Birth Control combonation- male condom and sponge?
Question:
Also, what is your favourite condom brand/style? What do you recommend? Thanks!
Answers:
Using a condom and the sponge together is perfectly fine and will decrease your chances of becoming pregnant, compared to using one individually. Good for you for playing it safe! The condom is anywhere from 85-95% effective at preventing pregnancy when used by itself, and the sponge is between 68-91% effective at preventing pregnancy. How effective each form of birth control depends on how correctly (or not correctly) you use each form. Read about these two forms of birth control in the links in my sources box. Be sure you know how to correctly put on the condom, how to correctly remove the condom, how to correctly insert and remove the sponge, etc. before you have sex.
As for the timing...A woman with a "perfect" cycle will ovulate anywhere from day 14-17, however, this does not mean that every woman has a perfect cycle and certainly does not mean that every woman will ovulate at that time. Some women ovulate during their period, even (though that is rare)! Are you likely to be fertile? No, but it doesn't mean that you won't be!
It's been a long time since I've had to use condoms, but I remember the Trojan Sensitive being my favorite. Since it's your boyfriend's first time as well, however, you might want to try a different kind where the latex is a bit thicker so that he will last a bit longer!
Good luck!
You probably don't need the sponge. The chances of getting pregnant with a condom are really really low. The regular trojan lubricated condoms are good. You might want to steer clear of ones with warming lube. I don't know if it happens to other people but that stuff burns me. That wouldn't be good for your first time. Take it slow and have fun.
Figures, after I get my tubes tied the sponge comes back.
I used that exact combination for years and years and never got pregnant. The sponge was the best thing ever. You should be perfectly fine that way.
As far as your being fertile, you're always fertile as long as you're ovulating. Always use protection if you don't want to get pregnant. I don't have the information in front of me but I think at ten days prior you're most fertile? I might be wrong and maybe someone else out there is more current on that.
They make so many different brands and styles of condoms now that I couldn't even tell you what kind I like best. I still use them now just for the health risks and not for the birth control. I recommend just trying different kinds until you find one that works for you and your partner. It would be a fun experiment :)
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