TresSugar

Lil Community: My Daughter Needs Birth Control!

Lil Community — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 03:17:27 PST

Motherhood can be a mind-boggler! Betty Wayne posted this funny conversation with her daughter in the Mommy Club group in the LilSugar Community.

When my daughter was about 4 she saw me taking my birth control pill and asked what it was. "Oh it makes me not have babies," I said, naively thinking it was a throw-away comment that she would never remember.

She's 6 1/2 now and a few days ago came to me in all seriousness, out of nowhere, and asked, "Mommy where do you get that medicine that makes you not have babies?"

"At the same place I get all my medicine." Face meets palm... now.

"Yes but where?" She asked again, urgently.

"At the pharmacy sweetie, why?"

Then she looked at me with a look of deep distress and said, "Mommy I need to get that medicine because I don't want to have a baby." I tried not to laugh as I explained that girls can't have babies until they're teenagers and promised to get her that medicine when she's big. Still worried she asked, "But mommy what if I forget?"

So I promised I would remember. Here's to hoping she's still open and eager to talk birth control when she needs it!

Start asking questions and sharing your advice and tips in The Mommy Club!

Did Your Birth Control Change After Baby?

Rebecca M Gruber — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 11:25:20 PDT

Having a baby changes everything, including birth control for many new mamas. When visiting the doctor for a postpartum checkup, one subject sure to be discussed is birth control options going forward. For women who've been on birth control pills for many years, the idea of remembering to take the lil tablets each day is simply too much. For others, the convenience of something they only have to think about a few times a year makes more sense in their newly hectic world. Still, others decide to scrap foreign objects altogether and turn to more natural prevention like the Fertility Awareness Method.

Did you switch up your birth control after having a baby?

The Pill's Effect on Mate Selection

TresSugar — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 15:05:05 PDT

I doubted blogger Rabbit Write's anecdotal evidence of women leaving men after going off birth-control pills, but there's actually a scientific explanation for it.

A 2008 study found the pill could screw up a woman's pheromone-sniffing ability - a deciding factor in the mate-selection process - and choose someone she otherwise wouldn't.

Typically, we're attracted to the people we're most compatible to have babies with - men with different MHC (major histocompatibility complex) levels. If birth-control pills prevent pheromones from doing their sniffing job, then we may end up with a less-than-compatible breeding partner or (worse, I'd say) wake up permanently turned off one morning.

Jena Pincott, a writer who specializes in the science of love and attraction, says we should classify this as good-to-know info but not gospel. "What women need to bear in mind when hearing these studies is that effects are statistically significant, but they are generalities.”

The Pill Turns 50 - What Do You Know About It?

FitSugar — Mon, 10 May 2010 04:30:05 PDT

Ironically, the 50th anniversary of the birth control pill falls on Mother's Day this year. The pill has affected the sexuality and independence of generations of women. To celebrate its big 5-0, take this quiz to see what you know about this important little pill.

Take the Quiz

Could Birth Control Pills Be Hurting Your Sex Drive?

FitSugar — Fri, 07 May 2010 03:00:30 PDT

Attention users of the pill: according to a new study, women who use hormonal contraceptives are at a higher risk for sexual problems. The German study, published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, evaluated over 1,000 women using various birth control methods; the pill, the ring, and condoms were most popular. Most of the women involved in the study were in a stable, monogamous relationship for at least six months. Researchers found that nearly 33 percent of the women were at risk for female sexual dysfunction, including lack of orgasm, desire, satisfaction, arousal and lubrication.

Women using nonhormonal contraceptives experienced the least dysfunction. Women using non-oral hormonal contraceptives - like the ring- were at highest risk, followed closely by those using oral hormonal contraceptives. Researchers can't explain the exact connection between hormonal contraception and dysfunction, but cite one possibility: oral contraceptives have been found to reduce circulating levels of androgens, perhaps leading to low circulating levels of testosterone, the hormone needed to trigger desire.

How do you feel about this study? Do the findings mirror your experiences with birth control?

