Birth control is and has always been one of the most celebrated and controversial topics in the history of man. It is because in almost all eras and generations, people have always had opposing beliefs on it.

In the bible after the great flood that wiped out almost all of human existence, God made a promise that no matter what happens he will not ever again destroy what he created. He also told Noah and his children to go forth and multiply.

Now I don?t know if the idea was to populate the world or just simply multiply without thinking about anything but one thing is for sure. We are successful in multiplying fast. In the United States alone population is expected to grow up to 12 million births in 2025, some people think that we still have a long way to go until 2025 but when you think about it how many infants are born every year and with the rapidly depleting resources that we have here on our planet just imagine what could happen in 2025.

People have become conscious of this reality a long time ago, in fact people as far as the age of ancient Egypt have become aware of the drastic effect of a growing population and depleting resources. Ancient Egyptians have the earliest records of recorded instructions on how to make contraceptive pessary. Other early forms of contraceptives are coitus interruptus and ingestion of herbs that are believed to be abortifacient.

Though the threats of overpopulation are real, the concept of birth control still remains to be one of the taboos of modern society. Advocates, religious organizations and private citizens that are against birth control call it an abomination of what God has given. But even with the antagonism of some people, it has stopped the rise and move of birth control.

In present times, to balance out the grievances of the pro-birth control sector and the anti-birth control sector, a truce has been drawn between the two and they left the decision to the people. Because of this development people can now freely choose which method they like to use.

There are a lot of methods of birth control available to people nowadays.

There are two kinds of birth control approaches available to couples, first one is the artificial method (this is he method that is raising controversy in some sectors) and the Natural method (said to be where Pro and Anti compromised) both methods can be learned and applied any time during the course of the couples relationship.

Some of the commonly known artificial methods are Physical method, barrier method, hormonal, intrauterine method and Ormeloxifene (Centchroman). These methods involve intake of hormones that hinder the sperm from reaching the egg cell, using a physical barrier to prevent the transfer of sperms and operating on the reproductive organ to divert the pathway the sperm of the egg cell is taking.

These are the methods that some anti-birth control advocates call playing God, since we deviate the natural occurrence from happening.

Natural birth control is also available to people who do not believe that science should dip their fingers in the natural ways of man. Some of the methods include behavioral methods, fertility awareness, coitus interruptus, avoiding vaginal intercourse and abstinence during fertile weeks.

Natural or artificial the important thing about birth control is not how people do it but why, if you take a look at our present situation some families barely make enough to get their children through high school.

Some families are too broke to afford three square meals a day. Without a doubt birth control is needed in our present society for us to provide the next generation a better future.

A migraine is a severe headache usually accompanied by symptoms such as nausea and vomiting. This can disable you for a few hours or even days. The level at which this happens or even its frequency varies. A recent study shows that women suffer from migraines more than men. Although its exact cause is unknown, birth control devices happen to be one of the culprits.

An example of such a birth control device is the oral contraceptives. This is because its ingredients alter the woman?s hormonal level and causes the migraine. The cause of course is too much estrogen which is added to what is already naturally produced by the body.

Aside from migraine, oral contraceptives may cause medical abnormalities from uterine fibroids to breast cancer.

Sometimes, the migraine attack may occur before or after taking the oral contraceptive. If this happens regularly, you are advised to try another method of birth control. This can be avoided though if you take it with food or milk. You must take this at the same time daily and stick with the prescribed dosage that was given to you.

Women over the age of 35 and experience migraines as a result of using birth control pills and other devices are at risk of getting a stroke. This is another reason why some institutions strongly advice females to use something else if they don?t want to get pregnant.

Those who are diabetic, have high cholesterol levels and blood pressure are advised not to take oral contraceptives.

But there is hope. One of the newest oral contraceptives to date is Seasonal. This pill was introduced into the market in 2003 and since it makes females only experience a period four times in one year, this means fewer headaches for migraine sufferers.

