I just want to know when is the best day not to get pregnant??? on what day before & after menstruation??? I get confused about the before & after stage.. And is male condom really effective to prevent pregnancy??
Thanks..
Thanks..
I have to smile at your phrasing, although it's a rational question: let me consult the oracle... mmm. Well, as you go on to appreciate, the best way (not day) to not get pregnant is to use effective birth control, in which case the best day really doens't matter, but to answer your question in order:
The chance (probability) of pregnancy depends on the presence of an egg for ovulation, and the chance of it being present and available roughly follows the classic 'normal' distribution: like a dinosaur, it is thin at one end, fat in the middle and thin at the other: specifically, at menstruation your womb is discarding the last egg and 'mattress' of tissue, and replenishing it, so the chance of pregnancy during menstruation (may sound gross, but really, why? it's a natural proces and fluid) is very close to zero.
As the days pass to your peak probability (most fertile days, when an egg is most likely to have been just deposited), approximately half way through your cycle (look at a fertility calculator, given your typical cycle length), the risk increases to a maximum, and then tails off as you move to the end of your cycle and your period.
Thus, if you chose not to use birth control, and relied on the 'withdrawal' method (aka timing), about the least possibly safe method with predictable numbers of unanticipated pregnancies, then you would tend to have sex only in the first third of the cycle, during and first week after period.
Given the effectiveness of modern birth control however, there is really no reason to avoid any days of the month, though if you chose to miss out on your peak days, as a sort of modern sacrifice, then by all means do so.
The condom is broadly regarded as the second most effective form of birth control, certainly the second most popular, after the birth control pill (97% effective), with an effectiveness perhaps in the high eighties to low nineties. It's not so much the condom that fails, as the user - as with any technology, abuse it, lose it, forget it, put it on too late, and you've lost the protection.
It does also have the advantage of providing a physical barrier to STDs as well as sperm.
Thirty years ago, any one of the pill or condom would have been considered safe, responsible, contraception, and we did fine and had fun, thank you, but then AIDS became a big deal, STD's a big deal, the morning after pill was invented, so now you're not being 'safe' until you're on the Pill + Condom + Morning After Pill (for occasional use after 'risky' sex) + Termination.
It's a wonder the human race is surviving, we're so set against having children - and in fact we're not: western populations are now replenishing at only 1.6 children per couple, barely above 1.3, which is the 'extinction' rate, of irreversible decline in population. Forget 2.2 children, it isn't happening.
So good, rational, question. Just remind at least some of your friends, that at some point, we would really appreciate it if some of you would have kids, and rather a lot of them. Right now, the only thing that's keeping western populations stable or growing is immigration.
The chance (probability) of pregnancy depends on the presence of an egg for ovulation, and the chance of it being present and available roughly follows the classic 'normal' distribution: like a dinosaur, it is thin at one end, fat in the middle and thin at the other: specifically, at menstruation your womb is discarding the last egg and 'mattress' of tissue, and replenishing it, so the chance of pregnancy during menstruation (may sound gross, but really, why? it's a natural proces and fluid) is very close to zero.
As the days pass to your peak probability (most fertile days, when an egg is most likely to have been just deposited), approximately half way through your cycle (look at a fertility calculator, given your typical cycle length), the risk increases to a maximum, and then tails off as you move to the end of your cycle and your period.
Thus, if you chose not to use birth control, and relied on the 'withdrawal' method (aka timing), about the least possibly safe method with predictable numbers of unanticipated pregnancies, then you would tend to have sex only in the first third of the cycle, during and first week after period.
Given the effectiveness of modern birth control however, there is really no reason to avoid any days of the month, though if you chose to miss out on your peak days, as a sort of modern sacrifice, then by all means do so.
The condom is broadly regarded as the second most effective form of birth control, certainly the second most popular, after the birth control pill (97% effective), with an effectiveness perhaps in the high eighties to low nineties. It's not so much the condom that fails, as the user - as with any technology, abuse it, lose it, forget it, put it on too late, and you've lost the protection.
It does also have the advantage of providing a physical barrier to STDs as well as sperm.
Thirty years ago, any one of the pill or condom would have been considered safe, responsible, contraception, and we did fine and had fun, thank you, but then AIDS became a big deal, STD's a big deal, the morning after pill was invented, so now you're not being 'safe' until you're on the Pill + Condom + Morning After Pill (for occasional use after 'risky' sex) + Termination.
It's a wonder the human race is surviving, we're so set against having children - and in fact we're not: western populations are now replenishing at only 1.6 children per couple, barely above 1.3, which is the 'extinction' rate, of irreversible decline in population. Forget 2.2 children, it isn't happening.
