With Valentine’s Day approaching, Bayer Inc. has released a new study showing that worrying about birth-control can reduce the quality of sex people have.
The study also showed that four in 10 Canadians have said they have had a pregnancy scare.
“I’ve had maybe three [pregnancy] scares in my life,” said Amanda Ward, a Liberal Arts major at Brock University. “That was with me always using birth control too. I think the most effective thing would probably be to use both birth control and a condom.”
Have you had a pregnancy scare?
Since high school health class, people are told that if they are going to be sexually active they should always use a condom. Condoms not only prevent pregnancy, but also prevent the spreading of STD/STI’s.
However, all of the pressure is being put on condoms when there are many additional contraceptive devices that people could combine with them.
The surveyed Canadians were asked how they felt about discussing contraceptive while ‘in the moment.’ Half of those people who were asked said that it “killed the mood.”
When partners “have the talk” about what the best contraceptive is for their habits and sex-life, it relieves some stress for both parties. Being on the same page with one’s partner allows for both people to feel confident and studies show that this actually leads to having more sex.
“I tried at least five different types of birth control and they all still made my period sporadic, so I would constantly be having pregnancy scares,” said a girl in her early 20s who wished to remain anonymous.
“I [didn’t] want to get a pregnancy test everytime because I figured I was just late. So far I haven’t been pregnant but it’s pretty stressful. Now I just rely on condoms, which seem a lot more reassuring.”
There are several different options in the birth-control world such as : condoms, birth-control pills, IUS (intrauterine system), etc.
As seen in the graph below, people consider birth control pills to be more effective than condoms, but the pills are actually used less.
“When you see numbers like condoms being ranked among the most effective methods of birth control – it’s clear that it all comes down to awareness,” said Dr. Marjorie Dixon in the press release from Bayer Inc.
“Canadians have false confidence with the methods they are familiar with but it’s important to consider all the options out there to find the contraception that is not only going to be effective, but will also fit your lifestyle,” said Dixon. “It doesn’t matter how well your birth control works if you forget to use it or don’t want to bring it up with your partner before having sex.”
With people learning about the many possible forms of birth control it seems the famous sex slogan “no glove, no love” isn’t the only relevant catch phrase when it comes to safe sex these days.
Created with flickr slideshow.
