TresSugar

The Biology of Your Lady Business

DearSugar — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 07:00:00 PDT

I really wish I'd paid more attention in my sex ed class when the teacher taught us all the science-y facts about our lady business. There's so much to know, and being that it's such an important part of your body, take this quiz for a little brush-up.

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Take the Quiz

What's the Deal With the Diaphragm?

DearSugar — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 08:00:00 PDT

I've been talking a lot about many forms of birth control including hormonal ones like the Pill, the Patch, and Depo-Provera, and about barrier methods like the male and female condom. A diaphragm is another form of barrier method, which prevents sperm from getting to your precious eggs.

It is a shallow, bowl-shaped piece of rubber with a flexible rim that fits over your vagina and covers the cervix so sperm can't reach your uterus. Your vaginal muscles keep it in place.

Advantages:

You need to get fitted for one by your gynecologist, but once you have it, and if you take care of it properly, it should last 1-2 years.
It usually can't be felt during sex by either partner.
You can keep it inside you for up to 24 hours.
It doesn't change your menstrual cycle.
It doesn't affect future fertility.

There are unfortunately many disadvantages so click here to

Disadvantages:

It's only 84% effective at preventing pregnancy.
It doesn't protect you against STIs.
You have to use it with spermicide, which can be messy and irritating to some women.
More spermicide has to be added every time you have sex.
You have to leave it inside you for at least 6 hours after intercourse
If the diaphragm is left in place for more than 24 hours, the woman runs the risk of toxic shock syndrome (TSS).
It's possible that the diaphragm can become dislodged during sex. If that happens, there's a chance you could become pregnant.
It may cause UTIs.
If you gain or lose 10 pounds, you may need to be fitted for a new size.

only 84% effective

Dear's Advice:

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What Do You Know About Your Eggs and Ovulation?

DearSugar — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 08:00:00 PDT

Every month, once we hit puberty, women produce eggs for the sole purpose of getting pregnant. Those eggs are just waiting for a strong sperm to swim by and fertilize it.

I'm wondering how much you know about your eggs and what happens when you ovulate, so take this quiz and find out.

Take the Quiz

Prevent Pregnancy For Five Years With Mirena

DearSugar — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 08:00:00 PDT

The Mirena is a type of IUD (intrauterine device) that is placed inside your uterus (by a doctor or nurse practitioner) to prevent pregnancy for up to five years. It's a T-shaped piece of plastic that emits hormones into your uterus directly. The hormones stay in the uterus and are not systemic, meaning they do not go to other parts of your body. This is why it won't cause significant weight gain like oral contraceptives sometimes do or increase breast tenderness. Another bonus is that the Mirena might also shorten, lighten, or even eliminate periods altogether while you use it.

OK, but how does Mirena work? The small amounts of levonorgestrel released by Mirena make your cervical mucus thick and tacky so sperm can't swim through it. If the sperm gets in, then they can't make it to the egg to fertilize it.

Another way the Mirena, or IUDs in general, prevent pregnancy is it promotes the production of white blood cells and when a foreign object is placed inside the uterus, your body creates these white blood cells to defend itself. So when you have sex, if sperm does make it through your tacky mucus to your uterus, the white blood cells will attack them.

Interested in how effective it is? To see the stats, just

read more Mirena is 99.9 percent effective at preventing pregnancy and like metal IUDs, it needs to be fitted and removed by a medical professional, but once it's in place, that's it, you're done, no fuss, no muss! Dear's Advice: Mirena is great if you are looking for hassle-free birth control for up to five years straight. Just a reminder, it does not prevent against STIs, so that's why it's great to use if you are in a long-term relationship with someone you know is disease-free. It's also a great option if you've already had kids and aren't planning on having anymore, or if you know it's going to be many years before you want to start a family. If this interests you, ask your doctor about Mirena.

Pain During Sex?

