For my peace of mind, is it really okay to go without condoms for the few weeks per month that I’m safely protected by birth control? Am I probably good to go? I’m sure most couples in our situation are fine, but just to calm me down, I’d love to get a “yes, go for it!” (or a “no way”) from people who know this sort of thing and are not going to feed me the same line about how my NuvaRing doesn’t protect against STIs and blah blah blah, because I know all that already!

A: Unfortunately, this is still a decision you’ll have to make for yourself. Many couples who are not concerned about STIs decide to stop using condoms when birth control is being used. Like most hormonal birth control, the NuvaRing is about 99% effective when used correctly. That means that per year, about 1 out of 100 women using the ring will become pregnant. In addition, as long as you are using the ring according to instructions, you are protected from pregnancy throughout the month. It is not required to use a backup method during the week that you remove the ring.

Here are some websites with more information about the ring. You can also contact your medical provider or pharmacist for more information.
NuvaRing Website
Planned Parenthood on the NuvaRing

You’ll have to decide if relying on your birth control alone would make you worry so much that it would affect your quality of life. You may also want to consider what you would do if you did happen to get pregnant. You may decide that an unintended pregnancy is not something you want to deal with right now, or you may decide that you could handle it just fine in the unlikely event that it happens.

A: We did some research about taking Aviane, and what we did find about the pill is that there is a certain amount of breakthrough bleeding during the first three months while you taking it. It says that if the bleeding continues or is heavy in any way that you need to contact your doctor. Also, we thought you should know also that you do need back up contraceptives during the first three months also while taking Aviane. It might be good if you used condoms and foam for the next couple months to prevent pregnancy. If you are still concerned please go to the clinic where you got the Aviane or to another clinic or doctor.

A: Thanks for sending us your question; we’re glad you’re taking the time to ask and learn a bit more about sex and the risk of pregnancy. While we can’t tell you for sure whether your girlfriend will get pregnant or not, we can tell you what to look for over the next few weeks. Anytime you put your penis inside your girlfriend’s vagina there’s a risk she will get pregnant, no matter whether you plan to pull out, or whether you wipe semen off your penis before you put it back in. But overall, the risk of pregnancy from a single sexual encounter isn’t all that high; it’s your long-term habits that count.

If your girlfriend has gotten pregnant, she may not have any symptoms for a while. She may not even miss her period; some women get a light period a couple weeks after they get pregnant. But many women begin to feel nausea and will miss their periods, so keep an eye out for those symptoms. If you want to be sure, buy a home pregnancy test. The earliest you can take it is a week after her next period, or after she misses her next period, depending on the pregnancy test. Make sure to read the instructions.

It sounds like this whole experience made you feel anxious about the possibility of pregnancy, so we want give you some information to help you decide if you want to use a birth control method in the future. After all, some activities are riskier than others. The highest risk is if you ejaculate inside, but pulling out, like you did, offers some protection. Over time, though, there is still a fairly substantial risk of pregnancy. For your typical couple using the withdrawal method (pulling out), there’s a one in four chance of getting pregnant over the course of one year. You can lower your risk if you use some sort of protection. A condom, for a typical couple, will give a one in ten chance of getting pregnant, and hormonal methods, such as the Pill, will give a one in fifty chance or lower.

A: Periods become fewer and lighter for most women on Depo Provera, and often stop altogether. The longer a woman uses the shot, the more likely her periods will stop, and it may take up to a year for periods to return after a woman’s last shot. But some women will have longer, heavier periods, and some may have increased light spotting and breakthrough bleeding–occasionally to the point of bleeding all the time.

Some good resources for more information around Depo Provera include the Wikipedia entry, Planned Parenthood, and from the manufacturer of Depo, Pfizer.

PS- we’re eagerly awaiting an answer!

A: Using two different forms of birth control, i.e. the pill and condoms together can even further reduce your chance of pregnancy. Either one of these methods, used separately, can be over 95% effective, so combined they are quite effective indeed.

A condom may reduce your sensation a bit and prolong your ability to have intercourse without ejaculating. However keep in mind that as this is your first experience, what’s going on with your brain may be the most important variable. Also, you have not established a baseline to determine how sex works best for you. So it would be good to go easy on yourself and be open to trying a bunch of different approaches to figure out what works best for you and your partner.

There are lots of different condoms to choose from. It’s good to try a whole bunch of different ones to see what you like best. The size and shape of your penis might skew your decision in one way or another. Some of the world’s best-selling condoms are Durex Extra Sensitive and Crown Skinless Skin. Many condom companies give reviews of different condoms and user impressions of different styles so that you can better determine what might work for you. You could try condomdepot or condomwizard.

If your partner would like to help you pick out and put on the condom that could be fun! Just remember when putting on a condom to be careful not to scratch it with your nails, hold the reservoir tip to make sure there’s no air bubble, and make sure you put it on the right way, with the roll on the outside, so you can roll it down easily. If you put in on backwards, you’ll know because it won’t roll down easily, so just get a new condom and try again. She might even try putting it on with her mouth, that’s fun for some folks