S/O: Birth Control- What we do and do not know about it.

lunarsongbird · March 2012

Birth Control.
Do you think we educate our teens and ourselves enough about it?

Have you ever had any weird happenings with birth control and wonder to yourself..."Gosh- has this happened to anyone else before?"

Do you think there is a taboo around talking about birth control?

What facts do you know about preventing birth that others might not know?

ETA: What was your sex ed like? When did you learn about contraception? Was it early enough? At what age do we need to be teaching it?

swhite2012 · March 2012

Do you think we educate our teens and ourselves enough about it?

No. I think that abstinence only education is outdated and teens are having to resort to other means (media, internet, rumors) to learn about safe sex.

Have you ever had any weird happenings with birth control and wonder to yourself..."Gosh- has this happened to anyone else before?"

I had been on the same pill for about two years and started my period on the same day, same time of the placebo week consistently. Then all of a sudden it was all over the place. I was freaked.

Do you think there is a taboo around talking about birth control?

I don't necessarily think there is a taboo about it, but it's not exactly something I personally am comfortable talking about in normal conversation. I also tend to conceal taking my pill if I am around other people.

What facts do you know about preventing birth that others might not know?

I don't think I have anything interesting to add.

[Deleted User] · March 2012

Do you think we educate our teens and ourselves enough about it?
probably not. my mom doesn't know a whole lot about it (she makes fun of me for taking it at the exact same time everyday) so I didn't have anyone to ask about it when I was a teen. only now that I'm an adult I have started to educate myself on it. she also thought that I could just stop a pack in the middle and switch to a new one. um, no, Mom.

Have you ever had any weird happenings with birth control and wonder to yourself..."Gosh- has this happened to anyone else before?"
I tend to research the pill I'm taking, so that I am prepared. or I'll call my GYN.

Do you think there is a taboo around talking about birth control?
I think it's kind of weird to talk about it around the dinner table in most company, if you know what I mean. but I can talk about it with my friends and we compare symptoms, etc. it's NBD in that sense. I don't feel it's taboo, per se, I just feel that it may not be an appropriate topic in some company. does that make sense?

What facts do you know about preventing birth that others might not know?
when I went on an antibiotic, we had to use a secondary measure for a full cycle... so I had to finish the one I was on, and then go for another full cycle. month and a half. I had heard it was 10 days but I asked the pharmacist when I picked up my antibiotic and he let me know it was a full cycle.

I just figure it's my responsibility to educate myself on my birth control. I research it myself and talk about it with my GYN and pharmacist.

lunarsongbird · March 2012

In California, we started learning about family life in 5th grade. This seemed appropriate at the time- since most girls weren't starting to hit puberty until middle school anyways. We learned about masturbation (Oh my gawd...I was normal? Other people did this? I'm not a freak?), general anatomy, general sex stuff, and I vividly remember my teacher putting a tampon in a glass of water and thinking it looked like it could kill someone from the inside out.

They wouldn't teach us about contraception until our freshman year of high school. My health teacher took a condom- stretched it all the way down her arm and told us ladies, "If a guy says he's too big for a condom- you have a much bigger problem then that." (LOL). She also put spermacide on the inside of our wrists to see if any of us were allergic.

I think back then- those timeframes were good. However- times are changing. Some studies are even showing that girls are beginning to menstruate sooner. I think some basic sex ed should start being taught in 3rd grade...But here is the other question...
Is this the responsibility of the school or parents? Or either? Or both?
I definitely know it's the responsibility of the parents...but should the school be moving up their sex ed classes?

And I'm afraid that we should probably start talking about contraception in 7th or 8th grade, maybe even 5th (although this makes me really uncomfortable to think about.)

I don't think I've been taught too much about birth control other then the male condom and the pills.

It seems like injections, IUD, and vaginal rings of the sort weren't really discussed in school. Seems like that is an adult decision to make, but I'm not entirely sure it should be.

Diaphragms seem old school, don't they?

As I mentioned in the previous thread...I've had that stupid condom fall off twice in one week. Arg. And it's not like my partner is small...he's perfect, quite average. I think the problem was getting too lubey before putting the protection on. We haven't had any problems since.

Yes, I'm a little uncomfy talking about it...I think there still may be a bit of a taboo around sex and protection.

melmac86 · March 2012

Do you think we educate our teens and ourselves enough about it?
Unfortunately, many parents leave the teaching to the schools. The talks have to start at home and I think too many parents are uncomfortable discussing it. Abstinence only education programs are not the answer.