DearSugar — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 11:00:00 PDT

Sex is supposed to feel good emotionally and physically. Although women may not have that huge BANG of an orgasm (or a few if you're really lucky) like men do, making love is still supposed to be a happy and pleasurable experience. If you are feeling discomfort or pain during sex (called dyspareunia), something is wrong. Here are some reasons sex could be hurting:

As I've said before, lubrication is key in order for sex to feel good. If you are not creating enough of your own "love juices" then I recommend increasing the amount of foreplay time you have before sex. If that doesn't work, purchase a personal lubricant. Also, keep in mind that hormonal birth control and certain meds like allergy medicine can cause vaginal dryness.
If your lady business is feeling great normally, but when you have sex it burns or feels irritated, check your condom. Condoms that contain spermicidal lubricant can irritate your lady parts, so try and find condoms with plain old lubricant instead.
Latex condoms can also cause irritation. Some women have a latex allergy. It's an unmistakable and horrible feeling, but don't fret, that's what polyurethane condoms are for.

There are other reasons sex can feel painful. To find out what they are,

If you have an infection of any sort, lay off the between the sheets moments until you've given your body ample time to get rid of that infection.
Certain sexual positions can also hurt. A man can easily hit your pelvic bone in certain positions, and you'll know when he does, so let him know what feels good and what doesn't and try other positions that are pleasurable for you.

Dear's Advice: Pain during sex is a symptom that something is wrong. If you're experiencing pain consistently, there could be something going on with your uterus or ovaries, so it's best to get checked out by your gyno. Once you figure out the reason, you'll be loving sex again in no time.

Mirena: Birth Control For Up to 5 Years

FitSugar — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 17:15:00 PDT

The Mirena is a type of IUD, that is placed inside your uterus (by a doctor or nurse practitioner) to prevent pregnancy for up to 5 years. It's a T-shaped piece of plastic that emits hormones into your uterus directly, so it is considered an IUC (intrauterine contraceptive) or an IUS (intrauterine system). The hormones stay in the uterus and are not systemic, meaning they do not go to other parts of your body. This is why it won't cause significant weight gain like oral contraceptives sometimes do or increase breast tenderness. Another bonus is that the Mirena might also shorten, lighten, or even eliminate periods while you use it.

OK, but how does Mirena work? The small amounts of levonorgestrel (hormones) released by Mirena make your cervical mucus thick and tacky so sperm can't swim through it so it is difficult for them to make it to your uterus. If the sperm get in, then they can't make it to the egg to fertilize it.

Another way the Mirena, or IUDs in general, prevent pregnancy is it promote the production of white blood cells. When a foreign object is placed inside the uterus, the body creates white blood cells to defend itself. So when you have sex, if sperm do make it through your tacky mucus to your uterus, the white blood cells will attack them. Even if a sperm does fertilize the egg, the white blood cells will destroy that too.

Interested in how effective it is? To see the stats, just

read more Mirena is 99.9% effective at preventing pregnancy and like metal IUDs, it needs to be fitted and removed by a medical professional. Though once it's in place, that's it. You won't need to use any other form of birth control or even think about it. Fit's Tips: Mirena is great if you are looking for hassle-free birth control for up to 5 years straight. Just a reminder, it DOES NOT prevent against STDs, so that's why it's great to use if you are in a long-term relationship with someone you know is disease-free. It's also a great option if you've already had kids and aren't planning on having anymore, or if you know it's going to be many years before you want to start a family. If this interests you, ask you doctor about Mirena. Some doctors recommend against the using the IUD if you have not had children for they are more difficult to insert if you haven't had children.

IUD: Long-Term Birth Control

FitSugar — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 03:30:00 PST

IUD, also known as a coil, stands for intrauterine device. - "intra" meaning within, and "uterine" meaning of the uterus. An IUD is about 1.5 inches long and it's inserted into your uterus to prevent pregnancy. They are 99% effective.

There are 2 types of IUDs, ones made out of metal, and ones that release hormones similar to those found in oral contraceptives (the Pill.) Most of the metal IUDs have a plastic T-shaped frame that is wrapped with copper. The copper is believed to have spermicidal effects, which is one reason why it works. You can wear this one for up to 10 years.

IUD's that release hormones are also T-shaped, but they are made out of plastic. The hormones make your cervical fluid thick and tacky, making it difficult for sperm to swim in, so they never make it to the egg, so therefore they can't fertilize it. You can wear this one for up to 5 years.

