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BIRTH CONTROL
Birth Control, various methods used to
prevent pregnancy.
Birth control has been a human concern for
thousands of years; the oldest known medical
text, from the 19th century bc, contains
information on contraception. The first
contraceptive devices were simple mechanical
barriers in the vagina that prevented the male
sperm, deposited in the vagina during sexual
intercourse, from fertilizing the female ovum
(egg). (See Human Reproduction.) Among the many
vaginal preparations that have also been used
historically to prevent pregnancy are sea
sponges, quinine, rock salt, and alum.
Methods of birth
control available today range from permanent
procedures such as surgical sterilization to
temporary methods that must be used with each
act of intercourse.
BARRIER METHODS
CONDOMS : Condoms, or sheaths, are the
oldest form used by men, and when used properly
(and remaining intact) with each act of
intercourse they are 98 per cent effective. With
younger and inexperienced users, the failure
rate of condoms—and indeed, of most
birth-control devices and methods—is higher.
Because condoms are inexpensive, easy to use, do
not require medical supervision, and have few
side-effects, they are currently the most common
contraceptive devices employed worldwide.
Unprotected sex is sexual intercourse without a
condom, and is also termed “unsafe sex”. Condoms
also help prevent infection with other sexually
transmitted diseases (STDs), such as gonorrhoea,
herpes, infections caused by chlamydia, and
hepatitis B. The use of condoms is also vital in
helping to prevent the transmission of HIV, the
virus that causes acquired immune deficiency
disease (AIDS).
A female condom (which is inserted in the
vagina) was approved for sale in Britain and the
United States in 1993-1994.
DIAPHRAGM
Around 1 per cent of women
in England use the diaphragm or cap, a shallow
rubber cup that fits over the cervix (neck of
the uterus) to prevent the sperm reaching the
egg. The cup holds a spermicidal (sperm-killing)
jelly or cream that immobilizes any sperm that
may be present around the edges of the
diaphragm. These devices have few side effects
and, when used in conjunction with a spermicide
with each act of intercourse, they are 92 to 96
per cent effective.
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