What is Pregnancy?!

Pregnancy is caused by male sperm fertilizing the female egg, which then develops into an embryo.

Say no to abortion, say yes to safe sex.

The purpose of my blog is to give you basic information on three most widely used methods of contraception, so you can choose the most suitable one.

There are many worldwide debates on whether abortion is right or not, but what people really need to consider is how this topic can be completely avoided. The answer is safe sex! By making sure that you and you partner are safe and protected if you do not want a child, you can avoid all the problems and issues that arise with unwanted pregnancy and most importantly avoid the topic of abortion and killing an innocent living creature. 

The Pill.

Used by over 100 million women worldwide and the most popular way of contraception in UK is the Pill, which usually has to be taken for 21 days, with 7 day break for periods.

The Combined Pill contains two female hormones: an oestrogen and a progestogen, which stop the ovaries releasing an egg each month. It is 99% effective.

The Mini Pill contains only the hormone progestogen, which thickens the cervical mucus and that prevents the sperm from entering the uterus and travelling further down the tube to fertilize the egg.  This method is about 95% effective.

The Emergency pill or the Morning-After Pill is used after having unprotected sex, in case of condom splitting or forgetting to take the Pill. They disrupt the process of ovulation or fertilization for quick prevention of pregnancy. They can be used within 72 hours after having sex and the sooner you take them, the better!

The advantages of the Pill are regular bleeding and menstrual cycle, improvement or absence of premenstrual syndrome and the uncomfortable effects of it, improvement of acne and dysmenorrhea, reduction of risk of anemia due to lighter periods and reduction of lifetime risk of ovarian cancer.

The possible side effects of the pill are bleeding between periods, headaches, vomiting and feeling nauseous  weight gain, tender breasts and mood swings.

THE PILL!

Condoms.

Condoms are barrier methods of contraception that reduce the chance of pregnancy and sexual transmitted diseases such as AIDS herpes and chlamydia.  There are two main types of condoms existing.

Male condom is placed on an erect penis and it works by stopping the ejaculated semen from entering the vagina. It is made of thin latex, which is a type of rubber. Each condom has a one-time usage and has to be thrown away after the sexual act. They are 98% effective.

Female condom has to be inserted into the vagina with the use of closed-end ring and the other ring created the open end of the condom. It is a barrier between sperm and cervix. It is made out of polyurethane to avoid allergies and it is pre-lubricated. It is 95% effective.

Condoms are available in many different sizes and flavours so the right one can be selected.

The only side effect of the condom is that it can split or slip off making the sex unprotected.

There is an anti-rape condom existing for women, which cause the pain to the attacker to give the woman a chance to escape or find help.

There is also a collection condom, which was made to collect semen for infertility treatments or analysis of the sperm.

MALE AND FEMALE CONDOM DIAGRAMS!

Intrauterine device (IUD).

It is a T-shaped device made of plastic with a copper coil that has threads with two threads to allow an easier removal. It is inserted into the entrance of the womb usually during woman’s period and it can stay there for 5-10 years. It prevents the sperm from entering the uterus and in case it does the IUD makes the womb’s inside inhospitable, which means that a fertilized egg won’t be able to implant and develop. It is 98% effective.

From the way the device works, it can also be used as an emergency contraception for up to 5 days after the sexual act or after earliest ovulation.

It is a reversible method of contraception, but it is not a barrier method, so you are not protected from sexually transmitted diseases.

The advantages of IUD are not having to think about forgetting contraception, it does not have effects on the rest of the body as it does not contain hormones and it does not interfere with sexual process.

The possible side effects of IUD are cramps in the beginning, chance of infection, longer, heavier and more painful periods, damage to the womb when inserting and expulsion, when it may come out without you noticing.

The IUD can be fitted and removed by trained medical professionals only, who sometimes test for infection or provide antibiotics in case of infection.

IUD DIAGRAM!

REMEMBER!

All together there are 14 reliable methods of contraception available and they are good methods of birth control, so this is the reason why unplanned pregnancies and abortions should be rare. Remember to study in more detail the method that interests you and research other methods not mentioned on here. Contact your GP for more advice and information.