But this oral contraceptive may not work for everyone. If you suffer migraines due to neurological problems, this won?t do any good and you will have to find another birth control device.

Women may still choose to use oral contraceptives. This is only after they are examined by the doctor and if everything looks good, he or she will prescribe a lower dose of oral contraceptives. Talking to your physician may even prevent a full blown migraine from happening since there is really no permanent solution to stop this from happening.

But there are some women who experience migraines even before they start using oral contraceptives. In fact, the frequency did not increase or decrease once they were on the pill but complained that the severity of the migraine got worse.

The severity of the migraine will also not go away overnight after you quit using oral contraceptives. Studies show that it will take a few months for your hormonal levels to normalize and only then will you be able to see an improvement.

Despite that, migraines will still happen and you will not blame it only on the pill but due to other factors such as the food you eat, stress at home or in the office, other medications that you may be taking, physical factors and changes in the environment.

So although there is a direct link between oral contraceptives and migraine, you cannot say that it is the only reason why women suffer from it more than men.

Here’s a brief look at the history of birth control. Although pills are very much in demand to avoid getting pregnant for women, these are also causing quite a stir.

The reason for this is because birth control pills are known for one side effect. More and more women are complaining that the pills cause them to gain weight. For the ladies who use the pill just to avoid the risk of pregnancy, this is definitely not a good news.

When a woman gains weight because of the pills, it causes her to look at the other options. But not everybody is affected of this kind of side effect. Some women don’t have weight issues regarding the use of birth control pills.

But for the women who are prone to such effect, there are other forms of birth control that they can choose to use. They can go the natural way or the rhythm method. This is where the partners will become involved in a sexual act only when the female is not fertile.

There are methods that are being injected and inserted to the women’s genitals to obtain same effect as the pills. And among the popular ones is through the use of condoms. Nowadays, both men and women have condoms suited for their private parts.

The History

The oldest form of birth control can be the sexual abstinence. But aside from it, the withdrawal effect can also be considered as one.

Coined as the coitus interruptus, this means that the penis of a man will withdraw from the woman’s genitals before the ejaculation. This prevents him from transmitting into the lady or his partner any vital sperm that may cause pregnancy. But this requires a lot of self control on the part of men.

It was also believed that Egyptian women have used suppository for their vaginas on old ages. The term for this type is pessary. This contains oil and other lubricants that will kill the sperm once the woman becomes involved in a sexual act.

The equivalent of today’s female condoms at the time is a cervical cap for Asian women. This is like oiled paper. And for the same goal, Europeans have used beeswax. It was not until the 17th century that a condom was invented. When it was first introduced, it wasn’t as popular as today. And it was intended not only to avoid the risk of pregnancy but also to avoid acquiring sexually transmitted disease like syphilis.

Throughout human history,there are various abortifacients that have been used. But the effects vary and those that were proven effective caused a lot of side effects. In the developing years, the herbal medium was used to act as a contraceptive.

The 20th century introduced the rhythm method or the natural way. It is still being applied today and can be as effective as the birth control pills but will also require a lot of control from both concerning partners.

In 1960, the FDA approved the pill that is now known as birth control. It was in 1972 that the pill became available for married ladies and singles ones who are over the age of 21. This was part of the 26th Amendment.

This brief history of birth control shows you its popularity through time. Although, it is also known to cause added weight, people rely on one or two types in hopes of not risking getting their partners pregnant at the time that they are still not ready for it.

A diaphragm is a shallow, dome shaped rubber disk with a flexible rim that fits nicely within the vagina as it is able to cover the cervix which prevents the sperm from every reaching the uterus. It should be inserted prior to intercourse and covered with spermicide. The spermicide works by killing the sperm thus making it impossible to fertilize the egg.

Women who choose to use the diaphragm may keep it in there for 24 hours. You just have to make sure to insert spermicide every two hours or before engaging in sexual intercourse again.

The general rule for using this device is that it must be kept in place for the next 6 hours after intercourse before it is removed.

