Birth Control - HELP!
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Birth Control - HELP!
| Wed, 01-04-2006 - 2:44pm |
When I first became sexually active I relied on condoms only as I was insured by my parents', etc.
Well that was many years ago, and since then, I was on the pills and still used condoms as birth control.
My current boyfriend and his ex only ever relied on the pill as birth control. I am hesitant to only rely on the pill. When my boyfriend tried to put on a condom he lost his erection.
I asked him about his sexual past as far as birth control and he said that he and his ex only used the pill.
How effective is the pill when not used with condoms?

Hi ldysprtn, welcome!
Condoms are the only method of contraception that provides effective protection against most STDs. So it would be a good idea to be tested and be sure you, as a couple, are free of any STDs before stopping the use of condoms.
Planned Parenthood says the pill is from 92% effective when used typically to 99.7% effective when used perfectly See: http://www.plannedparenthood.org/pp2/portal/files/portal/medicalinfo/birthcontrol/pub-birth-control-02.xml "Typical Use": refers to failure rates for women and men whose use is not consistent or always correct while "Perfect Use": refers to failure rates for those whose use is consistent and always correct.
If condoms and the pill are used together and used perfectly the theoretical combined effectiveness is something like 99.9%. You will still need condoms (or another effective method of contraception) as back-up occasionally if you forget pills or are on medicines that may decrease the effectiveness of your pills.
When I was on the pill for 3 years I only used condoms if I was on antibiotics that might decrease the effectiveness of my pills and I never had I bit of trouble but I was careful to take them as correctly as I could. Millions of women rely solely on the pill for protection and are satisfied with its effectiveness. However, if that isn’t good enough for you or for the occasions when you will need back-up you might want to consider a cervical barrier like a diaphragm or cervical cap, or use a vaginal spermicide or contraceptive sponge. The effectiveness of barriers (when used with a good spermicide) is given in the PP link above. The effectiveness of the sponge is about 80%.
For tips on getting the most from your pills see the post in the FAQs on the Birth Control board. The link to that post is: http://messageboards.ivillage.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=iv-bhcontracept&msg=12785.1&ctx=0
Thanks for posting. If you have more questions, please ask. Let us know what you decide, ok?
Good luck,
Jill
I do think that the pill is a good form of birth control, probably one of the best, but I do agree with Jill on the need for a complete STD screening by both partners before you begin to have sexual relations without a condom.