CONTRACEPTION (BIRTH CONTROL METHODS AND TECHNIQUES)
Reproduction is the basic biological reason for sexual intercourse.
However, most people enjoy sex and do not want to conceive every time they have sex.
There are many reasons:
they may wish to concentrate on a career,
they may already have too many children in the family
suffer from certain health problems
dislike babies
fell too young or old, and so on.
Contraception is not a new idea.
Over thousands of years all kinds of devices have been tried to prevent pregnancy.
Almost 4,000 years ago some Egyptian women put a contraceptive paste into their vaginas, made form honey,
sodium carbonate and crocodile dung!
METHODS AND TECHNIQUES:
1. Natural Family Planning Methods
Natural Family Planning Methods do not involve any chemical or foreign body introduction into the human body.
Abstinence
This natural method involves refraining from sexual intercourse and is the most effective birth control method
with ideally 0% fail rate.
Considered to be the most effective way to avoid STIs ( Sexually Transmitted Infections)
Calendar Method
Also known as the “Rhythm Method”
It is a fertility tracking method using a calendar. The woman must observe and record her reproductive cycle.
Basal body temperature
• The NFP method involves the daily recording of the temperature changes in the woman’s body with a special
thermometer.
• She records her temperature at the same time every day before getting up or doing anything in the morning.
• A rise in the BBT of about half a degree Celsius may mean ovulation, and the couple should abstain from
intercourse if pregnancy is not desired.
• Effectiveness is more or less 95% but only for couples with normal fertility who follow and use the method
perfectly.
Cervical Mucus Method
• A method relying on a woman’s familiarity with her body and its processes. The vagina discharge after a
woman’s period is used as indicators of fertility.
• It is also known as the Billing’s method, named after an Australian doctor who discovered it.
• Observe that the vaginal discharge which appears after menstruation will first be cloudy and sticky.
Symptothermal Method
This is a combination of the BBT and the cervical mucus methods and other physiological indicators of ovulation,
such as tenderness of the breast and mid-cycle pain.
This involves recording.
Ovulation Detection
The method uses an over-the-counter kit that requires the urine sample of the woman.
The kit can predict ovulation through the surge of luteinizing hormone(LH) that happens 12-24 hours before
ovulation.
Coitus interruptus
One of the oldest methods that prevents conception.
A couple still goes on with coitus, but the man withdraws the moment he ejaculates to emit the spermatozoa
outside of the female reproductive organ.
The dis advantage of this method is the pew ejaculation fluid that contains a few spermatozoa that may cause
fertilization.
2. Chemical Methods
Oral Contraceptives
The pill is a tablet made of man-made hormones (estrogen and progesterone) mimicking the ones your
body produces monthly on its own.
Two kinds: COCs or combined oral contraceptives and POPs or progesterone only pills (mini pills).
These are available in over-the counter or prescription forms.
Estrogen prevents the egg from maturing and being released from the ovary. Progesterone changes the
lining of the uterus and the consistency of cervical mucus, making them inhospitable to sperm and the
implantation of fertilized egg.
Transdermal Patch
The transdermal patch contains both estrogen and progesterone.
The woman should apply 1 patch every week on the following areas: upper outer arm , upper torso,
abdomen, or buttocks.
At the end of the fourth week, no patch is applied because the menstrual flow would then occur.
The area where the patch is applied should be clean, dry, and free of irritation.
Subdermal Implants
Subdermal implants are two rod-like implants inserted under the skin of the female during her menses
or on the seventh day of her menstruation to make sure that she will not get pregnant.
The implants are made with etonogestrel, desogestrel and progestin and can be helpful for three to five
years.
Hormonal Injections
A hormonal injection contains medroxyprogesterone, a progesterone, and is usually given once very 12
weeks intramuscularly.
The injection causes changes in the endometrium and cervical mucus and can help prevent ovulation.
3. Barrier Methods
Vaginal Ring
Releases a combination of estrogen and progesterone and it surrounds the cervix.
This silicon ring is inserted into the female reproductive organ and remains there for three weeks and
then removed on the fourth week, as menstrual flow would occur.
The woman becomes fertile as soon as the ring removed.
Intrauterine Device
Intra-Uterine devices are made of small flexible plastic of metal a few centimetres long that is placed
inside the uterus.
It is fitted by the doctor , and stays in place 6-8 years upon insertion, and only annual medical check ups
are needed.
There are many designs and shapes available such as , T’s , rings , loops and coils. The coil is another
name for an IUD, even if it is not coil in shape.
Diaphragm
This device is a thin rubber cap or bowl-shaped rubber disk with flexible rim that fits into the top of the
vagina and covers the cervix, the neck or entrance to womb.
It prevents the sperm in the vagina from entering the uterus and reaching the egg beyond. It is usually
fitted 2 or 3 hours before intercourse and removed several hours afterwards.
Cervical Cap
The cervical cap is made of soft rubber and fitted on the rim of the cervix.
It is shaped like a thimble with a thin rim, and could stay in place for not more than 48 hours.
Male Condoms
Also known as prophylactic latex
The condom is a synthetic latex sheath worn over the penis during copulation to prevent the sperm
from entering the woman’s womb.
It has a sealed end the caches the sperm containing fluid at ejaculation (enlarge and rigid) penis before
intercourse and unrolled and disposed of afterwards.
It is advised to withdraw the penis immediately after intercourse, and while still erect. Delaying may
cause sperm to spill out into the cervix.
Female condoms
Female condom is elongated as polyurethane sheath about 6.5 inches long, with a flexible ring at each
end. It is used to line the inside of the vagina covers the cervix. It prevents the sperm from reaching the
cervix. It is inserted into the vagina before intercourse.
Its effectiveness is more or less 75% to 80% in preventing pregnancy.
4. Surgical Methods
Vasectomy
Male sterilization involves tying, cutting or searing the two vas deferens, the tubes which carry sperm
from the testes to the penis, to prevent the sperm from mixing with the seminal fluid
. It is a more or less permanent or irreversible surgical method for men.
Tubal Ligation
Female sterilization involves tying, cutting or searing the two fallopian tubes or oviducts via survey so
that the passageway to the uterus is blocked.
It is a more or less permanent surgical method for women.
The operation is minor, leaving a small scar on the lower abdomen. Most women can leave the hospital
on the same day, or a day or two later.
