So my husband and I are thinking about having a baby in the next year and I am debating when to go off the birth control pill. Now I know they say you only have to be off it for a month but since I have been on the pill since I was 14, I'd like to go off it my 4 or 5 months ahead of time and actually get to see what my body does on its own. Which of course leaves us with the alternative contraception dilemma. It seems easy except that I am allergic to latex. So we've got no pill, no patches, no shots, no condoms (we tried the non-latex ones - let's just say they're not good), no diaphragms, no cervical caps. IUD's are not recommended until after childbirth. So that leaves us with spermicide. We're going to give it a go via the Today's Sponge (he is spongeworthy! lol) but I have a bad feeling about this. Given that I am allergic to soap and moisturizing cream, what are the chances I'm not allergic to Nonoxonyl-9?
Which brings me to my WTF rant. Why have the drug companies not developed a birth control pill for men????? I mean, if you want to be safe, what makes more sense, wearing a bullet proof vest or taking the bullets out of the gun? Apparently they've been working on them for a while and they have none of the cancer or blot clot risks that female pills carry AND the contraceptive effect goes away immedidately upon cessation - NO risk to fertility. And yet, where are they? I read a couple of years ago in a magazine that we could expect them in 5-10 years. 5-10 years???? WTF? I also saw a news story last year about it where they polled men on the street and they all said they wouldn't take it. Stupid machismo. Yes, let your woman take the dangerous drugs instead of you taking the safe ones. It's just like the whole stupid vasectomy issue. Why not let your wife have invasive, non-reversible surgery just so you can keep your "virility." Stupid. It's just all part of a culture where the burden of childbearing (or the prevention thereof) falls entirely on the woman and men can decide whether or not they "feel ready" to take part.
And just in case you're wondering, I've already got my guy talked into the old snip when we're done having kids. I figure I've been on birth control pills for 15 years. And then, after going through painful, disfiguring, never-ending, pregnancy and labour 2 or 3 times, I'm signing out. Dude, after that I'll hold the ice pack on his groin and that's about all! :)
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