Both kinds of IUDs have little plastic strings attached at the bottom that hangs down past the cervix. The string is not visible and it won't cause any problems during intercourse. The string is a safety check so you can check to make sure your IUD is still in place.

An IUD has to be fitted inside and removed from the uterus by a doctor or nurse practitioner. IUDs don't stop you from ovulating, so you still get your period, but your flow may become shorter or lighter, or may even stop altogether. Some women complain that their periods are irregular when using an IUD as birth control.

Want to know how they work? Then

read more When something foreign is inside your uterus, your body produces white blood cells, or leukocytes to defend itself. These white blood cells attack any sperm or eggs that may find their way into your uterus. Even if an egg does get fertilized, the white blood cells will attack it. For this reason, people who are against abortion, believing that life begins at conception, are against the IUD. Fit's Tips: An IUD is great if you are looking for hassle-free birth control. In no way does it prevent against STDs, so that's why it's great to use if you are in a long-term relationship with someone you know is disease-free. That is why they are most often recommended for women who are married and done having children. Ask your doctor to discuss if an IUD may be right for you.

Uterus Transplants?

FitSugar — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 02:00:00 PST

A New York hospital is taking steps to offer the first uterus transplant in the U.S. This is an amazing and radical surgery that may allow women whose wombs were removed to still bear children.

The wombs would come from women who passed away, just as most organ transplants do. The woman would get the womb transplant, get pregnant (hopefully), and then give birth. After she gave birth, the uterus would then be removed, so she wouldn't have to take antirejection drugs her whole life.

The hospitals president warned women not to get their hopes up, because uterus transplant is not expected "any time in the near future."

Scientists are still doing research and conducting tests. They want to try it out on animals first, to make sure it is an effective procedure that produces healthy offspring.

Organ transplants usually are performed to save lives, but increasingly they are being done to improve the quality of life. Hand transplants and the recent partial face transplant of a woman in France are examples.

Uterus transplants might be next. They are a reassuring idea for women who can't have babies themselves, and whose only option for having a biological baby is through a surrogate mother. It blows my mind that this could be possible. Only time will tell.

From the Community: Exercises to Avoid Later in Pregnancy

OnSugar — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 01:31:42 PST

Recently, OnSugar blogger Coach Lark Says offered advice on how to work out while you're pregnant and in your first trimester. Here's a follow-up post with more advice on exercises to avoid in your second and third trimesters.

In my last post, I went over the benefits to exercising while pregnant and listed some basic guidelines.

In the second and third trimester, you should limit or avoid altogether:

Supine (back lying) exercises, especially exercises where the legs are not moving. These can cause some circulatory problems with blood returning back to your heart from your uterus.

Two more exercises to limit in your second and third trimesters after the break.

Mississippi Votes to Keep Birth Control, IVF, & Abortion Legal

Annie Scudder — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 10:25:22 PST

Earlier this week feminist icon Gloria Steinem told us that reproductive rights were the single biggest accomplishment for women she's witnessed. Yesterday Mississippi voters had a chance to roll back the clock by passing a ballot measure that would have defined a fertilized egg as a person. They voted against it.

Initiative 26 would have added this language to the state's constitution: "The term ‘person' or ‘persons' shall include every human being from the moment of fertilization, cloning or the functional equivalent thereof." By giving personhood rights to a fertilized egg, the amendment would have banned abortion, even in the case of rape or incest, and would have also outlawed in vitro fertilization and IUDs.

Birth control like the pill or Plan B would have likely been banned too, since many forms of hormonal birth control prevent a fertilized egg from attaching to the uterus, should the hormones fail at preventing fertilization in the first place. Critics also warned that any miscarriage could initiate a criminal investigation if the measure passed.

The initiative sponsored by Personhood USA was put up for a vote in Mississippi because it is one of the more conservative, pro-life states. They were hoping a legal challenge would eventually make the US Supreme Court revisit Roe v. Wade and ultimately overturn it. Colorado voters have twice rejected similar measures before. Despite losing in a very conservative state yesterday, the life-at-fertilization camp says they'll continue their efforts.