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Spring Into Fitness And Enter To Win A $500 Workout Wardrobe!
Chances are, your OB/GYN only has a few minutes slotted for your visit, which means even a doctor you’ve been seeing for years may have trouble putting you at ease when it comes to talking about awkward stuff, like a … More
Yesterday, I wrote a breakdown of some of the many options that women and men have to prevent pregnancy and stop the spread of STIs.  Over and over, I noted that while many birth control options are effective, they must be used consistently and correctly to work. Which is how everyone assumes they’ve been doing it, especially when it comes to condoms. But even smart people make dumb mistakes when it comes to wrapping it up. More
Decreased sex drive is on of the well-known side effects of many antidepressants. But not Wellbutrin. This is one antidepressant—also used to treat seasonal affective disorder and to help people quit smoking—that may actually boost sex drive. More
As we round out Sex (Re)Education week here at Blisstree, we want to leave you with a bit of humor. And even though they are the only real way to prevent STI’s while being 98% effective, ads for condoms certainly leave a lot of room for jokes. From puns about the size of a man’s, um, parts to sex worth bragging about, check out our top picks for the funniest condom ads ever: More
A few months ago, after ditching the pill and deciding the Depo-Provera shot wasn’t for me, I decided to try the NuvaRing. Even though I’ve had previous problems with hormonal birth control—the only time I’ve had regular periods in my life was when I stopped taking the pill—I panicked in the Planned Parenthood office (I’m not great with choice; sometimes I panic at the Subway counter) and decided to try out the NuvaRing. Bad choice. More
Between pills, patches, rings, diaphragms, condoms, and the rhythm method, picking a method of contraception can seem like an insurmountable task–especially since not all forms of birth control are created equally. Some contain hormones that make it much harder for pregnancy to occur, while others protect against HIV and other STIs–and none are foolproof. How effective are any kinds of birth control? Let’s compare. More
My high school had a proud history of offering an in-house, comprehensive, peer-led sexual education. In the program, juniors and seniors would be trained for about a month before leading a series of classes that taught underclassmen how STIs are transmitted, how to properly put on a condom, how to decide when is the right time for sex, and how to talk to their parents about their sexual health. Which was the program I thought I was getting involved in at age 15 when I attended a day-long informational session on a Saturday, which had been billed as “peer-led sex ed.” What I was actually there for, it turned out, was to learn how to teach 6th graders about abstinence, and nothing else. More
How many times are we made to feel inadequate or like there is something wrong with us because we are not living up to Hollywood’s set of ideals about how often we should be having sex? Women in the media are often portrayed as ravishing, insatiable sex-pots with libidos that blow the roof off any bedroom (female Viagra, anyone?) who seem to want sex all the time. But is that reality? Of course not. Still, that doesn’t stop us from wondering exactly what is normal when it comes to our sex drive. So we took our questions to sex expert, Dr. Kathryn Hall who is a clinical psychologist and author of Reclaiming Your Sexual Self: How to Bring Desire Back Into Your Life.
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The pill has come a long way since your mom (or grandma) started taking it. But not all the changes have been good ones: A large new Danish study says newer generations of birth control pills double your risk of venous thromboembolism, blood clots that form deep in the veins of legs and arms and could break off and spread to the lungs. Blood clots are a well-known side effect of hormonal contraception. But shouldn’t our newer generation of birth control pills be less dangerous than those that came before? More
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Do they make a difference? Yes, and you already knew it. But when I asked men what they really think about condoms–how they feel, whether they use them regularly, when they choose to use them, whose responsibility it should be to buy/have them–the resounding answer wasn’t just “they suck.” More
All this week, we’ve been talking about sexual and reproductive health, and arming our readers (who are a pretty savvy bunch, anyway) with an eyeful of information about birth control, STIs, abstinence, their rights, and their choices. However, there are plenty of women out there who won’t be reading this information, and will continue to make unsafe sexual decisions for one reason or another. And if you’re close friends with someone like that, it can be hard to let them know that you care, and that what they’re doing can be dangerous, without going into mom-mode. So how do you tell your friend that being safe about sex is really, really important? More
It’s kind of unfair—many women’s sex drives are highest when they’re on their periods, or when they’re ovulating. From an evolutionary standpoint, the horny-when-ovulating thing makes sense—but for those of us trying to avoid pregnancy at the moment, it’s kind of a drag that the times we want it most are also the times when we’re most likely to get pregnant. Ditto for the increased libido that often comes at that time of month when other reasons make sex least appealing. What’s behind the menstrual cycle/libido roller-coaster? More
Implanon is one of the lesser-known forms of post-Pill contraception. A hormonal birth control implant, Implanon is inserted under the skin in your upper arm. It’s incredibly effective—and can last for three years. Interested? Sketched out (there’s something kind of irrationally frightening to me about implantable birth control)? Read on for more info on how Implanon works and why more women should consider this long-term birth control option. More
Voters in Mississippi and six other states will vote on ‘Personhood’ Amendments next month, and their decisions will make huge statements not only for abortion rights in those states, but also women’s health and access to birth control. If passed, the constitutional amendments would mean that a fertilized egg is considered a legal person, meaning that abortion (for any reason) would be illegal, along with any birth control that works by blocking a fertilized egg from implanting in the uterus. Which includes my IUD–something I’ve relied on for years as a responsible way to prevent harder decisions about an unplanned pregnancy. More
