Withdrawal

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-20-2004
Withdrawal
4
Tue, 08-03-2004 - 3:51pm
I've been on this board for some time now and I just need to get something off my chest. In a lot of the messages I read, withdrawal is never looked at positively. It's always, "withdrawal is not an effective form of birth control." And I would agree with that to a certain degree. By itself, it certainly is not effective because sperm are released in pre-ejaculate. But for someone who is on hormonal birth control (I'm on the patch) don't you think that by pulling out, it lessens the risk of pregnancy even more than the 99%?

I know how hormonal birth control works. It should prevent ovulation, increase in the mucus and thin the lining of the uterus to make an unfertile environment for an embryo. However, if by chance I were to ovulate (hence the 1% failure rate), wouldn't it be better to withdraw and greatly reduce the amount of sperm entering me, thus lowering my chance of getting pregnant?

This is just something I've been thinking about. My boyfriend and I sometimes use condoms, usually not. He always withdraws and in addition to me being on the patch, it just makes sense to me that even though a little sperm does enter me, it is better than the amount that is contained in ejaculate.

Again, I agree that withdrawal would not be effective by itself. But in combination with the patch, it can only decrease (even if only a small amount) my chances of getting pregnant.

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-04-2003
In reply to: katoka
Tue, 08-03-2004 - 8:05pm
Katoka,

I'm with you. Even though i fully understand that alone withdrawal is not effective (even though for the longest time it was my form of contraceptive.... and i thank god that nothing happened!!) But anyways, now that i am on the pill, we continue to withdrawal. It gives me a little piece of mind. With pre-cum there may on be thousands of sperm versas millions of sperm if he were to ejaculate inside you. Just like winning the lottery, the more tickets you buy the better your chances are of winning... Although it only takes one ticket. So even though it's not the best form of backup, i still continue to use withdrawal method along with my bc so it will ease both of our minds as we wait for my periods to come : )

JMO

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
In reply to: katoka
Tue, 08-03-2004 - 8:05pm
I agree....If your form of birth control (the pill,patch,IUD,"ring",condom) is used or taken CORRECTLY and you also use "withdrawal" it SHOULD decrease the risk of pregnancy....but I would not rely on it as the ONLY form of birth control....
iVillage Member
Registered: 08-04-2004
In reply to: katoka
Wed, 08-04-2004 - 1:00am
I must say, I was nervous when I first started reading your post! But I definitely agree. Almost everyone I know on the patch, pill, depo, etc. uses that as their only method. If you're already protected, then withdrawal can only help (like you said it's a precent of a precent, but every bit helps!)-- it's when I hear about people who only use withdrawal or who use withdrawal and often skip pills that I worry.

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-20-2004
In reply to: katoka
Wed, 08-04-2004 - 3:42pm
Thanks so much for some support! I needed to hear a little positive feedback. I would never use withdrawal as my only method, its just something a little extra on top of the protection of the patch.

Thanks again!