We may not all be back on campus, but we understand the importance of contraceptives, right? Wrong. According to Planned Parenthood and the CDC, “fewer than half of high schools and only a fifth of middle schools teach all 16 topics recommended by the CDC as essential components of sex education” and in a study between 2011-2014, “43% of adolescent females and 57% of adolescent males did not receive information about birth control before they had sex for the first time.” Thankfully, Pacific has the resources to help students out when they need it, whether that means strolling down to the Student Health Center or helping connect you with organizations or people who can help.
Most of us know the basics of contraception: Condoms, the pill, and maybe a few others. But how many contraceptives are out there? The answer is lots! Planned Parenthood has a list of 18 methods of contraception, all of which are available to you through PP (varies on location) or through information found on their website. Now let’s get down to business to defeat the misconceptions, misinformation, and lack of knowledge surrounding birth control!
Let’s start with some wives tales that just aren’t true:
- “You can pee after sex or douche to prevent pregnancy”: NO NO NO! Peeing after sex is to prevent UTIs (urinary tract infections) that can be caused by bodily fluids or bacteria from going up your urethra during sex. Peeing will not prevent pregnancy–ever. Vaginas and urethras are not one and the same; they are two separate areas and one does not clean or cleanse the other.
- “It’s impossible to get pregnant while on your period”: Also untrue. You are at the greatest risk of getting pregnant during ovulation. And while you cannot ovulate while you menstruate, sperm can live up to 3 days inside the body. So if you’re at the end of your period and have unprotected sex, there is a possibility that you may ovulate while viable sperm is still inside of you.
- “Two condoms are better than one”: Friction says otherwise. Two condoms rubbing together have a higher chance of breaking than a lone condom, so if you want to be extra safe, try combining multiple different contraceptives into your sex life such as condoms and spermicide, or condoms and hormonal contraceptives.
- “The Pull-Out method works”: *Buzzer noise* Sorry, wrong again. While many people get lucky with this method, it has been proven to be ineffective. According to Planned Parenthood, about 1 in 5 who use this method (also known as coitus interruptus) get pregnant.
- “Certain positions, such as standing up, will prevent pregnancy”: Nope. As long as viable sperm is ejaculated into a fertile vagina, there will be a possibility that you or your partner may become pregnant, no matter the position, time of day, month, year, or the environment in which you have intercourse.
Contraceptives are not just important for preventing pregnancy; so same-sex couples, this is the time to put on your reading glasses too. Barrier protections like condoms, dental dams, and internal condoms are the only way to prevent the spread of STIs in sexually active individuals. No pill, implant, shot, or even coitus interruptus will protect you or your partner(s) from sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV, Herpes, Chlamydia, Syphilis, or Gonorrhea. And while bacterial infections can be cured, viral infections cannot be. Always use barrier protection when having sexual intercourse with one or more partners and keep in mind that if you are having sex with multiple people at a time, change the barrier protection after each partner so as to not transfer something from one partner to the other. — Haley Berger
Photo by Anna Shvets from Pexels
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