birth control

Unless you’ve been charting your fertility (see our article Get with the Flow: All about FAM for more information), it’s not really a good idea to think that there’s any “safe” period in your cycle where you have less need to worry about pregnancy. Not everybody ovulates on Day 14. Especially in…

Our giant 25-page guide to birth control options provides in-depth info on contraceptive choices to help you find your BC BFF.

The instructions on every packet of condoms I have ever seen (including condoms in countries outside the United States) clearly state that once the man has ejaculated, he needs to withdraw and dispose of the condom promptly. Proper withdrawal means you grip the ring firmly, pull out completely and…

No, the penis does not have to go far into the vaginal canal to result in pregnancy. There have been cases where pregnancies resulted without any insertion of a penis into a vaginal canal. All that needs to happen is sperm must get to the ovum (egg). Simply spilling fertile semen on the vulva can be…

Take a big breath. It’s all going to be okay, and there’s just no reason for you to be so scared. For starters, it’s totally normal for ejaculate to run out like that after intercourse where the partner with the penis ejaculates without a condom. That’s plain old gravity: when you’re laying down or…

In terms of your current lateness, keep in mind that you won’t have your withdrawl bleed (you don’t have real “periods” when you’re on hormonal birth control because you are not ovulating) at the exact time that you had it before you were on the birth control. Your cycles will probably be around 28…

Your pills should be fully effective beginning at the start of your new pack. Typically, problems with pills only affect that particular cycle (unless the problem itself carries over into the next pack). So as long as you don’t have any problems during your next cycle, you should be well protected…

If you are interested in becoming pregnant, the first thing to do is to get to your health care provider and speak with them about it. One of the most important things to do is to make sure that your body is as healthy as possible before trying to conceive (that will go a long way toward your having…

Unfortunately, it’s pretty difficult to give you exact odds when it comes to your pregnancy risk here. There are so many factors influencing things that it’s really difficult to be precise about it. However, if you are having genital contact without a condom and you are not taking your pill…

It is important to understand that the each pill in your packet has basically enough hormones for 24 hours. When you’re late or miss one, your hormone levels can drop. So then what ends up happening is that when you take the late (or missed) pill and then take your next one at what is supposed to be…