The U.S. Health & Human Services has announced new guidelines that health insurance plans beginning on or after August 1, 2012 will cover various women's preventative services, including birth control, voluntary sterilization, and emergency contraception. What does this mean for you?
Unless you've been in a cave all week, you probably heard Bill O'Reilly's controversial comment during a discussion of universal birth control on his Fox News show. He said: "Many, many people, many women, I hate to say it… Many women who get pregnant are blasted out of their minds when they have sex and aren't going to get birth control anyway."
It's hard to imagine the words "free" and "birth control" being in the same sentence, especially to the women who have spent years paying upwards of $30 for their montly pills. Yet, the Institute of Medicine (IOM), which deals exclusively with women's and reproductive issues, has released a new report that suggests birth control could soon be free and accessible for all American women.
The argument against contraception is that it undermines the primary goal of marriage: to create a family. But I disagree. Contraception does what natural family planning tries to do, it just does it more effectively. Contraception gives couples choices and allows them to build a stronger relationship which will result in a stronger family, when the time is right. I have a daughter of my own now and I am amazed at the way she's changed our lives and our relationship. Seeing my husband in her and seeing my husband with her, does make me love him more than I ever have. But having a kid has also made my relationship more difficult.
It might be time to take a closer look at your birth control pill. The Food and Drug Administration is warning of new evidence that some popular brands of oral contraceptives may cause blood clots.
Scientists at Columbia University are tinkering away at the first male birth control pill. It hasn't been approved by the FDA, but once it is, the thing could be on the market pretty quickly. Check out this poll at The Frisky and sound off on whether you'd trust your dude to take the male contraceptive.
For years, manufacturers have gamely attempted to make condoms more fun to use, but alas, even the most delectably flavored varieties don't compensate for that sterile, rubbery sensation. Now, a British biotech firm has taken on the challenge by developing the CSD500, a condom that prolongs a man's erection — hence its unofficial nickname, the "Viagra condom."
Since it became available over-the-counter, use of emergency contraceptives has nearly doubled in the United States, according to a new study in the journal Fertility and Sterility. Although now nearly 10 percent of women aged 15 to 44 have taken emergency contraception, experts believe this number is still too low.
When it comes to birth control, newer isn't always better. Third generation contraceptive pills, developed in the 1980s, put women at greater risk for developing health complications than those who use older varieties.
According to popular network TV shows, a hundred percent of American teens have had sex. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), however, the actual percentage just under half of that.
"I've been with my boyfriend for nearly 2 years. He is my first boyfriend and I never thought that it would last long. things went really fast and we were in a steady relationship all of a sudden. What I feel for him is love and I think that he could be the one, I just think I met him too early. I want to meet other people and see what the world has to offer me before I think about getting married. I'm 21 years old I thought in this time in my life I would have been going out and flirting with boys, all I do now is whine about how insensitive he can be.
They say you can't judge a book by its cover, but two French aristocrats-turned-designers have decided that you can judge a condom by its packaging. Last month, H.R.H. Prince Charles Emmanuel de Bourbon-Parme and Count Gil de Bizemontm founders of the Original Condom Company, announced a line of luxury condoms packaged in cases resembling high-end jewelry boxes.
For women who need birth control, avoiding an unwanted pregnancy may someday come down to applying a little lotion. Researchers claim to have developed a topical contraceptive gel that works by rubbing it onto the arms, legs, shoulders and abdomen once a day. The gel's primary ingredients, estrogen and Nestorene, a synthetic form of progesterone, prevent the ovaries from releasing eggs once a month. Basically, it's like the patch, except that it's invisible and it doesn't come off.
Today we received a slew of bite-sized sex facts stemming from the mother of all sex surveys, The National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior accumulated by researchers at The Center for Sexual Health Promotion at Indiana University. The scientists asked 5, 865 people aged 14-94 all sorts of questions about everything from masturbation to condom use to homosexual experimentation.
My bf and I had a falling out days after I quit my job, and he broke up with me. I knew I had to beg to get my job back, but the management only asked that I commit to them at least until I finish school and I agreed. Well, this last weekend my boyfriend and I met up and had a great time, reminding me of why I wanted to make the move in the first place. He begged that I continue the relationship and relocate my life, but I feel so conflicted. He's suggesting I leave a resignation letter the day of and never return, but that's just not my style. Is it fair to quit my job twice within a week's time?
The truth and the challenges behind the natural method of birth control.