Withdrawal as birth control

Withdrawal. "What do you call people who use withdrawal as birth control? Parents!" Ha! Joke's on them. Withdrawal may be highly unforgiving, but it is an effective, viable option of birth control if it is always performed correctly. And yes, I say perform, because using withdrawal is a skill. Because it is a skill, it cannot be used without caution. It is 96% effective when used perfectly at all times though.

Why is it that withdrawal actually works that well then, when people say it's not a form of birth control at all? To understand why it works, you need to know all about the male reproductive system.

Sperm is produced in the testicles. When a man orgasms, millions of sperm shoot out from the epidydymis (where sperm has been stored and matured for 13-14 days) through the ductus deferens (aka vas deferens) to the prostate gland, the seminal vesicle and the bulbourethral gland, to finally shoot out from the urethra and out of the penis. The makeup of seminal fluid (the fluid that is produced to aid sperm) comes from the prostate gland, the seminal vesicle and the bulbourethral gland.

The worry with withdrawal that many have is pre-ejaculate, because they argue that despite the fact that many men may be able to withdraw before ejaculation occurs, pre-ejaculate has already come into contact with the vagina and suddenly there's a risk of pregnancy. This does not make sense from an anatomical perspective. The only place where sperm is produced is in the testicles, nowhere else. Pre-ejaculate is mainly produced by the bulbourethral gland, with the glands of Littre contributing a little (mucus-secreting urethral glands). Through studying the male reproductive system, you can see that the bulbourethral gland and the urethral gland (glands of Littre) is nowhere near the testicles and has no interaction with them in producing pre-ejaculate. The only way for pre-ejaculate to contain sperm is through contamination. Contamination from a previous ejaculation where remnants of the sperm that shot out is lingering in the urethral tract and mixes with the pre-ejaculate, which will ultimately be smeared inside of the vaginal walls during intercourse. This residual sperm may well be alive. That's why proper use of withdrawal entails peeing after each ejaculation to clear the urethral tract and flushing any residual sperm out. Aside from the physical force of peeing that is a flushing action, pee is also acidic where as sperm is alkaline. The acidity kills the sperm.

Knowing why perfectly performed withdrawal at all times is 96% effective is not enough. You need to be sure you can always withdraw in time. I would recommend the practice of edging (solo) before even thinking about trying this. I would also recommend the use of back-up birth control for a while until you know for sure that you got this. In fact, if 96% is not safe enough for you, I wouldn't recommend that you stop using back-up birth control at all. Just keep using withdrawal with whatever you are using, it's safer to use two compatible methods at once than just one method if you use the methods right. The takeaway is this... Yes, withdrawal is a viable option of birth control but you still need to be careful about using it.

Some very important factors to do withdrawal right:

• Pee after each ejaculation
• Withdraw prior to ejaculation, not during or after
• Don't ejaculate anywhere near the vagina, ejaculating on the ass for example is very risky because it's too close to the vaginal opening. I would recommend to aim for the stomach or the back if the woman is laying down horizontally. There is no drip-risk while laying horizontally and ejaculating that far away from the vagina and vaginal entrance. Just make sure it's far away, even if that's directly in a towel or wherever you do it.
• Don't put the penis back in even for a split second after ejaculating, keep the penis away!
• Practice with back-up birth control and don't rely on it as your sole method of birth control in the future if after practicing, you still cannot consistently succeed withdrawing in time.

Some extra suggestions:

• Rinse the head of the penis and the corona after ejaculation. Be extra thorough if the penis is intact. This is not part of the practice included for perfect use of withdrawal (peeing is, for example), but I strongly believe that this might further reduce the risk since you would be washing away residual sperm that possibly was neglible to the eye.
• Wash your hands (male and female) if you plan on touching each other's genitals after intercourse, or if that's something you usually do, even just in a "platonic" way. You do not want a hand being contaminated and then touching the vulva, vagina or vaginal entrance as that would be risky.

My last final note... I purposely did not include any links backing up my claims. You know why? Because you need to do your own damn research before believing in anything you hear someone say. Just like I wouldn't recommend that you listen to those who say withdrawal doesn't work, I wouldn't recommend that you trust me blindly either. It's a principle thing.

Decoding methylcellulose

A few nights ago, I dug in. I really don't know why I'd had such a hard time cracking this one before but my googling must've been better this time. I kept it simple and just googled "methylcellulose". I have been somewhat apprehensive about using Contragel Green before (I have done it though regardless) because I didn't know what methylcellulose actually was. What is it? Well... The short story is easy, the long story is a lot more complicated, at least to me. The short story is that methylcellulose is a slightly altered form of cellulose from plants and/or fruits, the foundation "walls". In fruit it is the "flesh". Cracking cellulose was a tough one for me, I really need to envision it before I get it, so here's a little visual for you:

In its pure form, it is a white powder. You'll have to do your own research but I will tell you this... This substance has a cool feature to it. When you want things to gel, you speak of gelification, and there are substances that belong to that category. Most gelification substances get solid when cold and looser in warmer temperature. Methylcellulose gets solid when hot and looser when cold. So how does that benefit the product in its entirety (Contragel Green)? Now, this is only my speculation, but I'd assume that if you haven't left the Contragel in for longer than advised (no more than two hours, otherwise reapplication is needed for PIV sex), the gel would indeed get stickier as you get more aroused and as you are having sex. Why? Because I suspect body heat increases when you are aroused, and also from the shear in-and-out motion. Motion generates heat.

