Birth Control Myths
From Encyclopedia of Sex and Sexuality
Myths can be evocative stories that teach valuable lessons or they can be fabulous tales that delight little children, or in the case of some sexual myths, they can lead to very dangerous practices that result in unwanted pregnancies. Despite the wealth of sex information available and the coverage sex receives in the media and mandatory sex education classes, there are still far too many people who believe some of these sexual myths, many of which have been debunked long ago.
Douching as a method of birth control is a good example of a myth that will not go away. Archeologists have found detailed drawings of douching techniques used in ancient Egypt. In more recent times vinegar was the method of choice, and many people would keep a bottle on the bathroom sink for douching after intercourse. As times changed, so did the mythical douches: word soon spread that Coca Cola was an effective douche. The truth is that douching is not an effective method of birth control—by the time a woman has douched, many of the sperm that were deposited during intercourse have had more than enough time to start their journey toward an awaiting egg.
Another long-standing myth is that a woman cannot get pregnant from her first experience of sexual intercourse or if she does not have an orgasm. While it is true that the orgasmic response can help pregnancy occur (vaginal contractions that occur with orgasm cause the cervix to dip into the pool of semen in the vagina), a woman can still get pregnant without having an orgasm.
Another myth is that women cannot get pregnant from having sex while standing up. While a physician may recommend certain prone positions to a woman who is having difficulty becoming pregnant, most women do not need to be lying down for sperm to meet the egg. Another myth is that intercourse during menstruation is safe. Unprotected sexual intercourse during menstruation is relatively safer than at other times, but not all women are so regular that they cannot release an egg when they are menstruating. That is why using every possible method of natural birth control (methods based on the timing of women’s infertility periods) simultaneously does not guarantee that a woman will not get pregnant.
The most dangerous sexual myth says that a woman cannot get pregnant if the man withdraws before he ejaculates. This myth continues to be propagated by many men, who are desperate to have sex with a woman even when methods of birth control are not available. Since some men will say almost anything in that situation, it is left to the woman to be sensible. The fact is that before a man ejaculates, the Cowper’s gland gives off a few droplets of fluid that appear at the tip of the erect penis. This fluid acts as a lubricant for the millions of sperm that follow during ejaculation, but it too contains thousands of spermatozoa, and only one is needed to fertilize an egg. Whether or not the man is able to pull out and ejaculate outside the vagina is irrelevant. Coitus interruptus, as the withdrawal method is called in scientific terms, is not a reliable method of birth control.
