I got an email today that absolutely blew my mind.

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

I read an interesting piece today on condom makers. Apparently, like many products today, they can be made cheaper in China.

USAID, United States Agency for International Development, a federally funded program that distributes 10 billion condoms to poor countries, in an attempt to help curb the spread of AIDS. They will no longer be distributing American-made condoms.

“Of course, we considered how many U.S. jobs would be affected by this move,” said a USAID official who spoke on the condition that he would not be named. But he said the reasons for the change included lower prices (2 cents versus more than 5 cents for U.S.-made condoms) and the fact that Congress dropped “buy American language” in a recent appropriations bill.

Okay, so they are cheaper, which means that they can give out more, but when you look at the track record of recent Chinese products, do you still think that this is a good idea?

First, there’s the loss of 300 American jobs. A company in Alabama called Alatech was the previous USAID program supplier. In case you haven’t noticed, American families are struggling. We certainly don’t need to cut jobs, we need to increase jobs. Banks and auto makers aren’t the only folks going broke.

Second, there’s the Chinese baby formula scare, the Chinese toy scare, the Chinese __________ (fill in the blank) scare. When it comes to health, welfare, and birth control, do we really think cheaper is the best way to go?

I didn’t give it much thought before, but from now on, when I buy condoms, I’m going to make sure that I’m buying American.

Image credit: All Posters.com

by Ali Kriscenski from The Daily Tomorrow, exclusively for Lively Women

Everything we do has an effect on the environment but that doesn’t mean we can’t have a little fun and look out for Mother Nature. There are some easy ways to keep your eco-values alive when giving in to, er, human nature.

Here’s how.

Condoms

Ask a beach cleanup volunteer what they find littering the sands and the answer is likely to include used condoms. Condoms find their way onto beaches, into waterways and water treatment facilities when they are flushed down the toilet. Many sea creatures mistake condoms for jellyfish or other food sources and the results are deadly.

To keep it baby-free and protect wildlife, don’t flush condoms. Put them in the trash bin and send them direct to the landfill. It may sound counterintuitive but that’s where they will end up anyway. Just if you flush it someone else, like a waste treatment worker or biologist, will have to handle the job.

Sex Toys

Ok, maybe you’re not buying them but somebody is because sex toys make up an estimated $500 billion dollar market. Many sex toys are made with chemicals that are more than just a turn off, they’re dangerous.

PVC (yep, plumbing) and the phthalates used to soften it are commonly found in sex toys but are linked to diseases like cancer and reproductive disorders. These same compounds have been banned from other products, like baby toys, in the EU because of the associated health risks.

The Grist’s Emily Gertz explores the ins and outs (sorry!) of what to avoid and what to look for in a eco-friendly sex toy in Naughty by Nature: Ever thought about the toxins in your sex toys?. Along with a few good suppliers, just in case your “friend” is interested.

Flush

Not condoms! We’ve already covered that one. This time I’m referring to your system. Women are prone to urinary tract infections which can require treatment with antibiotics. Once again, anything that goes down the toilet makes its way to waterways, including ingested medications. To keep yourself and waterways free from antibiotics partake in a little post-sex pee to help flush the system and avoid a UTI.

Control or Contamination?

While we’re on the topic of medications in waterways…There is a growing concern about hormones and endocrine disruptors in waterways. Some of the contamination is from industrial pollution where certain chemicals in plastics, pesticides and other products have a molecular structure similar to estrogen. Another source of the contamination is from birth control pills.

These compounds cannot not be filtered by waste treatment processes and instead find there way into open water bodies. In the early 1980s, a WWF senior scientist named Theo Colborn discovered that many predators in the Great Lakes of North America were suffering from reproductive disorders. Her research linked chemical exposure to endocrine disorders, including diabetes.

Hormones or similar compounds in waterways disrupt the natural endocrine processes in both humans and wildlife. There may be a greener birth control that fits your lifestyle, like a diaphragm or IUD. If you’re interested, talk to your health care provider about the different options.

Resources

• How to Green Your Sex Life: everything from eco-undies to all natural aphrodisiacs at TreeHugger - there’s no such thing as TMI.
• The Endocrine Disruptor Exchange: research, studies and information on endocrine disruptors - founded by Dr. Theo Colborn.
• Natural Resource Defense Council (NRDC) FAQ on endocrine disruptors: quick reference with most important facts.
• What could be more natural?: All-natural and organic personal lubricants at Ideal Bite.
• Paging Dr. Love: fair trade, sustainable wood and recycled…are we still talking about sex toys?

About.com’s Guide to Women’s Health, Tracee Conforth, highlighted a recent news item in Ms. magazine that summarizes a meeting of male contraception experts to discuss alternatives to traditional forms of male birth control (vasectomy and condoms — or, you know, keeping it in your pants, boys).

From the article:

More than 140 male contraception researchers from around the globe recently gathered in Seattle to discuss new alternatives to condoms and vasectomies. At the two-day “Future of Male Contraception” conference, whose sponsors included the World Health Organization, the University of Washington, and the National Institutes of Health, researchers unveiled a number of new viable birth control options for men, reports the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

What do you think? Is it about time, or are you fine with the current options for male contraception?

Contents © Copyright 2007 Kristen King

I wouldn’t go so far as to say that I’d rather get my teeth drilled than go to the gynecologist, but they’re pretty close together on my list of least favorite things to do. However, I did take my own advice and suck it up this month as I do every July, because it was time for my annual exam. This may be one of those too-much-information posts, so if you’re not interested in commiserating with me over the details of my visit, or if you happen to be a male relative or former or current client and find knowing these things just a little too weird, you might want to skip this one.

Still here? Great! Well, first of all, I was stressed because I had to change doctors since we moved and I’m now way too far away from my old OB/GYN office to make the drive. I used to use Planned Parenthood, and this move meant switching to a grown-up doctor. For real adults. Like one my mom would use. How weird. I hadn’t been to one of those since my first visit, back in high school, when my mom insisted that I use her doctor and accompanied me, which, for the record, was beyond awkward. Read more

Lately it seems like there are literally dozens if not hundreds of options when it comes to contraception. There are injections, implants, patches, pills, surgical procedures…

How do you know which is the right choice for you?

Read more