We’re pretty sure you know how babies are made, but this little reminder makes a really good point. Sperm are amazingly determined and birth control is your best friend if you don’t want to have a baby just yet.
ASAP Science (of “Morning wood” and “Science of orgasms” fame) has yet another super-cool, super-informative video—this one’s on how emergency contraception (EC) works. Not only does it have cute drawings and explain a complex scientific process in under 3 minutes, it also debunks the common myth that emergency contraception causes abortion. BONUS: It has a nice explanation of how the pill works, too.
If all the myth-busting whets your appetite, we’ve got an article on EC myths that might be of interest. And while you’re thinking about EC, why not read about the all-time most effective method of EC you can get your little animation-loving hands on?
A study found that the quality and frequency of orgasm actually increase with age. The percentage of women who reported experiencing orgasms during sex increased a full ten percent from age 18 to age 50. Well that gives us something besides retirement to look forward to.
37% of U.S. births are "a surprise"
From yesterday’s Get on Top:
New data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) tell us that 37% of all babies born to 15-44-year-old women between 2006 and 2010 were, ahem, a surprise. And of course that doesn’t account for unintended pregnancies that ended in miscarriage or abortion.
There was lots of useful information in the report (you can download it and nerd out if you’re so inclined), but what really stood out to us was the responses women gave about why they weren’t using contraception when they conceived. The number one reason women gave, to the tune of 36% of them, was “I didn’t think I could get pregnant.” To that, we say YES. YOU. CAN.
Five Fun Facts from Trojan’s “Charged” Sex Life Survey
Trojan Brand Condoms released their Trojan Charged Sex Life Survey to uncover what Americans are doing in their bedrooms (or anywhere else we’re getting it on). Apparently we’re doing it more often than we were in 2011—hopefully using birth control responsibly when it’s not for procreative purposes. The survey had all sorts of titillating tidbits, but here are five of our favorites:
1) Americans may be having more sex, but the bad news is it’s not as satisfying as the sex we were having last year. The bright side? We’ve still got five months, so if you’re looking to spice it up (and it turns out most Americans are), we’ve got five sex positions to get you started.
2) Midwesterners are the most sexually adventurous Americans—but they also tie with the Northeast for having sex the least number of times per year. We’re thinking maybe they spend all their time planning their adventurous sex and not having it.
3) The survey says that Southerners are the most likely to fake an orgasm and to say their sex life needs to be “charged.” This regional trend doesn’t seem to include Atlanta or Miami, both of which top the chart of sexually “charged” cities.
4) Ever sexted or had phone sex? Apparently more and more Americans are using technology to connect in a sexy way to their partners. (And remember, you can also use your cell phone to connect in a sexy way with your birth control.)
5) Who would have thought that, in spite of scary Funny or Die videos, 74% of men would say they’re open to using a vibrator in the sack? Only 70% of women said the same—which still leaves us with a lot of open-minded people. If this is a revelation and you want to pick up a vibrator to do some research of your own, you may want to try a sex shop so you can check out your options in person. (If you’re nervous about walking into one, we have a Frisky Friday for that.) Or there’s always the internet.
Do you think the survey shows an honest view of Americans’ sex lives or sex in your city?
We’d love to see a new male birth control option on the market, but sadly the science just isn’t there yet. On the other hand, where there’s a will, there’s a way—judging from how many people on twitter seem to be behind male birth control, maybe it’ll be here sooner than we thought.
Advances in HIV prevention and testing? Happy July to us all.
From our latest “Get on Top”:
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is definitely doing its part to make this July, which just happens to be National HIV Awareness Month, a special one. It kicked off the month by approving OraQuick, the first DIY over-the-counter HIV test to be made available on the U.S. market. Now, mid-month, the FDA has approved a once-a-day pill that can seriously reduce the risk of contracting HIV.
Flatworms are hermaphrodites, meaning they have both male and female sex organs, which triggers some seriously odd reproductive behavior. When trying to impregnate another worm, for example, a flatworm tries to pierce the skin of the other using its penis. Experts term this heated competition “penis fencing”: The first to successfully impregnate the other while fending off advances becomes the de facto male, who wins because he won’t have to expend the energy required to carry eggs.
From “The 9 weirdest animal penises on Earth,” posted to The Week on June 22nd, 2012.
Whoa. This brings fighting as foreplay to a whole new level…
By 2007, scientific consensus was building that morning-after pills did not block implantation. In one study using fertilized eggs that would have been discarded from fertility clinics, Dr. Gemzell-Danielsson found that adding Plan B in a dish did not prevent them from attaching to cells that line the uterus.
Later, in 2007, 2009 and 2010, researchers in Australia and Chile gave Plan B to women after determining with hormone tests which women had ovulated and which had not.
None who took the drug before ovulation became pregnant, underscoring how Plan B delays ovulation. Women who had ovulated became pregnant at the same rate as if they had taken no drug at all. In those cases, there were no difficulties with implantation, said one of the researchers, Gabriela Noé, at the Instituto Chileno de Medicina Reproductiva in Santiago. Dr. Blithe of the N.I.H., said, ‘No one can say that it works to inhibit implantation based on these data.’
More research shows long-acting reversible methods like the IUD and the implant to be...freakin' awesome, basically.
From our latest Get on Top:
In terms of effectiveness, not all birth control methods are created equal. And if there was any doubt as to which methods stand out in that arena, an article by the folks behind the Contraceptive CHOICE Project (just published in the New England Journal of Medicine) should put it to rest. The researchers found that when cost and lack of information aren’t an issue, women are way more likely to choose a super-effective method of birth control like the IUD or the implant. This is great news since the researchers also found that those methods are way less likely to fail than other methods.