Have you ever had any weird happenings with birth control and wonder to yourself..."Gosh- has this happened to anyone else before?"
I actually started BC pills at 12 - several months after my first period, because I was sick with nausea, pain, and headaches for the entire week. I missed so much school before the BC. I have to take the pill at night. I tried taking them in the morning and they made me sick all day.

Do you think there is a taboo around talking about birth control?
Again, I think it's not the most comfortable subject for parents to discuss with their kids. I think people in general are much more open to discussing it these days versus maybe our parent's generation.

What facts do you know about preventing birth that others might not know?

Besides the obvious methods, I can't think of anything else.

lunarsongbird · March 2012

What facts do you know about preventing birth that others might not know?
St. John's Wort can decrease the effectiveness of birth control.

bethsmiles · March 2012

Do you think we educate our teens and ourselves enough about it?
It depends on the area. My high school talked a little bit about birth control but definitely not enough (actually it might have been junior high when we covered that). My mom is the one who made sure I knew about birth control and even then I had to learn a lot by myself. BF and I have had talks about definitely not leaving it up to schools to teach our kids about birth control. Ideally we'd like them to practice abstinence but we know that they still need to know about their other options.

Have you ever had any weird happenings with birth control and wonder to yourself..."Gosh- has this happened to anyone else before?"
No, because I've never used birth control.

Do you think there is a taboo around talking about birth control?
Not in general but it seems like there is a taboo about talking with teens about birth control.

What facts do you know about preventing birth that others might not know?
I honestly don't know that much. I've researched different methods of birth control and talked with BF about what what method might be best when we start having sex but obviously it's not much of a concern for me right now.

QuiltingNurse · March 2012

Do you think we educate our teens and ourselves enough about it?
No. I had friends in Highschool who were absolutely convinced that if a penis was near you (not inside) with underwear on, with no ejaculating that you would get pregnant. I had a friend actually take plan B because of this, I wasted so much time and effort trying to educate her on this but she was 100% certain that she would be pregnant. Others thought that oral sex could lead to pregnancy, again, I wasted a lot of time and effort trying to convince them otherwise. I was the first in my group of friends to have sex, I educated myself and really researched birth control, condoms, and pregnancy before I even considered doing it. I think a lot of people will just assume that if you use a condom or take the pill that nothing can go wrong, there is a lot of things that can go wrong and most people just listen to the use a condom or bc and you are fine.

Have you ever had any weird happenings with birth control and wonder to yourself..."Gosh- has this happened to anyone else before?"
(TMI) I was on NuvaRing for a while and was getting very frequent yeast infections from it. I had friends who were on it and no one had problems, it sucked that I was the one to have this problem because I loved everything else about NuvaRing and can't remember to take pills on time everyday.

Do you think there is a taboo around talking about birth control?

As an adult, no. As a teenager, yes. I was very self consious that I was taking it as a teen because I was having sex, everyone else was on it to control periods or acne. I was afraid to tell my mom that I went on it, and didn't want all of ym friends knowing either so I was quite secretive about taking it. I think parents and teachers need to talk about this and let teenagers know that you need to think about this BEFORE you are having sex and even if you are considering sex, to protect yourself and take appropriate actions (ie taking the pill, and having condoms available).

What facts do you know about preventing birth that others might not

know?

Nothing I can think of at the moment.

What was your sex ed like? When did you learn about contraception? Was it early enough? At what age do we need to be teaching it?

I went to a catholic school, we were taught no sex before marriage. They only taught briefly about STD's and the rest was about pregnancy (after marriage, of course). I had to educate myself on it 100%, I took the time to read up about STD and pregnancy prevention and made a choice of what was right for me. I think now, sex ed needs to be taught early since kids are having sex at such young ages. Starting around 10-12 seems so early, but in reality that is when they are starting to think about it now and they will be hearing so much info by that time (most of it incorrect).

bethsmiles · March 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_not-engaged-yet_so-birth-control-what-we-do-and-do-not-know-about-it?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:136Discussion:eaaeba4a-55ca-4abe-937b-3097c33e4865Post:ffffe563-3456-42f6-99df-25328b6d69cb">Re: S/O: Birth Control- What we do and do not know about it.</a>:
[QUOTE] <strong>But here is the other question... Is this the responsibility of the school or parents? Or either? Or both?</strong> I definitely know it's the responsibility of the parents...but <span style="font-weight:bold;">should the school be moving up their sex ed classes?</span> And I'm afraid that we should probably start talking about contraception in 7th or 8th grade, maybe even 5th
Posted by lunarsongbird[/QUOTE]

I think it's the responsibility of the parents. I started menstruating in 4th grade so my parents taught me about all of that stuff before the school anyway. I don't think parents should complain about the school not teaching their kids something if they aren't willing to do it themselves.

