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.