I’ve thought about this before because pill packets especially the heavier plastic ones have always bugged me. They seem like they’d make the pill the least eco-friendly birth control option, but the Huffington Post piece points out that 2.75 million pounds of used-condom refuse ends up in landfills nationwide. So neither seems exceptional when it comes to eco-friendly aspects. That said, the IUD is no good at protecting you from sexually transmitted diseases, so while it may be an eco-friendly choice, I can’t say it’s an across the board good choice.

For both birth control and STD protection you need condoms. There are, btw, biodegradable condoms, but they’ll only protect against pregnancy not STDs, so if you’re not with your totally committed soul mate right now, the best thing to do is to limit the impact your condom use makes.  For example…

• Recycle those boxes! While condoms aren’t recyclable yet, the boxes are big and they can easily be tossed into your recycle bin. If you’re too embarrassed to toss them in your home recycling bin for fear that someone will see, well, maybe you should be holding off on sex. It’s no big!
• DON’T leave condoms out on the beach, in a park, or elsewhere out in nature. Toss in an actual trash bin.
• Eventually you might want to consider a monogamous relationship – then you can use those biodegradable condoms (after being tested for STDs of course). Yes, as it turns out being in a committed relationship, may be the greenest choice here.

Read more about green sex! Yahoo right?

[image via stock.xchang with a wee bit of altering]

Post from: Blisstree

Is Your Birth Control Green?

Get this: According to a recent study published in the June issue of Contraception Magazine, the “Pull Out” method of birth control rivals the use of condoms!

This was a piece published by sex researcher Rachel K. Jones, that finds  “pulling out” before ejaculation is nearly effective as condoms in preventing pregnancy – calling the method “only slightly less effective” than condoms.

Wow.

This is not a good thing.

It’s like millions of college boys are suddenly going to feel validated to not wear condoms and spread disease far and wide.

Image: Sxc.hu

Post from: Blisstree

The Pull Out Method Rivals Condoms?!?

This happened in my family when my sister was barely 19. My sister married the guy; They’re now divorced. Their youngest daughter Ashley, now 16, is hanging out with us this week for spring break and I’m getting a crash course in high-schooler-ology. Sure, teach abstinence, but we’re talking about a group of hormone-raging kids who think they know far more about life than us adults. She seems like a good kid – swears she’s a virgin. I just hope she uses her head.

Here is some encouraging news for parents (and aunts) of teenagers and young adults. A new provision in the proposed budget signed by President Obama last week could help significantly reduce the cost of birth control for young women by allowing pharmaceutical companies to reinstate discounts on contraceptives that they had previously offered to family planning clinics. Those discounts had been slashed because of a 2005 federal law, designed to save taxpayers money on Medicaid reimbursements for drugs. An unfortunate side effect of that law financially dissuaded pharmaceutical companies from selling their products to these pharmacies at reduced prices. So women began to see contraceptive pills and product costs rise from $5 to $10 a month to $30 to $50 a month. While there is no guarantee pharmaceutical companies will discount their birth control meds, at least now they are not discouraged to do so.

Sources:
New York Daily News
Associated Press
Photo, Sancya/AP

JWJourney

Post from: Blisstree

Clinics May Soon Offer Discounted BC Pills

It seems as though the opinions on a perfect number vary greatly depending on religion, upbringing and pure personal preference. I have heard people bad mouth my husband and I for having so many kids. By the same token, I’ve been chastised for choosing to stop procreating. If we lived in China, we’d be almost quadruple our allowed number of children. It seems ludicrous that the government is allowed to make that kind of decision for an individual, but they are communists, after all.

Some couples are told that having only one child, deprives that child of the joys of siblings. Though if you ask my kids, they would gladly be an only child. I never thought that we’d have as many as we did, though the thought of a big family was so cool after I got to know my husband’s family of fifteen. As much as the kids may fight and drive us insane, I love that we had the number that we did. Seven is our magic number. What is yours? 

Post from: Blisstree

The Magic Number