So good, rational, question. Just remind at least some of your friends, that at some point, we would really appreciate it if some of you would have kids, and rather a lot of them. Right now, the only thing that's keeping western populations stable or growing is immigration.
hi Jeremiaz...
thanks so much..that was a quick reply..hehehe..
as what I've read from some discussions they always say that the best time to prevent pregnancy is to do it a day after the menstruation period..because that is what they call the "dry days"..the safest not to get pregnant...
i just don't understand the "first third of the cycle, during and first week after period." :-D
And yes, I have plans of having a baby, but maybe not yet ready...
Thanks Again...;-)..
thanks so much..that was a quick reply..hehehe..
as what I've read from some discussions they always say that the best time to prevent pregnancy is to do it a day after the menstruation period..because that is what they call the "dry days"..the safest not to get pregnant...
i just don't understand the "first third of the cycle, during and first week after period." :-D
And yes, I have plans of having a baby, but maybe not yet ready...
Thanks Again...;-)..
... first third of the cycle - a cycle is 28 (let's call it 30 for ease of arithmetic) days - so 1/3rd (one third) is 10, first third is first 10 days.
ie: up to the point of presumed ovulation, approximately half way through your period
ie: approx 3 days (optimistic) of period + 7 days of sex [NOT my recommendation to have sex here or any time without protection]
ie: from the safest, non-gross (off period) day - first day of your cycle as you note is safest - for one week
NOTE: this is simply to explain the theory of 'safe' as the opposite of 'fertile', but if you're on the pill or responsible with condoms there is no reason to be overly concerned with the cycle: the whole point of the pill is to disrupt ovulation and the mechanisms of fertilisation and implanting, so that your theoretically 'fertile' days don't really exist in that sense, on the pill at least. Condom yes, so be more careful with its use ('let me check the fit dear' - watch him wilt - of course it all depends how you ask - 'mmm looks good big boy' while you adjust the straps (you do use straps and adhesive tape to secure the condom, don't you? - Hint: A good day for using them would be April 1st)
NB: I'm a mathematician, among other things, so I'm converting a 'probability curve' into common sense advice here.
First third was a shorthand for '3 (approx) days of period + 1 week of sex'.
2nd week is moderate to high risk (increasing with each day as you approach ovulation)
3rd week is peak risk, as you are deemed to have ovulated
4th week, you're in last couple of days of 'available' fertility, prior to onset of period in 2nd half of week
That's a rough guide or partition of a process idealised as (simplified into) a 28 day regular and rational process
In practice, it's highly variable, as you no doubt have figured out.
Bottom line: pill for preference (safest, and as other post indicates, still works when you're drunk - not a recommendation)
Condom always handy (if you'll pardon the pun) for both contraception and STD safety
Plan B or alternate morning after pill if condom fails (if already on pill, and having regular sex, check with website - probably overkill, and possible complications, as you're super-loading your body with both pill and morning after pill hormones).
And in the western world, you always have the right to terminate.
ie: up to the point of presumed ovulation, approximately half way through your period
ie: approx 3 days (optimistic) of period + 7 days of sex [NOT my recommendation to have sex here or any time without protection]
ie: from the safest, non-gross (off period) day - first day of your cycle as you note is safest - for one week
NOTE: this is simply to explain the theory of 'safe' as the opposite of 'fertile', but if you're on the pill or responsible with condoms there is no reason to be overly concerned with the cycle: the whole point of the pill is to disrupt ovulation and the mechanisms of fertilisation and implanting, so that your theoretically 'fertile' days don't really exist in that sense, on the pill at least. Condom yes, so be more careful with its use ('let me check the fit dear' - watch him wilt - of course it all depends how you ask - 'mmm looks good big boy' while you adjust the straps (you do use straps and adhesive tape to secure the condom, don't you? - Hint: A good day for using them would be April 1st)
NB: I'm a mathematician, among other things, so I'm converting a 'probability curve' into common sense advice here.
First third was a shorthand for '3 (approx) days of period + 1 week of sex'.
2nd week is moderate to high risk (increasing with each day as you approach ovulation)
3rd week is peak risk, as you are deemed to have ovulated
4th week, you're in last couple of days of 'available' fertility, prior to onset of period in 2nd half of week
That's a rough guide or partition of a process idealised as (simplified into) a 28 day regular and rational process
In practice, it's highly variable, as you no doubt have figured out.
Bottom line: pill for preference (safest, and as other post indicates, still works when you're drunk - not a recommendation)
Condom always handy (if you'll pardon the pun) for both contraception and STD safety
Plan B or alternate morning after pill if condom fails (if already on pill, and having regular sex, check with website - probably overkill, and possible complications, as you're super-loading your body with both pill and morning after pill hormones).
And in the western world, you always have the right to terminate.