Birth Control methods
by Laura Gomez
Birth control methods are ways in which men and women avoid getting pregnant while having an active sexual life. There are different birth control methods, natural, barrier, hormonal, emergency and permanent, each of them has pros and cons that people need to bear in mind. For example natural birth control methods such as calendar or withdrawal are accepted by most of religions but are not very reliable. Others such as the male and female condom help preventing STDs but are prohibited by the Catholic Church. Others are very reliable but aren't reversible and others are good in emergency cases but can cause severe damages in the organism when used regularly. There are many choices for people to choose from, depending on the cultural beliefs, economic facility and the organism, people can avoid being pregnant in many different ways.
Now, we will focus on two birth control methods, contraceptive pills and tubal ligation. Starting with contraceptive pills, these are used by women to prevent pregnancies or treat symptoms such as period irregularity or heavy and painful menstruation periods.
Birth control pills are hormonal births control methods, which means that in the pill contains man-made versions of estrogen and progesterone that modifies the amount of hormones in the body and avoids the ovaries from releasing an egg, making it almost impossible for you to become pregnant. Contraceptive pills also increase the mucous in the cervix and change the lining of the uterus to decrease even more the chances of getting pregnant.
According to Philipson, Wakefield and Kasparian (2011) about 60 million woman in the works use this method to avoid pregnancy. Why has it become so popular? There are many reasons. Firstly birth control pills have one of the lowest failure rates of all methods "for every 1000 women who use pills exactly as instructed for a year, 3 women get pregnant." (Kaplan, 2013). These rates are really low comparing to other methods such as withdrawal (27%), spermicide (29%), male and female condoms (15% & 21%) and cervical caps (25%). The few other methods with lower failure rates require medical procedures such as injections, surgeries that can be more complex and less comfortable for woman. Besides, the fact that it is so popular encourages new clients to try them since lots of women know others who have used them and harmful malfunctions of the pill are little known.
Pills have a monthly cost of $15-25 USD, which sums up for $450-750 USD yearly which is a reasonable price compared to a tubal ligation ($1500-6000) or an IUD device ($1000). Now, even though the pills to a long term may be expensive the monthly cost of them is low enough to not cause any economical problems and women will not have to save money to get them. On the other hand, they offer a wide range of benefits aside from birth control. It reduces dysmenorrhea, menorrhagia, ovary cysts, acne, hirsutism, pains associated with endometriosis and others. However, OCPs can also be linked with cardiovascular failures, weight gain, and liver and uterine cervix cancer, the risk of getting this diseases depends on many factors which can be identified by a doctor which will tell you not to consume the pills, such factors are:
Constant smoking
High blood pressure
History of a heart stoke or heart failure
Liver diseases
Taking anticonvulsant or anti-tuberculous substances
Breast feeding
Having history of thrombosis or pulmonary embolism
In conclusion, birth control pills are an effective and highly accessible method that can be highly recommended for woman who do not want to get pregnant at the time but may want a family in the future, have a constant income and feel more comfortable with pills than implants or other type of hormonal contraceptive method.
Moving on to the tubal ligation surgery, this is a permanent birth control which needs a surgical procedure. During the surgery the patient is normally given general anesthesia. Once the person is asleep doctors will make an incision in both sides in the belly, then gas is pumped inside to expand your body, allowing the doctor to see your organs better. Then the doctor will insert a laparoscope and then insert a device that will block your tubes through a small incision. The tubes are either cauterized or clamped off with a small ring . This will not allow the release eggs to get into the uterus and be fertilized, making it impossible for the woman to have children ever again.
The surgery lasts about 30 minutes, the patient will have no need to stay over the night unless there has been any complication (which is very rare). The most common complications from the surgery are damages in the bladder or bowel, infection in the wound, adverse reaction to anesthesia and prolonged pelvic pain. As it was said before, this is very unlikely but the chances of having a problem after the surgery increase if the woman has gone through another pelvic or abdominal surgery or if the woman has pelvic inflammatory diseases or obesity.
The average cost of the surgery is 1500 to 6000 dollars which is not covered by medical insurances because it is not health-related in most of the cases. Tubal ligation (as the only contraceptive method) is an ideal birth control methods for women who have an stable partner and know that their family is complete, this last factor is very important since this birth control method is permanent, and a reversal surgery is even more expensive than the original surgery and the chances of getting your system working properly again are between 40-80%.
In conclusion, it is important to have any type of birth control when being sexually active and not planning in getting pregnant. There are various types of contraceptives that fit into anyone's sexual life. Condoms, when your partner's sexual life is little known by you, pills when your decision is not permanent and surgeries when you are sure you will not want any more children in the future. The important thing is taking them and avoiding an unwanted pregnancy.
Bibliography
Philipson, S. A. (2011). Women's Knowledge, Beliefs, and Information Needs in Relation to the Risks and Benefits Associated with Use of the Oral Contraceptive Pill. Journal Of Women's Health (15409996),20(4), 635. doi:10.1089/jwh.2010.2455
Developed by David W. Kaplan, M. h. (2013). Birth Control Pills: Teen Version. CRS - Pediatric Advisor, 1.