I learned sex ed in 8th grade, I think it should probably be moved to 7th or 6th. When I was a kid that's when my peers started talking about/having sex.

[Deleted User] · March 2012

I also think it's the parents' responsibility. I know that a lot of parents don't talk about with their kids... mine really didn't. but they should, and H and I plan on doing it.

I think that it would be beneficial to have a mandatory health class and a mandatory life skills class in high school (maybe freshman year?). health, to talk about basic health concepts, including sex ed... and life skills, to talk about money management, time management, etc.

we had the "body talk" in 6th grade, and then other talks in junior high and high school, but nothing really sticks out in my head. but I've always been a curious person, so I would read books and stuff on my own to figure it out. or ask questions.

swhite2012 · March 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_not-engaged-yet_so-birth-control-what-we-do-and-do-not-know-about-it?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:136Discussion:eaaeba4a-55ca-4abe-937b-3097c33e4865Post:1137dbba-841d-400a-965f-1a532ad25982">Re: S/O: Birth Control- What we do and do not know about it.</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: S/O: Birth Control- What we do and do not know about it. : I think it's the responsibility of the parents. <strong>I started menstruating in 4th grade</strong> so my parents taught me about all of that stuff before the school anyway. I don't think parents should complain about the school not teaching their kids something if they aren't willing to do it themselves. I learned sex ed in 8th grade, I think it should probably be moved to 7th or 6th. When I was a kid that's when my peers started talking about/having sex.
Posted by bethsmiles[/QUOTE]<div>
</div><div>Wow! That's super early. I didn't start until early high school! I can't imagine having dealt with it so young.

</div>

[Deleted User] · March 2012

I was in 6th grade, 12 years old. I knew that I was going to get a period "soon", but I didn't know exactly what it would look like/feel like, etc. but when it happened, I knew. I just told the teacher privately and they called my mom to come pick me up. it was NBD.

bethsmiles · March 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_not-engaged-yet_so-birth-control-what-we-do-and-do-not-know-about-it?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:136Discussion:eaaeba4a-55ca-4abe-937b-3097c33e4865Post:8e3f32aa-8576-4853-8954-44fcc345dc40">Re: S/O: Birth Control- What we do and do not know about it.</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: S/O: Birth Control- What we do and do not know about it. : Wow! That's super early. I didn't start until early high school! I can't imagine having dealt with it so young.
Posted by swhite2012[/QUOTE]

It really sucked. And I super freaked out when it happened. I actually went to my dad about it first because I thought I was going to get in trouble for ruining my underwear lol.

jemmini6 · March 2012

Do you think we educate our teens and ourselves enough about it?
No, I think too many parents are afraid to talk to their teens about it because it's 'awkward' and too many schools are afraid to teach it because of parents. It should be 100% the parent's responsibility to have that talk with their kids, but so many don't and I think someone needs to, so I think there should be classes at school that parents could opt their kids out of if they've proven to have gone over the material with them. It's sad and wrong to be so 'nanny-state' about that, but it's too important of a topic to risk not having anyone teach them about it.

Have you ever had any weird happenings with birth control and wonder to yourself..."Gosh- has this happened to anyone else before?"
No, but that's because I found a pill that worked for me and I've been on it for about 6 years now. I know a few people who've had to jump around a bit because of issues though.

Do you think there is a taboo around talking about birth control?
I don't personally feel uncomfortable about it, but I know some people still do, especially the younger you are because girls don't want to bring attention to the fact that their even having sex.

What facts do you know about preventing birth that others might not know?
I've known a few people that didn't know that antibiotics affect the efficacy of BCP. If you are on antibiotics for anything, you are supposed to use a back-up.

loves2shop4shoes · March 2012

Do you think we educate our teens and ourselves enough about it?

Not even close.

Have you ever had any weird happenings with birth control and wonder to yourself..."Gosh- has this happened to anyone else before?"

When my body responded weird to Paragard, and I didn't know I had PCOS yet, I was like...WTF.

Do you think there is a taboo around talking about birth control?

In some circles, yes, but in general, no.

What facts do you know about preventing birth that others might not know?

I know a fair amount about birth control. I have been on several types of BC pills, Nuvaring, Paragard, and Mirena. I've used condoms. I've used spermicide. I know several people who have gotten KU and then gotten abortions. I know what those abortions entail. And, thanks to Constitutional Law, I know quite a bit about the laws regarding birth control/abortion.

What was your sex ed like? When did you learn about contraception? Was it early enough? At what age do we need to be teaching it?

