Spermicidal Inserts

Hey everyone, hope the new semester’s going well! I really like all of my classes. But by now I’m mostly done with gen ed requirements and I’m just taking classes for my major, so that’s not really a big surprise. Anyways, there isn’t too much work yet as we’re just getting into the swing of things, so I thought I’d take the opportunity to make another post while I still can.

I wanted to start talking about another type of birth control now. And yeah, I’m sure you’re all relieved to know I’m not talking about condoms any more, but just you wait, there might be another post coming yet if I think of anything else. But right now it occurred to me to mention some other types as well. I’ve talked about two major types so far - hormonal (birth control, which affects your hormones to prevent pregnancy) and barrier (condoms, which stop sperm from reaching the cervix). Well now I’m going to talk about another type: spermicidal. If you’re familiar with any latin root words (thank you AP English...) you can probably figure out that these types of birth control work using chemicals that kill the sperm.

There are a lot of different variations of spermicidal birth control, but the main chemical that most of them use is called Nonoxynol-9. I’m not chemistry major so I don’t really understand what that means or how exactly it works (and wikipedia didn’t help much), but it’s designed to kill sperm, that’s all I know. Here are a couple of types of birth control that utilize it.

First, this is vaginal contraceptive film. It’s a square of material that you insert into the vagina, as far up as you can, and it dissolves into gel which contains the Nonoxynol-9. It markets itself as a contraceptive that you can’t feel, so I bet a lot of kids try it instead of condoms based on that promise. You better believe I have something to say about that misguided notion, but I’ll address that in a moment.

The second kind I want to talk about is the “Today Sponge” also known as just “the sponge.” It is, as you can guess (come on, we’re college kids, we’re bright), a sponge. Supposedly, it not only releases Nonoxynol-9 but is also extra effective because it blocks sperm’s path and absorbs sperm. I’m inclined to believe that it is more effective because it does that, but maybe still not as effective as you might think.

So why does it seem like I’m being harsh on these products? Because they’re asking for it. Essentially, the way that they’re marketed is like telling kids that it’s okay to use them without condoms or the birth control pill - and I bet most do. But spermicidal methods of birth control tend to be some of the least effective - allow me to refer you back to that chart I posted a while ago. So, why would anyone buy them at all? Like I said, they’re not as “uncomfortable” as condoms and some kids think they can get away with just using these and make the sex feel better. That’s WRONG. Alone, these types of methods can be only 70-80% effective. Condoms and the pill are much more effective and thus far superior methods of birth control.

So why am I talking about these at all? Well, you can use them in conjunction with condoms or the pill. Most spermicidal inserts like these can be used along with a condom without issue. And all of them can be used along with the pill, just like a condom can be used with the pill. Now obviously I’m not going to tell you should use all three of these methods at the same time, that might seem a little excessive - I’m just saying you can. Personally, I think you should use AT LEAST two methods of birth control - be it condoms and the pill, spermicide and the pill, or spermicide and condoms - to be extra safe. Because alone, each method is never more than 95% effective. And as much as college kids have sex, 95% is actually a pretty low number, let alone 70 or 80. So the reason I’m talking about more various methods is to show you that you’ve got options if you want to try different combinations out, but you should always use a combination (and by that I do NOT mean two condoms - as I said before, that’s a really bad idea). Personally, I think the best combination is condoms with the pill, but it’s up to you what you think is the right balance of feeling and protection. I’m just here to explain the options and their risks to you.

Ok, I think that’s about it for now. There are a couple more spermicidal methods of birth control for me to cover, but I’ll get to those next time. Bye for now!