Before you insert the diaphragm, it is best to empty your bladder and wash your hands with soap and water. The device itself should be checked for leaks by filling it with water or holding up in the light. If everything looks good, this is the time that you apply spermicide on the inner and outer layers of the diaphragm. The most important is around the rim.

The user will then insert this by standing with one food elevated using a chair or step, while lying down or squatting. The diaphragm must be folded inward towards the middle and inserted into the vagina as far as possible.

The diaphragm birth control device cannot protect you 100% from getting pregnant. It also cannot protect you from sexually transmitted diseases such as Chlamydia, gonorrhea, herpes or HIV.

There are advantages and disadvantages of using the diaphragm.

The advantage of using one is that it is easy to insert and remove and your sexual partner will not even feel it during sex.

The disadvantage of using it is if the female forgets to remove it after 24 hours, she may experience toxic shock syndrome or TSS. There are also side effects like the user may experience an irritation in the vagina or the surrounding skin and there may be a foul smell.

TSS or toxic shock syndrome is a potentially fatal disease that has been associated with this device and with vaginal tampons. Some of the symptoms include diarrhea, high fever and vomiting.

Diaphragms come in different sizes so this has to be fitted first before this can be purchased by prescription from the drug store. Some HMO?s may cover the purchase of this device and one example is Medicaid. If you are a member of another, you should inquire if they will pay for it.

A diaphragm costs around $30 to $50 and must be replaced every 2 years. As for the spermicide, you will have to spend about $.50 to $1.50 per use.

When you are done using your diaphragm, this has to be washed with soap and water then left to dry. Afterwards, you must dust this with corn starch before you put this back into its container. The diaphragm must be kept in a cool and dry place away from sunlight. You must never wash it with harsh or perfumed soaps or dust it with perfumed powders as this may damage the device.

Condoms, vasectomy, and withdrawal. These are the only three contraceptives that men have to worry about. But that number we can still narrow down. Vasectomy is often not an option taken by males since they often believe that the procedure is irreversible. For your information, the procedure is reversible. But still this method needs the man to be lying on his back on the operating table and going under the knife, and such an idea is usually not that appealing. Not that I blame the man, though, nobody wants to be lying in an operating table for whatever purpose.

The second method is withdrawal. You have a higher chance of getting your partner pregnant with this method. This can be effective when combined with the calendar method of birth control. The calendar method if in case you don’t know means tracking the menstrual cycle of your partner and having intercourse only during the first eight days of the cycle. This is quite effective when you have only one partner but can be highly risky if you engage in social sex.

With everything said about the other two methods, our last method seems to be the most suited in all occasions and situations. The use of condoms as a birth control method has a high enough success rate. It is not 100% effective since no birth control method really is perfect. And yet, men oftentimes fail in birth control even if there are only three methods that they have to choose from, or rather have a single method at their disposal if you follow our argument.

However, there are studies being done which gives men other options aside from those three. I really don’t know if these new contraceptive methods will help especially if men are in general not paying much that attention to contraceptives anyways.

But still, this development in male birth control is a welcome one. Research have been looking at developing medications, much like the female birth control pills, targeting the hormones inside the male body. This hormonal contraception can be administered as injections or as implants, although, like I said research is still being conducted and experiments are being performed to show if such contraceptives are possible.

This hormonal contraception for males will function as a limiting catalyst to the production of the male sperm. The tricky aspect of the research is finding a way of bringing back the sperm count level to the amount that men will be considered as fertile.

Other method that they are looking for includes implanting tiny plugs called IVD (Intra Vas Device) to block the sperm; applying heat to the testes to induce infertility; and even the use of ultrasound waves as a means to control the production of the sperm. The ultrasound waves will heat the testes which will result to reducing the production of sperms. Again, the issue of whether the sperm count will normalize after a few months or even years.

Well, regardless of the methods under study the present male birth control is quite simple enough so men should learn how to use them or else it’s off to the operating with you.