Luckily, I”ve never gotten pregnant. As a woman with plenty of female friends, I”ve held hands, offered advice and support and pushed people to take a test during a couple of friends” pregnancy scares.
A few of my friends have gotten pregnant while using a method of birth control, whether it was pills or the pullout method.
If women don”t want to get pregnant, they should use more than one method of birth control.
If women aren”t financially, emotionally, physically and financially ready to have a child they should use two birth control methods or abstain from sex.
Abstinence is the only 100-percent effective way not to get pregnant.
“People have used birth control methods for thousands of years,” according to Planned Parenthood. “Today, we have many safe and effective birth control methods available to us.”
Less than one woman out of 100 gets pregnant each year when using vasectomy, female sterilization, intrauterine device, IUD, or implant for birth control, according to Planned Parenthood. When using the pill, patch, shot or ring as directed, two to eight women out of 100 get pregnant each year. Fifteen to 25 women out of 100 get pregnant each year when using barrier methods such as condoms and diaphragms and fertility awareness based methods. About 30 women out of 100 get pregnant each year when using the pullout method or spermicide.
One method isn”t enough to ensure women don”t get pregnant, even if those women use the birth control as directed.
My friends all got prego when using only one method.
A friend of mine, whom I admire, has had a steady boyfriend for years, but she still uses condoms and the pill. She is pro-abortion, he”s anti-abortion and she doesn”t want to deal with the possibility of having a child or lying and hurting her boyfriend.
Using a condom is smart, even if people have a monogamous relationship.
Men cannot be tested for human papilloma virus, HPV, according to Planned Parenthood. HPV can cause cervical cancer, as well as vagina, penis, anus and throat cancer. The only way to test for HPV is to screen for abnormal cell growth in the cervix.
So a couple could spread HPV to each other even if they tested clean at their latest doctor visit.
Condoms break, people have to remember them and they”re not the most effective form of birth control, but they”re better than having a lifelong disease that causes cancer.
Although many people don”t like using condoms because it feels like wearing a raincoat, it can protect against pregnancy, cancer and sexually transmitted infections such as HIV.
Taking birth control pills at the same time every day can get annoying, but women can switch to the patch, ring or shot.
Another friend of mine got pregnant while taking the pill every day at the same time. It was awful. But she had been sexually active for years usually only using one method.
It”s almost inevitable that fertile couples will get pregnant playing the odds for years.
Although hormonal birth control isn”t the most effective method, it”s more accessible and can be easily changed as opposed to sterilization or an IUD or implant.
The pullout method shouldn”t even be considered a method, with 30 percent of women getting pregnant when they do it right. It seems like something high schoolers would convince each other is a safe sex practice.
It”s not. Pre-ejaculation can get women pregnant.
A different friend joked while a group of women played with her baby because the pullout method didn”t work for her. She”s happy now and loves her baby. But the night she found out she was pregnant she cried on the floor for hours.
So far, most of my friends have been lucky and haven”t gotten STIs, but like pregnancy, it”s almost inevitable if people don”t insist on using condoms every time they have sex.
I understand that I”m not emotionally or financially ready to have a child.
Women should realistically look at their situation before having sex and make a smart decision to use safe birth control methods that will protect them.
Using birth control is better than wishing you had.
Katy Sweeny is a staff reporter for the Recod-Bee. She can be reached at ksweeny@record-bee.com or 263-5636, ext. 37
