Cunfused about the 'cycle'

LegacyUser

Need sme female help here,

I'm only with my girlfriend a short while, and we're sleeping together but i'm allergic to latex so I can't wear condoms, so I opted that we don't have sex, because to me it's not all that important.. But I can't say no when she initiates it, so we have quite alot of unprotected sex.. I know she has no sti's or anthing, nor do I. And she's not on the pill or any type of contraceptive,, because she says there is only certain days when she can get pregnant and we just avoid them days, and 3 days before it too.. Is she telling me the truth here?

LegacyUser

well there is a'time' when a women can't get pregnant but it's very unlikely this actully works as a contraceptive, as a mans sperm can live inside a womens body for 3 days (72 hrs) hence why you can use emergany contraception upto 72 hrs after sex. So its highly unlikely that your gf has a safe time as such. By the way arn't there latex free condoms? and there are loads of alternitive methods of protection against pregancy such as injections, the coil etc. And assuming you and you partner have not been to a sexual health clinic how can you be 100% certain she has no stds?

LegacyUser

You need to very careful using this method of contraception, really if you are going to have sex and not use condoms, ask your girlfriend to speak to her GP about the pill. The Rhythm method is based on counting days from the first day of a girls mentruation either only having sex in the days after it ends to maximise the chance of pregnancy or in the second half of her cycle (the few days before menstruation begins again) to minimise the chance of a pregnancy. Even the doctor who invented this technique advised against using it as a contraceptive method because the chances of conception were too high.

The Catholic church advise this method as they opppose the use of any other forms of contraception but really it's the least effective form of contraception.

Nevyn

Durex Avanti comdoms are latex free, most chemists carry the and Boots certainly do.

They are made from polyurethane not latex.

As for the Rythym method, it is only between 80 and 98% effective,
and that is when a woman has been charting her cycle for at least 3 to 6 months checking her tempature or hormoane rates daily.

In order to understand howt his works you have under go a workshop tbh,
or the woman would have buy a persona kit and use it each day to determine when she is not fertile.



Is a 1 in 5 risk of you becoming a dad in the next year acceptible to you ?

http://www.ifpa.ie/contraception/nm.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhythm_Method
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_family_planning
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fertility_awareness

hunnymonster

[oops, Thaed types faster than I do!]


I prefer to think of the rythmn method as conception method rather than a contraception method. Measuring a womans basel body temperature (BBT, which rises just before ovulation) can identify the onset of ovulation and so identify the best time for a couple to have sex if they are trying for a baby. As has been said before, depending on the health of the pair involved (the woman is important as the quality of her cervical mucus is relevant) the sperm can survive for up to 5 days (more like 72 hours normally) so sex even before the increase in temperature can results in fertilisation and consequently pregnancy.

Some people use a simplier approach where they count the number of days in their cycle and identify days 12 and 15 before menstruation as those that are most fertile. However, even for women with reqular cycles stress and illness (and I'm sure other factors) can influence this. Women who have irregular cycles have it even harder. There really is no absolutely safe time for sex if you want to avoid pregnancy.

Have you tried Latex free condoms? You can buy them in Boots or on-line. Why does your girlfriend not want to take the pill? There are other contraceptive methods eg the IUD and they all have their pro's and cons.

hunnymonster

another wiki link that might be useful for people who were not taught this stuff as part of their sex education.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menstrual_cycle

Jotter

We decided to try for a baby last Nov, I read various books and internet sites on ovulation and most said average woman with 28 day cycle would ovulate around days 13 to 16 of cycle counting first day of period as day 1. As someone with averge 28 day cycle and someone who also knew that usually day 14 was most fertile (tmi to explain how!)I thought I had missed the window for that month but carried on regardless and decided to keep track of cycle the next month. No need I was up the damien and almost certain got preggers on day 10 of cycle,so please dont trust natural method as only form of contraception unless you both are happy with raising a child for next 18 yrs! Tell her to go on pill or use the condoms suggested that are latex free! And dont use the old pulling out trick either, thats just plain silly!!

greenteaicedtea

just to clarify some of the terminology used in this thread -

"rhythm method" - counting days on a calendar to determine when a woman's fertile. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhythm_Method

"fertility awareness method" - charting basal body temperature to determine fertile times. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fertility_Awareness_Method

charting basal body temps tells you more info than counting days on a calendar, as everyone's body is different.

darkflower

the rhythm method isn't 100% effective so unless you don't want to be a dad early, opt for a safer one.

kizzyr

If neither of you want to be parents and are sure that you have no STIs then why doesn't your girlfriend go on the Pill? There is no way on earth I'd be happy to be leaving it to chance the way you guys are.

Skiesonfire19

Most pharmacies stock latex free condoms.

This 'rythm' method thing, can someone break it right down.. like your teaching children, it was explained to me before but it went right over my head.

Skies

Talliesin

Skiesonfire19 wrote:

This 'rythm' method thing, can someone break it right down.. like your teaching children, it was explained to me before but it went right over my head.

Simply put, it's making an educated guess at the time when a women will be infertile based on the timing of her periods.

Less accurate by far even than other so-called "natural" methods, which in turn have a high failure rate compared with barrier and hormonal methods.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhythm_Method

Miss Fluff

Biology is not an exact science and consequently there really is no safe time of the month. Why don't you go to a Family Planning Clinic together and they will run through all your options with you? 3 days prior to the "safe" time is not enough either, semen can live up to 72 hours and if she ovulates later than normal there you have it. Risky business hoping for the best etc and takes the fun out of it too imo if you think that you'll be spending your beer money on pampers for the next while.