Birth control is a regimen of one or more actions, devices, or medications followed in order to deliberately prevent or reduce the likelihood of a woman becoming pregnant or giving birth. For many people, birth control is an integral component of family planning. Mechanisms which are intended to reduce the likelihood of the fertilisation of an ovum by a spermatozoon may more specifically be referred to as contraception.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birth_control
Birth Control Overview
From Healthwise
http://health.msn.com/encyclopedia/healthtopics/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=10006831
Birth Control Guide
http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/1997/babytabl.html
The Food and Drug Administration has approved a number of birth control methods. The choice of birth control depends on factors such as a person's health, frequency of sexual activity, number of sexual partners, and desire to have children in the future. Failure rates, based on statistical estimates, are another key factor. The most effective way to avoid both pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease is to practice total abstinence (refrain from sexual contact).
Failure Rates in this chart are based on information from clinical trials submitted to the FDA during product reviews. This number represents the percentage of women who become pregnant during the first year of use of a birth control method. For methods that the FDA does not review, such as periodic abstinence, numbers are estimated from published literature. For comparison, about 85 out of 100 sexually active women who wish to become pregnant would be expected to become pregnant in a year.
Serious medical risks from contraceptives, such as stroke related to oral contraceptives, are relatively rare. This chart is a summary of important information, including risks, about drugs and devices approved by the FDA for contraception and sterilization. It is not intended to be used alone, and a health professional should be consulted regarding any contraceptive choice. Review product labeling carefully for more information on use of these products.
Family Planning Program
Birth control
http://www.metrokc.gov/health/famplan/birthcontrol/
Birth Control Myths
http://www.coolnurse.com/bcmyths.htm
There are birth control methods that are medically proven to be effective in preventing an unwanted pregnancy. There are also many other methods that some people think will work to avoid pregnancy, which don't work. We're glad you're reading about birth control methods. We think it's just as important for you to know what doesn't work as what does. If you don't want to get pregnant, don't believe or practice any of the following so-called birth control methods.
Several myths, or stories, about birth control deal with what is supposed to be the "safe" time of the month for a woman. Maybe you've heard that a woman can have intercourse without worrying about pregnancy three days before and three days after her period. Or that she can't get pregnant during her period.
NONE OF THIS IS TRUE. Unless you are using a medically proven effective method of birth control, she could get pregnant any time of the month that she has sexual intercourse. There are several reasons for this. Even if a woman's periods are pretty regular, she can never be sure when her ovaries are releasing an egg. Ovulation, the release of the egg from the ovaries, has nothing to do with when you had your last period. It depends on when you will have your next period, which is something you can never be sure of. Especially for younger women, this is a very risky approach to birth control, because for the first few years in the woman's periods will probably be very irregular.
Sickness, emotional strain, even a change in the seasons can affect the ovulation cycle in women of all ages. Remember, also, that the life of sperm is five to seven days. Trying to figure out the safe period of the month is also called the rhythm method, it is very unsafe.
Some people believe that you can rinse out sperm from the vagina and uterus after sexual intercourse. You may have heard that douching, which means squirting a liquid into the vagina, will rinse out the sperm. Or that urinating or taking a bath or shower will wash it out. WRONG! Another myth.
Douching with Coca Cola is supposed to kill sperm - and it does, but we don't recommend it, unless you are in Science Class and doing it in a test tube.
Some people think that deodorant vaginal suppositories or deodorant vaginal sprays will also kill sperm. Again, none of these are methods for birth control and equally important is the fact that they can be harmful and none of these methods work.
There are stories that say you can't get pregnant depending on how you "do it," or how often you've done it before. Like you can't get pregnant if you do it standing up. Or you can't get pregnant if you're doing it for the first time.
I remember hearing that you can't get pregnant during the full moon if you "do it" standing up in a closet. Now that sounds a bit like a myth, doesn't it? It is a myth. Warning: A birth control method that depends on position, or how many times you have sex, is not a birth control method.
Some people believe that a woman can't conceive if she doesn't have an orgasm. The fact is that whether or not a woman has an orgasm has nothing to do with her ability to get pregnant.