Do You Know the Pill's History?

TresSugar — Thu, 06 May 2010 08:00:50 PDT

The pill has received a lot of attention lately, thanks to its 50th anniversary, connection to lowered libidos, and all-around discussions of its impact on society. While you may be up on the pill's current affairs, how well do you know its sometimes rocky past?

Take this quiz to test your history of oral contraception knowledge! And if you still want more, try your hand at LilSugar's quiz.

Source: Flickr User blmurch

Take the Quiz

What Has the Pill Done For You?

TresSugar — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 14:30:44 PDT

The birth control pill celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, and it's had a roller coaster history.

Most recently, the pill has been implicated in the masculinity crisis, and the moral objections to oral contraceptives have been around since the beginning. On the flip side, there have been studies that show health benefits of taking the pill, including one of the largest ever released this March that found that women who take the pill are less likely to die prematurely from causes such as cancer and heart disease. And while in some ways it changed less than promised, it helped give women freedom from their traditional roles in society. It gave women options - the choice to have children, have a career, or have both.

We read about how other women's sexual experiences were shaped by birth control, but since many of you are on the pill, we want to know about your experiences. Tell us, how has the pill affected your history - sexual or otherwise?

You vs. Your Mom: Who Had More Casual Sex?

TresSugar — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 11:00:00 PDT

Are we having more sex than our moms? Well, if your mom was sexually active before the 1960s, maybe. After that, the birth control pill arrived, and women no longer had to pray and men no longer had to pull.

Writing in the London Times this weekend, five women of different generations open up about their sex lives. One woman, who turned 16 in 1960, explains how the sexual environment was very different than today's - abortion was illegal, women were expected to get a ring on their fingers before they had sex, and young women at her college actually shared one generous student's diaphragm. But once the pill came on the scene, everything changed. Women no longer risked unwanted pregnancy and the associated stigma.

Women enjoyed more sex during the post-pill era, but the mood of the sexual revolution didn't last long. Presumably once off the pill, the women of the '60s began to have children who would have the advantage of oral contraceptives, but also the fear of AIDS to shape their sexual experiences. After AIDS, a younger writer explains, women carried their own condoms, and sex in a monogamous relationship seemed less risky than sleeping around.

So the sexual practices of different generations have been shaped by liberation (the pill) and fear (AIDS and other STDs) - guess what we're left with is protected casual sex. Good thing condoms have been around for thousands of years.

Do You Take Birth Control Pills?

FitSugar — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 12:25:04 PST

Some good news just came in for women on the pill. In a new study, British researchers discovered that those who took birth control pills lived longer than those who didn't. The study followed 46,000 women for nearly 40 years, most of whom were on the pill for about four years. Experts found that the pill reduced women's risk for bowel cancer by 38 percent and other diseases by 12 percent. Being on the pill may also cut a woman's risk for ovarian and endometrial cancers.

Researchers aren't sure why the pill would increase longevity in women. It may have to do with suppressing ovulation or the fact that women on the pill generally live healthier lifestyles. What they do know is that the benefits of taking the pill definitely outweigh the risks. So tell me . . .

What Do You Use For Birth Control?

FitSugar — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 04:30:19 PDT

It might seem like I have ~~sex~~ birth control on the brain. Last week I asked you about your experience or lack thereof with the female condom. Although it's most often talked about in intimate settings, birth control is in the news.

Concerns are being raised about the safety of the Yaz birth control pill, the top selling pill in the US, according to the New York Times. Women taking Yaz might have a higher chance of developing blood clots compared to other birth control pills, a claim that drug maker Bayer disputes. Investigation is ongoing, as are 74 lawsuits charging that Yaz and Yasmin, a similar product by Bayer, created health problems in women taking these pills. The lawsuits are tricky business though, since warnings about clots are presented in the pharmaceuticals' literature. Bayer strongly stands behind its product.

These new fears about the most commonly used contraceptive pill in America emphasize that avoiding pregnancy can be a difficult task, sometimes with medical consequences. I am curious about you . . .