the 3 year use (no

monthly plan to break it up).

Some diseases make it tough to have contraception, especially hormone based

treatments. Some STDS make hormone based treatments ineffective. Endometriosis is a female disease where cells that line the womb (uterus)

grow in other areas of the body. This can lead to pain, irregular cycles, and infertility. This condition

is one of many that makes contraception usage difficult. Some people have an allergy to latex,

making condemn use difficult

Birth control used for extended periods of time (10+ years) risks women becoming infertile. Typically

contraception used for 5 years or less have little to no effective on overall fertility of a female. The

“ideal” range for females to get pregnant is between ages 21-30. Before that age, there’s many birth

defects that could possibly occur because the female body hasn’t fully “matured” yet. After age 30, the human body begins to gradually breaking down,

making pregnancy more difficult to occur. Men can get any woman pregnant after puberty (typically

between ages 10-15). Females start puberty typically between ages 8-12.

Once sperm is released into the woman, it can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 12 hours for the sperm to meet with the egg. The sooner the

“morning after” pill is taken after intercourse, the higher the chance of lessening the chance of

pregnancy. Note, the morning after pill does NOT terminate a pregnancy, if the sperm has already

met the egg.

Some contraception inserted into the human body is limited with how long it can be in the body (such as the nexplanon-arm implant-). After the expiration date, the contraception does not suddenly drop to 0% being effective, it is just not expected to work

up to it’s full efficiency. For example, if the nexplanon has a 1% chance of becoming pregnant within the first 3 years of having it in the arm, if the person continued to have it in, the percentage may

change to 10%.

An important note is that spermicide actually INCREASES the chance of an STD occurring, due to the fact that it breaks down cell walls within a woman’s vagina. Some professionals say that

spermicide is fine as long as it is not used more than once a day, and not used for anal intercourse, with multiple partners or

with a partner who has HIV. Spermicide has a 70-80% rate at effectively preventing pregnancy.

Condoms—when used correctly and consistently—prevent pregnancy about 98 percent of the time.

The typical effectiveness rate—where mistakes are made or condoms break—is about 82 percent.

Hormone based contraception can be used for other purposes, besides not getting pregnant.

Some women use hormone based contraception for better menstrual cycles (less cramps, not as heavy bleeding, etc…). As noted before, every woman’s body will react differently to having

additional hormones in their body. It should be noted as well that the average overall amount of additional hormones released in the female body with contraception is roughly 30-35%. The patch

releases on average about 65%.