Mayoclinic.org, (2014). Birth control pill FAQ: Benefits, risks and choices - Mayo Clinic. [online] Available at: http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/birth-control/in-depth/birth-control-pill/art-20045136 [Accessed 16 May. 2014].
Nlm.nih.gov, (2014). Tubal ligation: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia. [online] Available at: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002913.htm [Accessed 16 May. 2014].
Questions
What is science doing in order to solve the problem?
Science has helped a lot to help women who don't want to get pregnant by developing different kinds of birth control methods that are very reliable and fit into different kinds of women, married ones, single ones, the ones with economical capacity and others who can't afford expensive procedures. Science has also studied carefully the reactions of this methods in the body in order to improve them, and lower the risks when using them. The most important branches of science in this matter have been biology and medicine, because through the study of hormones, humans and our reproductive system this methods were invented.
2. How is your topic linked with ethical, religious, health and social aspects of society?
The topic is deeply linked with religion society and ethics. Starting with religion, it is well known that most of the religions in the world are against birth control methods. According to them sex should only be done when the couple is looking forward to have a family and one should only have one sexual partner throughout life, otherwise one is falling into the sin of fornication. For the Catholic Church this is not an appropriate act but it is no reason for being expelled from the church, however Islam is more uptight and disgrace women who take them.
Moving into the social aspect, birth control empowered humans and let them decide over their own future, specially women, who may now have this intercourse without fearing the possibility of getting pregnant, making them more free (because they can choose the type of sexual life they want). Also now family sizes are decreasing, and in the most developed parts of the world (Europe and North America) which are the places where contraceptives are more consumed, the population is decreasing. The planet actually needs population to decrease because then consumption will do as well, and natural resources will be more safe, so birth control ends up being good for the environment as well.
Ethically birth control is a good thing because, firstly it avoids the need to abort which is an ethically doubtful procedure. Besides it gives people the opportunity to make a choice, the one they believe is better for their lives, and in the case of emergency birth control it allows people to correct their mistakes shortly after making them.
by Laura Gomez
- Humans, as all of the mammals in the world reproduce through sexual engagement. However, for us sex has become more than just the way in which we manage to preserve our specie and have children, sex has become a way to establish social bonds, to share with others, to enjoy and have fun. Before, society severely rejected sexual engagement between that had another aim different from having a family and most people obeyed, not only because it was prohibited but also because most of the times sexual activity would have as a result the conceiving of a child. Family size has also decrease over the last century. According to the Smithsonian Group of Investigation the working class families in the UK at the beginning of the past century had 10-12 children but due to the high infant mortality rates only half of them would survive. This is very different from the situation now, in the present people may have an active sexual life without necessarily wanting children and may have the family size they desire to have. Many factors contributed to this change, one of the most important was developed by science and is now called birth control.
Birth control methods are ways in which men and women avoid getting pregnant while having an active sexual life. There are different birth control methods, natural, barrier, hormonal, emergency and permanent, each of them has pros and cons that people need to bear in mind. For example natural birth control methods such as calendar or withdrawal are accepted by most of religions but are not very reliable. Others such as the male and female condom help preventing STDs but are prohibited by the Catholic Church. Others are very reliable but aren't reversible and others are good in emergency cases but can cause severe damages in the organism when used regularly. There are many choices for people to choose from, depending on the cultural beliefs, economic facility and the organism, people can avoid being pregnant in many different ways.
Now, we will focus on two birth control methods, contraceptive pills and tubal ligation. Starting with contraceptive pills, these are used by women to prevent pregnancies or treat symptoms such as period irregularity or heavy and painful menstruation periods.
Birth control pills are hormonal births control methods, which means that in the pill contains man-made versions of estrogen and progesterone that modifies the amount of hormones in the body and avoids the ovaries from releasing an egg, making it almost impossible for you to become pregnant. Contraceptive pills also increase the mucous in the cervix and change the lining of the uterus to decrease even more the chances of getting pregnant.
According to Philipson, Wakefield and Kasparian (2011) about 60 million woman in the works use this method to avoid pregnancy. Why has it become so popular? There are many reasons. Firstly birth control pills have one of the lowest failure rates of all methods "for every 1000 women who use pills exactly as instructed for a year, 3 women get pregnant." (Kaplan, 2013). These rates are really low comparing to other methods such as withdrawal (27%), spermicide (29%), male and female condoms (15% & 21%) and cervical caps (25%). The few other methods with lower failure rates require medical procedures such as injections, surgeries that can be more complex and less comfortable for woman. Besides, the fact that it is so popular encourages new clients to try them since lots of women know others who have used them and harmful malfunctions of the pill are little known.
