Birth control is easy and affordable
Last year, when I was a fledgling sex columnist, I wrote a column about birth control methods. I am not one to repeat myself, or beat a dead horse, or a dead sex topic, but I think it’s important for all you new readers to know everything that last year’s readers learned.
Birth control is an extremely important subject for those college students who do not wish to become parents. Between studying, going to class and hanging out with friends at all of those crazy Reno hot spots, you’re most likely not going to have time to be having babies.
So let’s start with the basics – condoms. Everyone knows about them, has put one on themselves, a partner or maybe a banana. These are a cheap (free at the Student Health Center), easy way of protecting yourself from babies and STDs, and they come in all kinds of colors and flavors.
Unfortunately, they are not the most effective form of birth control (about 89% success rate), but they are the most effective method against STDs. Good news for gay men who don’t have to worry about pregnancy.
Most other forms of birth control available have no protection against STDs, just pregnancy, so you should still use a condom every time, unless you’re in a monogamous, STD-free relationship.
One of the most common forms of birth control is the pill. The classic form of the pill is taken every day for three weeks, and then a placebo is taken the rest of the time. The pill suppresses ovulation so that no egg is released and pregnancy cannot occur.
Since the pill came out, other forms have been created. There are chewable kinds, one that makes you menstruate every thirteenth week and now one that gets rid of your period altogether.
This birth control, called Lybrel, may sound scary and dangerous, but it was recently approved by the FDA, and doctors are explaining that this pill is not very different from normal, daily birth control pills. The period women experience while on the pill is not from ovulation, like someone who is not on birth control would have.
The bleeding is caused by withdrawal from your birth control pill and the drop in hormones that occurs when you are not taking it. Lybrel is the same idea as the more common birth control, but you take the pill every day.
Some women can’t or don’t want to take a daily pill. For them there are injections, patches or IUDs. IUDs (intrauterine devices) are inserted into the uterus by a doctor and remain there for up to five years. They kill or damage the sperm trying to make their way to your egg, so the poor little guys never make it and you don’t get pregnant.
Because none of these birth control methods, besides condoms, are available over the counter, the best way to decide which is right for you is to talk to your doctor. Until then, stock up on the rainbow of condoms available to you at the Student Health Center and avoid the less effective birth control plans like the “Well, I had my period last week, I think, so I probably won’t get pregnant if we do it right now” method.
Take advantage of these options, and it will be sure to make your college life less stressful.
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on Monday, October 29th, 2007 at 11:48 pm and is filed under Perspectives.
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