7 Cups 5th Birthday Day 1: 5 Facts about Birth Control!
This year, for 7 Cups's 5th birthday, the Sexual Health team wants to share 5 facts for 5 days about different Sexual Health topics!
First up: Birth Control!
1. Globally, 64% of married women or women with a partner use contraception, with rates as high as 75% in North America. While in a longer term partnership you generally know whether there is a risk of sexually transmitted diseases/infections, anytime you have a new partner and you do not know if they have been tested recently, it's best to use a method that protects against STDs/STIs as well as pregnancy.
2. While abstinence is the only 100% way to avoid unplanned pregnancy, many birth control methods can be incredibly effective, used correctly. That said, a lot of people do not use birth control correctly, whether on the pill and missing doses or taking at different times, or not knowing how to put on a condom currectly. Whatever your contraceptive method, make sure you know how to use it! You can see the difference in effectiveness used properly and how most use it in the NYTimes link at the bottom
3. The first record of birth control dates back to an Egyptian manuscript from 1550 BC and it has been gaining in prevalence ever since. Today there are ~16 different types of birth control methods, including abstinence, condoms, pills, IUDs, and other forms of hormonal and non-hormonal birth control. Things to consider when choosing the right birth control for you include reliability of the method, ease of use of the method, potential side-effects, and health risks. Learn more about the range of options in the planned parenthood link below
4. Even though access to birth control and acceptance of its use is much better today than in the past, there are still big gaps, with 53% of women in Africa, 21% in Asia, and 22% in Latin America and the Caribbean having an unmet need for contraception. Some of the biggest reasons for not using contraception among those who want to avoid pregnancy are limited access to contraception, fear of side-effects, cultural/religious opposition, gender-based barriers.
5. People use birth control for a range of reasons, and in particular the pill has been used to help fight acne, painful period cramps, ovarian cysts, facial hair, fibrocystic breast changes, anemia, and some cancers. Learn more about how in the link from health.com below
Plus a bonus infographic - note: this is not a full list of options or medical advice, but a way to start thinking about some options. All birth control decisions can be discussed with your doctor for more information and guidance on the right answer for you!
resources:
https://www.birthcontrol.com/international-contraception-day-2017/
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/09/14/sunday-review/unplanned-pregnancies.html
https://www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-birth-control
http://www.health.com/sexual-health/birth-control-facts#4-pill-birth-control
https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/birth-control
@Anomalia
This is a great thread! Very informative and helpful!!
So true about the pull, is almost impossible to take it su exactly the same time every day
Since we're talking about facts, I have to say I take some issue with claiming that abstinence is "the only 100% way to avoid unplanned pregnancy". Even if you decide not to have sexual contact with anyone (abstinence) there are situations where one can still be forced to become pregnant. In fact, the actual ONLY real 100% way to avoid unplanned pregnancy is a hysterectomy, as even sterilization procedures have a very small chance of being unsuccessful (less than 1%) at preventing pregnancy.
Additionally abstinence may also be effected by hormonal driving forces that can influence your decisions to have sex where you otherwise may not have. Although you could say that the moment you choose to have sex then you're no longer practicing abstinence to counter that, but I think that does expose another reliability factor to abstinence on the whole.
While abstinence can be 100% effective where you can remain abstinent, remaining abstinent is another issue entirely, therefore abstinence should not be considered a particularly reliable method of contraception. That all being said, for the vast majority of couples neither abstinence nor a hysterectomy is a particularly reasonable method of contraception. When thinking about contraception your first thoughts should be the contraceptive pill, not abstinence.
Here's some data about the efficacy of some methods of preventing pregnancy including some medical procedures:
100% - Hysterectomy (removal of the uterus)
99.9% - The Pill (combined/progestin - when taken correctly)
99.8% - Vasectomy (male sterilization)
99.5% - Tubal Ligation (female sterilization/tubes tied)
99.5% - Hormonal IUD (Progestin)
99.2% - Copper IUD (the coil)
94% - Depo Provera (DMPA injection)
88% - Diaphragm (female condom)
80% - Condom
78% - Withdrawal method (pulling out)
15% - No method
N/A - Continuous Abstinence, there is no established rate with typical use.
A side note about the pill, when taken correctly it has a 99.9% efficacy rate but figures show it to be around 91% with overall usage.
@SentryTheDefiant - Those are fair points about why abstinence is not realistic for many people. I will suggest reviewing this link on birth control efficacy which projects out 10 years the number who will become pregnant using various methods, both with perfect use and with typical use. As you said, the pill with typical use is ~91% effective in one year, but over time that adds up. For those who are confidant in their ability to take at the same time every day, this is a great option, but for those who think they might tend more towards the "typical use" than the "perfect use" category, there are other methods that remove some of the potential for human error (e.g., hormonal implants and hormonal or non-hormonal IUDs). Ultimately, the right birth control option varies for each person, but finding an option that works for you is important, as is understanding how to use it properly!