Some couples rely on having the guy pull out -- that is, removing the man's penis form the woman's vagina just before he thinks he will ejaculate. This is just as risky as any other things we've talked about. First, there is usually a drop or two of clear fluid at the tip of the penis that appears before ejaculation, and these drops usually contain a few sperm. Since it takes only one sperm to unite with the egg for pregnancy to occur, ejaculation isn't always necessary. Sometimes all it takes is putting the penis inside the vagina. Second, ejaculation is often such a powerful physical and emotional feeling that a guy doesn't have total control over it, no matter what he thinks. Sometimes a man means to pull out, but gets carried away and doesn't. Also, it's hard for a guy to know exactly when he'll ejaculate. Third, if a guy pulls out and ejaculates near his partner's vagina, a few sperm might mix with the moisture around the vagina and move into it. Some sperm are great swimmers!
Birth control pills are very effective - but only if the pills are taken according to your the correct directions, as we discussed in The Pill section. Many people believe that being on the pill means taking one a month, or one before sexual intercourse, or one after. See the FAQ pages for what to do if you missed a pill. If you want something to use once a month, read about Lunelle or Depo-Provera.
Plastic sandwich wrap around the penis may sound like a good substitute for a condom, but it's not! Wrap your lunch with it instead.
No, tooth paste is not a spermicide, never use it in place of one. (yes, people ask me that).
Use of birth control pill lowers risk of disease
Contrary to previous studies, findings cite benefits for women
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/health/196208_pill21.html
PHILADELPHIA -- The same huge federal study that led millions of women to abandon use of hormones after menopause now provides reassurance that another hormone concoction -- the birth control pill -- is safe.
In fact, women on the pill had surprisingly lower risks of heart disease and stroke and no increased risk of breast cancer, contrary to what many previous studies have found.
Doctors say the type of hormones and the stage of life when they're used may be what makes them helpful at one point and harmful at another.
"We're still learning more and more about the biology," said one of the researchers, Dr. Michael Diamond of Wayne State University in Detroit.
The new findings are from nearly 162,000 participants in the Women's Health Initiative, the largest women's health study ever done and one of the biggest on oral contraceptives. Results were presented yesterday at an American Society for Reproductive Medicine conference.
About 16 million American women currently take birth control pills and hundreds of millions have used them since the first one came on the market in 1960. Most combine synthetic forms of estrogen and progestin in various doses.
Women taking these hormones after menopause were more likely to have heart disease and certain cancers -- a finding that prompted part of this large study to be stopped in 2002.
Previous research on oral contraceptives suggested that they, too, raised the chances of heart disease. But the new study found the opposite -- lower risk of heart attacks, strokes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and other heart-related problems among the 67,000 women in the study who had ever taken the pill.
Overall, "there's an 8 percent risk reduction of ever having cardiovascular disease" among women who had ever taken birth control pills, said the lead researcher, Dr. Rahi Victory of Wayne State. "If you use oral contraceptives early on, you're probably going to be protected later in life."
Women on the pill also had a 7 percent lower risk of developing any form of cancer -- a small benefit that increased with length of use, Victory said. For example, women who took birth control pills for four years or more had 42 percent lower risk of ovarian cancer and 30 percent lower chances of developing uterine cancer.
No effect was seen on the risk of some specific cancers -- breast, colon or bladder. But that was good news because of the previous work suggesting pill use made breast cancer more likely.
Studies in animals suggest that estrogen may reduce inflammation in the bloodstream and help prevent deposits from forming and blocking vessels, Victory said. But that was seen in animals whose estrogen levels were relatively constant for a long time -- not the situation of women whose estrogen declines before menopause.
"Those women went for a prolonged period of time without estrogen and then were re-exposed to estrogen" when they took so-called hormone replacement therapy after menopause, Victory said.
"By that time, they may already have atherosclerotic plaque in their arteries," Diamond added. "At that time, estrogen may aggravate the disease."
Dr. Robert Rebar, a gynecologist who is executive director of the reproductive medicine group, said the type of hormone may make a difference, too.
Birth control pills contain four to six times the amount of estrogen as even the lowest formulations of hormone replacement therapy. But the most popular form of the latter uses estrogen derived from horse urine; birth control pills use a synthetic, manufactured form of it.
"That is totally different," he said. "We can't equate them."
The $625 million Women's Health Initiative study was done at 40 locations around the country and funded by the National Institutes of Health. Wyeth provided the hormone pills for the menopause portion of the study, but no oral contraceptive makers financed any part of that research.
Birth Control Comparisons
http://www.fwhc.org/birth-control/index.htm
FDA OKs 'No-Period' Birth Control Pill
http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=81291
New birth-control pill can stop menstruation
http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentinel/17309769.htm
By Fred Tasker
McClatchy Newspapers
(MCT)
A new birth control pill that can stop menstruation forever? Yes, the FDA approved such a pill last week, the first time it's taken such an action.
