then take a week off. During the week off, you will have a menstrual period. The following week you start again.
The Nuvaring is a small ring that you insert deep into your vagina. It stays in place for three weeks. You then remove it and leave it out for one week, during which time you will get your period. The following week you put in a new one. Nuvarings also contain the same hormones that are in the pill, but you only need to use it once monthly. You must feel comfortable inserting something into your vagina in order to use the Nuvaring. Once in place, you cannot feel it, and it cannot get lost.
Every sexually active young woman should have access to Plan B. Plan B is a pill that can prevent pregnancy after unprotected sex. It comes in either one- or two-pill dosages, and it must be taken within 72 hours of having unprotected sex. If you are under the age of 17, you must have a prescription. Ask for a prescription at your next doctor appointment.
Choosing which contraceptive is right for you is a very personal decision. Think about your privacy (do you need to keep your method a secret from your parents? your partner?), the likelihood you would remember a daily pill, how comfortable you are inserting things into your vagina, how you would feel about not having a period. Knowing these things will help you decide the best method for you. Planned Parenthood has a questionnaire on their website to help you think about it before you see your provider. See in Resources at the end of this chapter.
Since the two of you are having sex, both of you should be doing something to prevent pregnancy. If you share sex, share the responsibility. That means the female chooses a method—implant, IUD, pill, patch, or injectable—and the male wears a condom. This approach can also help prevent STIs, which will be discussed in Chapter 14 .
Male Condoms
----
Male condoms are cheap and easy to buy in drugstores, grocery stores, and convenience stores. A condom is a soft cover made of a very thin, rubbery material called latex; latex gives condoms their nickname, “rubbers.”
Here is how to use a male condom properly:
• Use a new condom with every act of sexual intercourse, from start to finish.
• Use only latex or polyurethane condoms. Animal-skin condoms do not provide any protection against sexually transmitted diseases.
• Store condoms in a cool place out of direct sunlight and not in a wallet or glove compartment. Do not use damaged, discolored, brittle, or sticky condoms.
• Check the expiration date on the package.
• Carefully open the condom package. Teeth and fingernails can tear a condom. If a condom rips or tears, take out another one. It is a good idea to have several condoms on hand.
•Put on a condom after the penis is erect and before it touches your partner’s body. If a penis is uncircumcised, pull back the foreskin before putting on the condom.
• Unroll the condom a little bit to make sure that it is being unrolled in the right direction. The rolled ring should be on the outside. If the condom doesn’t unroll easily on the penis it is probably on upside down. Throw it away and begin again.
• If you need additional lubrication, use a condom lubricated with spermicide or a water-based lubricant like Astroglide (available at pharmacies). Other lubricants such as Vaseline, cooking oil, baby oil, or hand lotion will weaken the condom.
• Put on the condom by pinching the reservoir tip (the space at the end of the condom that will collect the semen) and unrolling it all the way down the shaft of the penis from the head to the base. If a condom does not have a reservoir tip, leave a half-inch space at the head of the penis for the semen to collect after ejaculation.
• Very soon after ejaculation and before the penis becomes soft again, withdraw the penis, holding on to the condom at the base to prevent slippage and leakage.
• Wrap the used condom in tissue and discard it in a wastebasket. Do not flush
The Nuvaring is a small ring that you insert deep into your vagina. It stays in place for three weeks. You then remove it and leave it out for one week, during which time you will get your period. The following week you put in a new one. Nuvarings also contain the same hormones that are in the pill, but you only need to use it once monthly. You must feel comfortable inserting something into your vagina in order to use the Nuvaring. Once in place, you cannot feel it, and it cannot get lost.
Every sexually active young woman should have access to Plan B. Plan B is a pill that can prevent pregnancy after unprotected sex. It comes in either one- or two-pill dosages, and it must be taken within 72 hours of having unprotected sex. If you are under the age of 17, you must have a prescription. Ask for a prescription at your next doctor appointment.
Choosing which contraceptive is right for you is a very personal decision. Think about your privacy (do you need to keep your method a secret from your parents? your partner?), the likelihood you would remember a daily pill, how comfortable you are inserting things into your vagina, how you would feel about not having a period. Knowing these things will help you decide the best method for you. Planned Parenthood has a questionnaire on their website to help you think about it before you see your provider. See in Resources at the end of this chapter.
Since the two of you are having sex, both of you should be doing something to prevent pregnancy. If you share sex, share the responsibility. That means the female chooses a method—implant, IUD, pill, patch, or injectable—and the male wears a condom. This approach can also help prevent STIs, which will be discussed in Chapter 14 .
Male Condoms
----
Male condoms are cheap and easy to buy in drugstores, grocery stores, and convenience stores. A condom is a soft cover made of a very thin, rubbery material called latex; latex gives condoms their nickname, “rubbers.”
Here is how to use a male condom properly:
• Use a new condom with every act of sexual intercourse, from start to finish.
• Use only latex or polyurethane condoms. Animal-skin condoms do not provide any protection against sexually transmitted diseases.
• Store condoms in a cool place out of direct sunlight and not in a wallet or glove compartment. Do not use damaged, discolored, brittle, or sticky condoms.
• Check the expiration date on the package.
• Carefully open the condom package. Teeth and fingernails can tear a condom. If a condom rips or tears, take out another one. It is a good idea to have several condoms on hand.
•Put on a condom after the penis is erect and before it touches your partner’s body. If a penis is uncircumcised, pull back the foreskin before putting on the condom.
• Unroll the condom a little bit to make sure that it is being unrolled in the right direction. The rolled ring should be on the outside. If the condom doesn’t unroll easily on the penis it is probably on upside down. Throw it away and begin again.
• If you need additional lubrication, use a condom lubricated with spermicide or a water-based lubricant like Astroglide (available at pharmacies). Other lubricants such as Vaseline, cooking oil, baby oil, or hand lotion will weaken the condom.
• Put on the condom by pinching the reservoir tip (the space at the end of the condom that will collect the semen) and unrolling it all the way down the shaft of the penis from the head to the base. If a condom does not have a reservoir tip, leave a half-inch space at the head of the penis for the semen to collect after ejaculation.
• Very soon after ejaculation and before the penis becomes soft again, withdraw the penis, holding on to the condom at the base to prevent slippage and leakage.
• Wrap the used condom in tissue and discard it in a wastebasket. Do not flush
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