Dr. Jen Gunter
contraception
No young person has ever died from Plan B, but 7 will die today from gun violence
If you are not following the Plan B saga, here’s what you need to know: Plan B is one type of morning after pill. It is the hormone levonorgestrel. The brand is Plan B but there are generics as well. It does not cause abortion. It does not affect implantation. It works by inhibiting ovulation. … Continue reading
6 reasons why Plan B should be available without an ID
The Food and Drug Administration just cleared Plan B for women ages 15 and up. Not only did the age limit get lowered, Plan B and its generic equivalents will be on the shelves with all the other over the counter medications. The caveat, you need ID. While I applaud the lowering the age limit … Continue reading
Stop talking about the non contraceptive benefits of birth control and start talking about sex
I have a copper IUD. It serves one purpose, to prevent pregnancy. My boyfriend had a vasectomy, a procedure that has no health benefits beyond preventing pregnancy. I am proud of these decisions because A) we both don’t want me to get pregnant and B) we both like sex. These should be reasons enough to … Continue reading
Contraception, medical care, and the cult of the individual
When I was the director of undergraduate medical education for OB/GYN at a Midwestern university (a state school), it came to my attention that a medical student was refusing to have anything to do with contraception as it was against her religion. So I spoke with her. I explained that over the course of her … Continue reading
Sandra Fluke’s information about the pill and ovarian cysts is wrong and why it matters
Sandra Fluke is once again under attack. This time by Representative Joe Walsh. She responded in the Huffington Post to Rep Walsh, writing: I testified before members of Congress not because “I wanted the American people to pay for my contraception,” but because I wanted the private insurance that women pay for themselves to cover … Continue reading
Restricting Plan B OTC sales to 17 and over affects everyone and protects no one
This weekend I tried to buy Plan B over the counter at a Rite Aid and was denied. Let me explain. It wasn’t for me, I have a Paraguard and my boyfriend had a vasectomy. Basically, the chance of me getting pregnant is so astronomically impossible that we’d be pimping the story out to every … Continue reading
Are you at risk for condom breakage?
Condom breakage is far more common than people think. In several studies of college aged men 29-32% report at least one episode of condom breakage within the past three months. For men who reported condom breakage, this happened 15-27% of the time. Basically condoms are failing for a lot of guys (and their partners) way … Continue reading
The top 10 mistakes men make with condoms
Studies of condom use offer great insight into why we continue to have a high rate of unplanned pregnancies in this country as well as continued problems with sexually transmitted diseases. In “perfect use” situations the failure rate of condoms is about 3%, however, perfect use is sadly not the norm. With that in mind, … Continue reading
How many birth control pills do women really miss a month?
While oral contraceptives (birth control pills) remain the most popular reversible method of contraception in the United States, incorrect use is unfortunately common. In fact, one million unintended pregnancies occur every year from pill user failure. Unintended.mistimed pregnancies are a serious health issue in the United States. The public cost is more than $11 billion … Continue reading
Long acting contraceptive implant dramatically reduces repeat teen pregnancies
Teen pregnancies cost the taxpayer $11 billion a year. When a teen has a baby she has up a 12% to 49% chance of having another baby within the same year. Having two teenage births dramatically increases the risk of a premature delivery and a stillbirth with the second baby as well as further decreases the … Continue reading