Here are some key issues to consider:
Q: "What is this new pill?"
A: It's a slightly lower dose of the same hormones - progesterone and estrogen - contained in most regular birth control pills. It's called Lybrel and made by Wyeth Pharmaceuticals.
Q: "How does it work?"
A: It's taken once a day 365 days a year.
Q: "What do doctors say?"
A: "For women with such painful periods that they're laid up for days, or patients who have severe anemia and heavy periods, it makes sense," says Dr. Paul Norris, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Miami School of Medicine.
Q: "What do women say?"
A: Many are cautiously optimistic. "Where you can avoid debilitating cramps, it's a great idea," says Dr. Judith Horowitz, a Coral Springs psychologist and fertility expert. "For work productivity, it should be excellent."
Q: "Is it safe never to menstruate?"
A: Yes, say most doctors. When menstruation occurs, the uterus sloughs off its endometrium, the layer of cells that has been building up to facilitate implantation of sperm needed for conception. When your period ends, the process starts over. But when you're on the new pill, the endometrium is suppressed, so menstruation isn't necessary. "Studies, even biopsies, have shown that it's safe," Norris says.
Q: "What about long-term use?"
A: Doctors for years have been telling patients with debilitating periods to stay on their regular birth-control pills without taking a week off for menstruation, said Dr. Guillermo Lievano, an obstetrician/gynecologist at Baptist Hospital.
Q: "Is there a downside?"
A: The biggest is that women in the clinical trial of the new pill had breakthrough bleeding and spotting, says Wyeth spokesperson Natalie De Vane. It happened more in the first three to six months, tapering off after a year. Of 2,400 patients in the Wyeth study, 56.8 percent dropped out, and for 18 percent, the reason was the bleeding.
That displeases Dr. Jerilynn Prior, of the Centre for Menstrual Cycle Research in Vancouver. "So women have to trade the expected for the unexpected," she says. "It's a wicked trade-off."
Q: "Will taking Lybrel interfere with later returning to a regular menstrual cycle or becoming pregnant?"
A: Wyeth says no.
Q: "What about future studies?"
A: Wyeth will conduct ongoing studies, De Vane says, particularly of any possibility of blood clots.
With all oral contraceptives based on progesterone and estrogen, the risk of a blood clot is about 1 in 10,000; the risk of heart attacks or stroke is about 1 in 100,000, Norris says.
Q: "Are there women who shouldn't take Lybrel?"
A: Women should avoid it if they have had a heart attack or stroke, blood clots, some cancers, liver disease, unexplained vaginal bleeding or who might become pregnant, Wyeth says.
Q: "What if you become pregnant accidentally?"
A: "The danger is that you might keep taking the pills through the early stages of pregnancy," says Judy Norsigian, executive director of Our Bodies, Ourselves, formerly the Boston Women's Health Collective - which has published eight versions of its popular book by that title since 1970.
"That might harm the fetus," she says. "This is the problem with drugs getting on the market before long-term studies are done."
Law requires insurance coverage of birth control
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070531/LEGISLATURE/705310340/1042
Governor signs bill that represents years of lobbying
Gov. Ted Kulongoski took a few minutes Wednesday to cap a years-long effort to include birth control in health insurance coverage.
He signed House Bill 2700, which requires health plans to provide prescription-drug coverage of birth control, and hospital emergency rooms to make available emergency contraceptives to victims of rape and incest.
The first measure was introduced by the Oregon Women's Health and Wellness Alliance in 1993.
"The women of Oregon have worked tirelessly for nearly 15 years for the passage of these measures," Kulongoski said. "I am proud to have been part of that fight, and even more proud to be here as we celebrate this victory."
Among the chief sponsors of the bill on hand were Rep. Diane Rosenbaum and Senate Majority Leader Kate Brown, both Democrats from Portland, and Rep. Carolyn Tomei, D-Milwaukie. Brown was in her first full term as an elected representative when she advanced the first effort in 1993.
Under the new law, which takes effect Jan. 1, insurance plans that provide coverage for prescription drugs must do so for birth control. Nearly half do not do so now, even when they cover other medications, forcing women to spend a yearly average of $673 from their own pockets.
Hospital emergency rooms would have to provide information about and access to emergency contraceptives to women who have been victims of sexual assault, or believe they have been victims.
If administered within 72 hours of an assault, emergency contraceptives can prevent pregnancy.
"We continue our ongoing work to expand personal freedom and offer women full equality in our society," Kulongoski said.