I had a great sex ed program. We learned all about anatomy and birth control. We had to practice putting condoms on bananas. I learned about contraception probably in the 6th or 7th grade. It was early enough for me. I think generally, sex ed should be taught in the 5th or 6th grade and they should pass a law that any child above age 7 should be able to go to the school nurse and find out ANY sex/contraceptive information they need to if they ask.

flygirlmeg · March 2012

Do you think we educate our teens and ourselves enough about it?
Not nearly enough. And it drives me UP THE WALL that some educators and parents think that abstinence only education will work. That's simply setting our young people up to fail.

Have you ever had any weird happenings with birth control and wonder to yourself..."Gosh- has this happened to anyone else before?"
When I was on the pill I occasionally missed one - but always caught it within a day. I actually had a alarm on my phone to go off at the same time daily to remind me to take it. A girlfriend of mine just told me about something that she did recently that I've also done once . . . she got up on Saturday to take her Saturday pill but it was gone. She's thinking she much have accidentally taken two on Friday somehow. That's a weird feeling!

Do you think there is a taboo around talking about birth control?
Not as adults but as teens, yes. And there really shouldn't be.

What facts do you know about preventing birth that others might not know?
When I went off the pill, FI and made that decision together. A friend had recommended a book called "Taking Charge of your Fertility" for tracking your cycle and learning about it. You can use the technique for both birth control and for trying to conceive. We're using it for bc but are also using a back-up method (condoms) during my fertile times. That book has taught me A LOT about how my body works and has made me much more aware of my body in general. I highly recommend it for preventing birth and just in general.

What was your sex ed like? When did you learn about contraception? Was it early enough? At what age do we need to be teaching it?
I remember my mom went over some things. I don't remember specifics though. Then we had a class in 6th grade I think. Again, no specifics that I can remember. I just remember being really scared of sex for awhile after that because of all the "horrid" things that could happen. I got over that though. I think they even taught basic contraception - I vaguely remember them mentioning the pill, IUD and condoms. I think parents should take a proactive role with their children about sex ed from the time they are fairly young (Dan Savage has some good books he recommends for that). Good sex education isn't having a talk ONE time. It's having multiple talks over the years and having an open mind to your children's questions.

doubleSS07 · March 2012

Do you think we educate our teens and ourselves enough about it?
Absolutely not. I grew up in a poor urban area and we were one of those school districts that had a special school within each highschool for the pregnant teen moms. My parents were awful at talking to us about any of that kind of stuff. I got my period in 5th grade and hadn't yet started the sex ed classes because they did those at the end of the year so I was pretty freaked out when that happened and I wasn't sure what was going on.
Having witnessed so many teens having kids I abstained from sex till I was 18 and then took my butt, literally on my bday, down to planned parenthood and got the pill for myself because my mom wouldn't hear of it.

Have you ever had any weird happenings with birth control and wonder to yourself..."Gosh- has this happened to anyone else before?"
I haven't really had anything that stands out but then again I found the pill to be effective and haven't ever really tried any other form of hormonal BC like IUD's or nuva ring etc..

Do you think there is a taboo around talking about birth control?

I think there is still somewhat of a taboo, which is silly considering how much we are slapped in the face with sex by the media on a daily basis. I have no problem talking about BC and BF and I already decided that once we get married and have kids that we will be starting early with age appropriate conversations. Do I want my kid to end up pregnant or even to be having sex at an early age - NO but I also am not naieve enough to think it wouldn't happen and I am not against putting her (if it is a girl) on BC. I know that isn't necessarily a popular opinion.

What facts do you know about preventing birth that others might not

know?

Nothing I can think of at the moment.

What was your sex ed like? When did you learn about contraception? Was it early enough? At what age do we need to be teaching it?
We had the movies that talked about getting your period in like 5th and 6th grade and showed some anatomy. I feel like we didn't really get in to the good stuff till HS and I KNOW these days it should be starting earlier like at least 7th grade. I agree with the PP too that kids need more than just sex ed. They need classes about life in general.

Blue & White · March 2012

I'm a bio teacher at a community college - birth control is like, my thing

And here's my take.

Birth Control.
Do you think we educate our teens and ourselves enough about it? Absolutely not.

Have you ever had any weird happenings with birth control and wonder to yourself..."Gosh- has this happened to anyone else before?" Not really. I definitely gained some weight even though EVERYTHING says you won't gain weight. Nope, guys, I was 105 lbs before BC and I'm more than that now. I didn't change that much.

