If you and your husband have been using the withdrawal method as your only means on contraception, you may want to begin looking into other options. While this method is relatively effective, it does not stop 100% of pregnancies from occurring. Here are several things to understand about the withdrawal method of contraception.
Why It Is Not 100% Effective
When the withdrawal method is used, it simply means that the man removes his penis from the woman's vagina right before he is about to ejaculate. This prevents the sperm from entering into the woman and will stop most pregnancies from occurring. The main problem with this method involves something called pre-ejaculation.
When a man ejaculates, a small amount of sperm remains in his urethra. If he has intercourse relatively soon after ejaculating once, this small amount of sperm can work its way into the woman's vagina during intercourse. This occurs before the man ejaculates from the intercourse. If this happens, it can result in pregnancy.
The other risk of this method is the failure to remove the penis fast enough. Each time a healthy male ejaculates, there can be anywhere from 40 million to 1.2 billion sperm in the semen. It takes just one of these to impregnate a woman.
The Pros And Cons Of This Method
The withdrawal method offers some benefits for couples, and here are some of them:
- It is free and doesn't require a prescription
- It offers more pleasure than when couples use condoms during intercourse
- It is relatively effective, but can be extremely effective when paired with another form of contraception
There are also several downsides to this method, which include the following cons:
- It does not offer any protection against sexually-transmitted diseases (STDs)
- It is only highly effective for men who are experienced with this method
- It is not good for men who ejaculate multiple times daily, because sperm can be trapped inside the urethra
If you are married and are not worried about STDs, and if you are not overly concerned with getting pregnant, this method might be fine for you. On the other hand, if you want to make sure that a pregnancy does not occur, you should talk to your doctor about other forms of contraception. There are many different types for men and women, and a doctor like those found at Mile High OB GYN can help you determine which type is right for you and your situation.
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