Pills have a monthly cost of $15-25 USD, which sums up for $450-750 USD yearly which is a reasonable price compared to a tubal ligation ($1500-6000) or an IUD device ($1000). Now, even though the pills to a long term may be expensive the monthly cost of them is low enough to not cause any economical problems and women will not have to save money to get them. On the other hand, they offer a wide range of benefits aside from birth control. It reduces dysmenorrhea, menorrhagia, ovary cysts, acne, hirsutism, pains associated with endometriosis and others. However, OCPs can also be linked with cardiovascular failures, weight gain, and liver and uterine cervix cancer, the risk of getting this diseases depends on many factors which can be identified by a doctor which will tell you not to consume the pills, such factors are:
Constant smoking
High blood pressure
History of a heart stoke or heart failure
Liver diseases
Taking anticonvulsant or anti-tuberculous substances
Breast feeding
Having history of thrombosis or pulmonary embolism
In conclusion, birth control pills are an effective and highly accessible method that can be highly recommended for woman who do not want to get pregnant at the time but may want a family in the future, have a constant income and feel more comfortable with pills than implants or other type of hormonal contraceptive method.
Moving on to the tubal ligation surgery, this is a permanent birth control which needs a surgical procedure. During the surgery the patient is normally given general anesthesia. Once the person is asleep doctors will make an incision in both sides in the belly, then gas is pumped inside to expand your body, allowing the doctor to see your organs better. Then the doctor will insert a laparoscope and then insert a device that will block your tubes through a small incision. The tubes are either cauterized or clamped off with a small ring . This will not allow the release eggs to get into the uterus and be fertilized, making it impossible for the woman to have children ever again.
The surgery lasts about 30 minutes, the patient will have no need to stay over the night unless there has been any complication (which is very rare). The most common complications from the surgery are damages in the bladder or bowel, infection in the wound, adverse reaction to anesthesia and prolonged pelvic pain. As it was said before, this is very unlikely but the chances of having a problem after the surgery increase if the woman has gone through another pelvic or abdominal surgery or if the woman has pelvic inflammatory diseases or obesity.
The average cost of the surgery is 1500 to 6000 dollars which is not covered by medical insurances because it is not health-related in most of the cases. Tubal ligation (as the only contraceptive method) is an ideal birth control methods for women who have an stable partner and know that their family is complete, this last factor is very important since this birth control method is permanent, and a reversal surgery is even more expensive than the original surgery and the chances of getting your system working properly again are between 40-80%.
In conclusion, it is important to have any type of birth control when being sexually active and not planning in getting pregnant. There are various types of contraceptives that fit into anyone's sexual life. Condoms, when your partner's sexual life is little known by you, pills when your decision is not permanent and surgeries when you are sure you will not want any more children in the future. The important thing is taking them and avoiding an unwanted pregnancy.
Bibliography
Philipson, S. A. (2011). Women's Knowledge, Beliefs, and Information Needs in Relation to the Risks and Benefits Associated with Use of the Oral Contraceptive Pill. Journal Of Women's Health (15409996),20(4), 635. doi:10.1089/jwh.2010.2455
Developed by David W. Kaplan, M. h. (2013). Birth Control Pills: Teen Version. CRS - Pediatric Advisor, 1.
Mayoclinic.org, (2014). Birth control pill FAQ: Benefits, risks and choices - Mayo Clinic. [online] Available at: http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/birth-control/in-depth/birth-control-pill/art-20045136 [Accessed 16 May. 2014].
Nlm.nih.gov, (2014). Tubal ligation: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia. [online] Available at: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002913.htm [Accessed 16 May. 2014].
Questions
What is science doing in order to solve the problem?
Science has helped a lot to help women who don't want to get pregnant by developing different kinds of birth control methods that are very reliable and fit into different kinds of women, married ones, single ones, the ones with economical capacity and others who can't afford expensive procedures. Science has also studied carefully the reactions of this methods in the body in order to improve them, and lower the risks when using them. The most important branches of science in this matter have been biology and medicine, because through the study of hormones, humans and our reproductive system this methods were invented.
2. How is your topic linked with ethical, religious, health and social aspects of society?
The topic is deeply linked with religion society and ethics. Starting with religion, it is well known that most of the religions in the world are against birth control methods. According to them sex should only be done when the couple is looking forward to have a family and one should only have one sexual partner throughout life, otherwise one is falling into the sin of fornication. For the Catholic Church this is not an appropriate act but it is no reason for being expelled from the church, however Islam is more uptight and disgrace women who take them.
Moving into the social aspect, birth control empowered humans and let them decide over their own future, specially women, who may now have this intercourse without fearing the possibility of getting pregnant, making them more free (because they can choose the type of sexual life they want). Also now family sizes are decreasing, and in the most developed parts of the world (Europe and North America) which are the places where contraceptives are more consumed, the population is decreasing. The planet actually needs population to decrease because then consumption will do as well, and natural resources will be more safe, so birth control ends up being good for the environment as well.
Ethically birth control is a good thing because, firstly it avoids the need to abort which is an ethically doubtful procedure. Besides it gives people the opportunity to make a choice, the one they believe is better for their lives, and in the case of emergency birth control it allows people to correct their mistakes shortly after making them.