Fertility awareness methods of birth control are practices that help a woman know her body more intimately. Especially in terms of the days of the month there is a high chance of becoming pregnant (Martin, 2010). Several methods that get used include; calendar charting, that is where a woman makes a calculation of the mean number of days in her menstrual cycle to come up with an estimate of her fertile days. They do this by keeping detailed records of their cycles and using a formula to determine their fertile days. In vaginal fluid monitoring, a woman observes and records cervical secretions on a daily basis, or they can also collect secretions from vaginal openings in order to observe the color consistency and the feel.
Monitoring a woman’s basal body temperature enables her determine when she is ovulating. It helps in identifying her infertile days. A woman’s cervix normally changes position throughout her menstrual cycle; with the cervix at its highest and very open during ovulation. Immediately after ovulation, it returns to the normal position. Checking the cervical openings is also a way of fertility birth control awareness (Martin, 2010). Effectiveness of this method varies because it depends on the motivation and dedication of a woman in conjunction with her partner.
Birth control methods include; birth control pills that are medications taken orally by women seeking to prevent a pregnancy. They contain hormones that stop ovulation, thicken the cervical mucus or make the lining of the uterus thinner and are thus inhospitable for a fertilized ovum to attach to the uterus (Hellweg, 2007). A condom is a thin latex rubber covering put over a man's erect penis during sex that prevents body fluids from interchanging between two people and is very effective in preventing pregnancy. There are also female condoms that function the same way as that of a man’s except they get inserted inside the vagina and cover it; shielding it from semen and pre-cum.
The contraceptive methods available are contraceptive implants that are small flexible tubes inserted under the skin of the upper arm and stop the release of ova from the ovary by releasing progestogen slowly into the body. Thus, thickening the cervical mucus making it harder for sperm to move through the cervix. Another method is a contraceptive diaphragm that gets inserted into the vagina covering the cervix so that sperms cannot get into the womb. A spermicidal agent is used together with it to kill sperms (Hellweg, 2007).
Birth control methods are methods used to prevent fertilization of the ova by the sperms. It involves the use of artificial methods like contraceptives and natural methods like birth control awareness methods. Contraception methods try to stop fertilization from happening by stopping egg production or by preventing the sperm reaching the egg.
The incidence of chlamydia disease increased is mainly due to the campaign by most health centers for its annual screening in sexually active young women. Incident rates have surged upward as a result of improved lab tests and screening for the bacterial microbe that causes Chlamydia. The situation is also as a result of a tendency, especially among the young couples, of not consistently practicing safer sex (Hunte, Alcaide, & Castro, 2010). The current tests for Chlamydia are more sensitive in detecting its existence than those previously used. Chlamydia screening has led to the detection of the bacteria in many men because their female partners advice them to get tested and treated, thus avoiding cases of re-infection (Hunte et al., 2010).
References
Hellweg, P. (Ed.). (2007). The American Heritage College Dictionary (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. P.137. ISBN 9780547470924.
Hunte, T., Alcaide, M., & Castro, J. (2010, December). Rectal infections with Chlamydia and gonorrhea in women attending a multiethnic sexually transmitted diseases urban clinic. International Journal of STD & AIDS 21(12), 819-22.
Martin, E. A. (2010). Oxford Dictionary of Science (6th ed.). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0199561469.