Do you think there is a taboo around talking about birth control? Around here, a bit, yes. We live in the bible belt and there's a lot of naivete. But within my family, birth control is a pretty big topic. Most of us are Catholic, but we fully acknowledge that it's not responsible to bring a child into this world if you can't take care of it (for whatever reason.) Birth control helps us avoid this.

What facts do you know about preventing birth that others might not know? You need to be on two forms of BC if you're on Accutane. My grandma didn't even know there were two forms of BC.

ETA: What was your sex ed like? When did you learn about contraception? Was it early enough? At what age do we need to be teaching it? We got the period talk in 5th grade. And the STD talk in 9th grade. We never got the contraception talk (but my sex ed spanned NJ and FL, so maybe I just missed it.) My mom was pretty open about it, although I didn't go on/need birth control until college. There wasn't that much pressure in HS to have sex (within my group of friends)

tdwpg1984 · March 2012

Do you think we educate our teens and ourselves enough about it? I live in Canada and our sex ed is a little different. From my understanding of US sex ed, ours is better, but still not good enough.

Have you ever had any weird happenings with birth control and wonder to yourself..."Gosh- has this happened to anyone else before?" Yep. My period has been a little odd over the last few months. It used to be super regular, now it's not. And I'm on the pill.

Do you think there is a taboo around talking about birth control? In some crowds/some places, yes.

What facts do you know about preventing birth that others might not know? There are certain teas you can drink that can prevent pregnancy and others that can cause miscarriages. I can't remember the ones that prevent pregnancy, but I'm pretty sure hawthorne tea can cause miscarriages. I think that's what my cousin used to drink, and she kept having miscarriages when she was TTC. She got pregnant no problem, but couldn't keep the pregnancy. She couldn't figure it out until she went to a holistic doctor who told her to cut the tea out. Sure enough, next month she got pregnant, and ended up with a beautiful baby girl. She didn't know it was the tea that was causing her problems.

What was your sex ed like? Girls and boys were separated in 5th grade, and told about their developing bodies (at least that's what I assume the boys were taught, because that's what girls were taught). We learned how babies are made and what to do when we get our periods. 7th grade we learned a little more. 9th grade even more. Then in 10th grade I went to an alternative school where they taught us way more than you'd ever learn at a normal high school. They taught us about pretty much every type of birth control out there. In 12th grade I was back in a regular school and took family studies (an elective course) and we learned about all the different methods.

When did you learn about contraception? I think in 7th grade we learned the basics (condoms). My mom also took me to a birth control clinic when I was 14 and they taught me about pretty much every single birth control method (condoms, female condoms, IUD, the sponge, cervical cap, diaprham, vaginal contraceptive film, contraceptive foam, spermicidal jelly, the pill. About the only thing they didn't show me were plan B depo, the patch and the nuva ring, which they didn't have then). It was embarassing, but I'm glad my mom did it, beucase I learned way more than what I learned in school.

Was it early enough? For me, yes.

At what age do we need to be teaching it? I think kids need to learn about sex when they're 12 or 13 because that seems to be when kids are doing it these days.

leia1979 · March 2012

Posting from my phone, so please excuse the lack of quoting. Like Lunar, I'm a product of the CA school system. We had basic anatomy in 5th grade and learned about STDs in 9th grade. I don't remember learning much about BC, even though I far predate abstinence only. I don't think I saw an actual condom until I was 18. My parents do not talk about sex. Ever. My mom gave me a book when I was 12 and that was it. Of course, the book was more useful than anything I learned in school.

HULU · March 2012

Do you think we educate our teens and ourselves enough about it?

Definitely not. I remember my cousin having a Sex Ed. class back in middle school (or maybe early highschool), but because I went to a private, Christian school, they refused to allow any sex ed. except for what was covered in our Health textbooks, which was basically how someone gets pregnant. There was no discussion on birth control, safe sex, or anything that even remotely hinted that sex before marriage was anything other than taboo.

Have you ever had any weird happenings with birth control and wonder to yourself..."Gosh- has this happened to anyone else before?"

When I was on Seasonique (the once-every-three-months period), if I ever missed just ONE pill, my period would start, even if I remembered the next morning that I had forgotten it. Strangely enough, though, it started the way most of my periods ended, with dark, thick blood. I would continue taking my pills regularly, then after a week, this weird period would end. If this happened at the end of my 3-month cycle, I could end up having my period for 2 weeks, 1 week of the "forgot a pill" period, then my ACTUAL period after that. SUCKED.

Do you think there is a taboo around talking about birth control?

I don't think I would consider it taboo (because I'm not uncomfortable talking about it), but I try to refrain from doing so with males.

What facts do you know about preventing birth that others might not know?

Nothing that most people don't already know.

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