Probably you want to know how not to get pregnant in a certain state of your life: you are still a student, you are young and single, you do not have a steady income, or you just do not feel ready to have children. There is nothing wrong with that. You do not have to explain yourself. Nobody has the right to make this decision for you. However, probably you are not interested in methods of how not to get pregnant, because you believe that you cannot get pregnant.
How Not to Get Pregnant: Myths
Lots of girls have become pregnant because they did not know how not to get pregnant. They thought they could not conceive a child when making love for the first time. How wrong they were. There are several myths about how not to get pregnant. Perhaps you think you cannot get pregnant, since you have had sex only one time. You have been on your period. You did not have an orgasm. How not to get pregnant myths are false and dangerous: you believe that you are safe, while you might very well get in trouble. Once you reach fertility age (you have your period) and you have sex with a male, you can get pregnant anytime. You have to think about using protection.
You might think that you cannot get pregnant, because the days when you have sex are not the days when you are most fertile. However, there are so many factors that can affect and alter your hormonal balance: your mood, your health, your weight, changes in your environment, changes in your diet or in your workout program – anything can disturb this very sensitive balance.
You may think that you will not become pregnant, because you are anorexic, or you have been in the past. According to experts, anorexia may cause infertility. May, mind you, not will. Anorexia may cause infertility in rare cases. In reality, anorexia scarcely contributes to infertility. You might be rail thin and still might get pregnant, even if you did not have your period for several months or your anorexia was extreme. As long as you do have your period, you can get pregnant.
You may believe that you are safe, because you have a partner “whom you can trust” and he uses the coitus interruptus as a how not to get pregnant method: he retreats before he could ejaculate. This option is absolutely unsafe. You can never know when your male partner’s self-control will wear off. Should you trust him blindly? Even if he is extremely disciplined and stops before ejaculating, semen could already enter your vagina, so you can get pregnant.
Do not believe that you cannot get pregnant only because you have taken birth control pills for a long while. To tell the truth, as soon as you come off the pill, you can get pregnant at once, and you have more chance to get pregnant than you would have if you had not taken any pills. If you stop taking birth control pills, do seek for other means of protection immediately.
How Not to Get Pregnant Methods that Work
Never trust alternative natural methods like coitus interruptus or body temperature method. They have very high failure rates.
Always prefer hormonal birth control methods over physical barriers. Many people believe that condoms – even female condoms – are just as good as hormonal methods. This is not true. Hormonal methods have much lower failure rates. Condoms are against STDs and not against pregnancy.
Trust your gynecologist. Doctors have graduated from the University of Medicine for a reason. They know what they are doing. Always ask your doctor before you decide on a how not to get pregnant method. A doctor will know what is best for you. Every system is different – one method may work for one person and may not be the perfect option for the other. You do not want to roll the dice when your sexual health, future, and well-being are at stake.