Also on hand were executives from Planned Parenthood of the Columbia/ Willamette, and NARAL Pro-Choice Oregon.
Kulongoski already signed a bill requiring most businesses to provide unpaid rest periods and private places for nursing mothers to maintain their milk.
Brazil to subsidize birth control pills
http://www.onelocalnews.com/prescottherald/stories/index.php?action=fullnews&id=117265
SAO PAULO, Brazil - Just weeks after Pope Benedict XVI denounced government-backed contraception in a visit to Brazil, the president unveiled a program Monday to provide cheap birth control pills at 10,000 drug stores across the country.
Brazil already hands out free condoms and birth control pills at government-run pharmacies. But many poor people in Latin America‘s largest country don‘t go to those pharmacies, so Silva‘s administration decided to offer the pills at drastically reduced prices at private drug stores, said Health Minister Jose Gomes Temporao.
The number of outlets selling the pills will start at 3,500 and is expected to rise to 10,000 by the end of this year. When the $51 million program is fully under way, the government expects to be handing out 50 million packages of birth control pills each year.
The Health Ministry said it does not plan to subsidize condoms at private drug stores, but Brazil already distributes 254 million free condoms a year, many as part of an anti- AIDS program, with a special push just before the nation‘s Carnival celebrations.
During his visit to Brazil earlier this month, Benedict repeatedly railed against legalized contraception as a threat to "the future of the peoples" of Latin America.
"Too often, Brazil makes really wonderful laws that remain on paper because there is no political will," said Mary Luci Faria, who coordinates women‘s programs in Sao Paulo.
Benedict also harshly criticized abortion during his visit, just weeks after Mexico City lawmakers legalized it. While abortion is illegal in most situations in Brazil, Silva said shortly before the pope‘s visit that it should be considered as a public health issue, and Temporao wants a national referendum on the issue.
"The church has no right to interfere with what a woman decides to do with her body or her health," said Dr. Eleonora Menicucci, a professor of preventive medicine at the Federal University of Sao Paulo.
"The church favors responsible parenthood, with parents using natural (birth control) methods," said Tempesta, who oversees the church in the northeastern state of Para.
Associated Press Writer Vivian Sequera contributed from Brasilia, Brazil.
By STAN LEHMAN, Associated Press Writer Mon May 28, 9:52 PM ET
SAO PAULO, Brazil - Just weeks after Pope Benedict XVI denounced government-backed contraception in a visit to Brazil, the president unveiled a program Monday to provide cheap birth control pills at 10,000 drug stores across the country.
Brazil already hands out free condoms and birth control pills at government-run pharmacies. But many poor people in Latin America‘s largest country don‘t go to those pharmacies, so Silva‘s administration decided to offer the pills at drastically reduced prices at private drug stores, said Health Minister Jose Gomes Temporao.
The number of outlets selling the pills will start at 3,500 and is expected to rise to 10,000 by the end of this year. When the $51 million program is fully under way, the government expects to be handing out 50 million packages of birth control pills each year.
The Health Ministry said it does not plan to subsidize condoms at private drug stores, but Brazil already distributes 254 million free condoms a year, many as part of an anti- AIDS program, with a special push just before the nation‘s Carnival celebrations.
During his visit to Brazil earlier this month, Benedict repeatedly railed against legalized contraception as a threat to "the future of the peoples" of Latin America.
"Too often, Brazil makes really wonderful laws that remain on paper because there is no political will," said Mary Luci Faria, who coordinates women‘s programs in Sao Paulo.
Benedict also harshly criticized abortion during his visit, just weeks after Mexico City lawmakers legalized it. While abortion is illegal in most situations in Brazil, Silva said shortly before the pope‘s visit that it should be considered as a public health issue, and Temporao wants a national referendum on the issue.
"The church has no right to interfere with what a woman decides to do with her body or her health," said Dr. Eleonora Menicucci, a professor of preventive medicine at the Federal University of Sao Paulo.
"The church favors responsible parenthood, with parents using natural (birth control) methods," said Tempesta, who oversees the church in the northeastern state of Para.
Associated Press Writer Vivian Sequera contributed from Brasilia, Brazil.
Fake Trojans in New York City!
Birth Control Pill for men
First and Only FDA Approved Chewable Birth Control
Female and Male Contraception
Birth Control Patch: Alleged Cause of Death
After watching this, you will NEVER want to rush into anything without "wrapping it" first!
![Brotherhood" (2006) [TV-Series]](http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/1421/379621144723082/211/z/425926/gse_multipart33129.jpg)
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