And now, the long story of methylcellulose: if you feel inclined to investigate it further, you'll soon discover that "methyl" has a significant meaning to it. It's included in the name because the cellulose has gone through methylation. I cannot be bothered to go through it again because it was a drag reading it all (I'm not a chemist!), but basically it's a chemical process where a highly toxic chemical is involved. My understanding is that just like soap-making can sound dangerous (and it could be!), soap could also be perceived as dangerous. However, the lye is never included in the final product.  Methylcellulose is time and time again mentioned as totally safe to ingest, so I feel very confident that the case is the same with this; dangerous step before the actual product is finished.

I hope this helps someone who is apprehensive about using Contragel Green because of this ingredient, I was for a while.

Setting the coverline in Celsius

Setting your coverline when you are charting in Celsius is no different than setting your coverline than if you were using Fahrenheit. Yet, most how-to's are written for the Fahrenheit audience, presumably the North American audience. While it's great that these how-to's are written at all online (they're scribbled down by people who have read a book about it or learnt from a teacher, who in turn have read about it and educated themselves), it might be convenient to have a how-to for the Celsius audience as well. That's why I'm writing this post! I'm writing this to you and to myself, in case I'd ever need to refresh my memory.

Okay. How does one draw a coverline?
To draw a coverline, you need to have noticed a temperature shift. A temperature shift occurs in your cycle at some point because of the effect the hormones estrogen and progesterone have on it. While estrogen is dominant, your BBT is lower. When progesterone is dominant, your BBT is higher. Have a quick look at this nifty little how-to, as that is what I will be replicating, just that this time, it'll be with the correct numbers for Celsius. I found it to be the clearest in terms of applicating to your own chart.

1. Identify a temperature that is at least 0.11 degrees higher than that of the previous 6 days'.
2. Highlight those previous 6 days.
3. Identify the highest of those 6 temperatures
4. Draw a straight, horizontal line that is 0.056 degrees higher than that of the highest temperature of the highlighted temperatures.
5. You're done! Finito!

Note: I did round these numbers a bit, but only appropriately so. A conversion from Fahrenheit numbers gives way too many decimals to be remembered easily, and the rounding is not going to affect accuracy. Do not stress about drawing the line at 0.056 or 0.055 if you are charting on paper, it really won't make a difference because the difference between the numbers is miniscule.

For how long is Contragel Green active?

Putting an end to the wondering, guessing and cautiously estimating! I am a user of the FemCap device, quite a new one at that (for anyone wondering), and one thing that has been really vague about the whole thing has been the instructions regarding the use of Contragel Green. I bought my FemCap from the official, Swedish distributor of it: Gröna Barnmorskan (= The Green Midwife). I received my parcel promptly after placing the order and the instruction pamphlet was thorough in all points but one. You'd think that it would clearly state for how long the product is active, as in, still immobilizing sperm, but that crucial piece of information was nowhere to be found. I scoured the web for information but all I could find was guesstimates from fellow wondering women on different forums. I find it very odd that there is no mention of this at all in the instruction pamphlet. Luckily, my wondering days are over! Curious as I am, I looked at this instruction video for the newly released Caya diaphragm (a onesize diaphragm that fits most women, made from medical grade silicone), even though I'm not looking for an alternative female barrier method. Caya utilizes what is called Caya gel. Caya gel is identical to Contragel Green ingredients-wise. This video informs you that if it was more than 2 hours since you applied Caya gel to your Caya diaphragm and you are about to have sex, it's time to apply a little bit more. The same goes for Contragel Green since they are identical! I logically cannot find a reason for why it would be different for FemCap. Sure, they are different designs, but the ingredients are completely the same!

The answer is out: maximum 2 hours! Finally! Just as a side note, I think this instruction video for Caya is excellent. It is exactly the thing I wish FemCap had. Seriously, theirs is just plain embarrassing. The audio is sub-par, the video just screams "the 90's" and frankly, it's not graphic enough. Well... If you think pubes are graphic, then yes, it's graphic, but it's graphic in all the wrong ways. Don't get me wrong, I'm not thrown off by some pubes (what the heck, they're just hairs on the pubic area), but what is really needed is a cut-through animated video showing the motions of getting it in properly, clearly showcasing what to aim for and what it all looks like up there. I'm wellfared in terms of female anatomy but not every woman is, so some enlightenment is highly welcome and helpful. Well done Caya, this is how it should be done! The animations and illustrations couldn't have been better. A+