CONTRACEPTION
Breed or not to breed, that is the question.
Not everyone who participates in sexual intercourse does so in the hope and expectation of producing a baby. ‘Family planning’ is the means by which couples can avoid pregnancy while enjoying a sexual relationship. The degree of success they achieve in avoiding pregnancy depends on the effectiveness and suitability of the method they choose, and the skill with which they use it.
The ideal contraceptive is 100 per cent effective, easy to use, has no side-effects, and is totally and easily reversible. Unfortunately it has not yet been invented. They all have benefits and side-effects, and not all are suitable for all women. It is up to a woman or couple to choose the method which best suits their specific needs, and that decision should be an informed decision.
Total abstinence. It does work. It is cheap, condoned by most religious groups, has no side-effects, but is not particularly popular with many couples as a long-term contraceptive method.
Periodic abstinence. Including methods referred to as ‘the safe time’ and ‘the Billings method’, this involves abstaining from having sex during the woman’s ‘fertile time’, around. This means that it needs a well-motivated, co-operative couple who understand and recognize ovulation. True failure rates are difficult to determine as it is very user-dependent. There are many couples who use it with confidence. There are unfortunately very many couples whose expertise (and luck) has not been so great. It is probably most useful for couples who are willing to accept a fair chance of getting pregnant, such as those spacing a family. It is less suitable for couples for whom a pregnancy would be devastating. Some couples find it unsuitable because it interferes with spontaneity, and limits them to specific times when they can have sex. A woman can try to identify her most fertile time by using the indicators.
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