Myths about the pill and pregnancy

There are many misconceptions (pardon the pun) and myths about the contraceptive pill and pregnancy. A newly-revamped women's health web site:www. femalelife.ie, has refuted a number of these myths, which, surprisingly enough, are still believed by many people:

Myths about pregnancy

You cannot get pregnant until you have had a few 'practice runs' at making love.

Obviously, this is untrue- you can, of course, get pregnant after the very first time.

You cannot get pregnant the week after your period.

Not true. Ovulation can start again quite soon, particularly if you have a short menstrual cycle.

You cannot get pregnant if you have a bath afterwards.

Yes you can. Sperm are fast swimmers! They can move at about one inch in eight minutes.

You cannot get pregnant if the man does not put his penis all the way in.

Not true. Even the drops at the end of his penis prior to ejaculation can contain viable sperm, particularly if the man has had sex earlier that day.

Myths about the pill

The pill makes you fat.

While earlier versions of the pill contained much higher doses of hormones than the pill today, weight gain is not always a feature of taking the pill nowadays, and not that many women gain weight when on the pill. In very rare cases the pill may affect a woman's metabolism

You have to take a break from the pill.

It is not necessary to take a break from the pill from time to time if you are not having any side effects. A woman's body has a natural break from the pill every month in any case during their period.

The pill makes you infertile.

There is no known connection between fertility problems and using the pill for any length of time. The contraceptive pill is a reversible form of contraception and many women come off the pill and become pregnant very quickly.

Synthetic hormones are unnatural

Many doctors believe that the pill brings our body closer to a 'natural' state. In less developed societies where effective contraception is not available, ovulation is continually suppressed either by pregnancy or breastfeeding. Often, these women may only have around a dozen cycles of ovulation and menstruation in their entire lives. Women using a non-hormonal (e.g. diaphragm or condoms) method of contraception have as many in one year.

The revamped website is designed to provide comprehensive information on reproductive healthcare from birth control through to the menopause.

Health websites are very popular with women and according to irishhealth.com, which is Ireland’s number one health website, women's health is number two in the top five health areas in which registered users of irishhealth.com expressed an interest.

http://www.femalelife.ie/ is sponsored by Schering AG.