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Infertility is going down among U.S. women
The National Survey on Family Growth (NSFG) collects all kinds of information on U.S. women, including what kind of birth control they use. It also asks women and men about their experiences with infertility . For men, it asks whether they might have difficulty fathering a child. For women, the survey defines infertility as 12 […]
Those Mirena lawsuit ads: Fact and fiction
The recent slew of Mirena IUD lawsuit ads are creepy. But are they true? We’re going to fearlessly wade into the scary things these ads claim, because we think the over 2 million U.S. women now using IUDs deserve the real info—without the hype. What problems are being reported—and how common are they? Some of […]
IUDs, STIs, and PID: What’s the deal?
There’s a lot of conflicting information out there about the relationship between these three very important acronyms related to women’s health: intrauterine devices (IUDs) , sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and a serious infection called pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) . Some health care providers with out-of-date information refuse to give young women or women without children […]
4 STI myths that get in the way of a healthy sex life
Safer sex— comprehensive safer sex, that is —includes more than just using barriers consistently and correctly. You also need to talk about risk in advance of any sexual activity. That’s where most people get stuck. As soon as someone utters the letters S-T-I (short for sexually transmitted infection) in sequence, people run for the hills. […]
Um, can I get pregnant if…? Part 2!
We got so many questions about pregnancy scares in the comments of the original “Um, can I get pregnant if…?” that we decided it was time for part 2. Last time we talked about specific sex acts that could lead to pregnancy—this time we’re talking the chance of pregnancy in various circumstances. Can I get […]
Research finds sex is still good with condoms
We’ve heard some pretty colorful excuses for not using condoms (a.k.a. the only birth control method that protects against STIs ). Reducing sensitivity is definitely a big one. Fortunately, science is here to help put the rumors to rest and assure us that condoms may be a barrier to STI transmission, but they’re no barrier […]
5 myths about herpes, busted
Herpes is common. Really common. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about one in six adults has genital herpes, a sexually transmitted infection (STI) caused by herpes simplex virus.* (To learn more about the two types of herpes, HSV-1 and HSV-2, check out the CDC’s herpes fact sheet ). While […]
No controversy: 5 fantastic arguments for better birth control access
UPDATE: President Biden has opened the enrollment period for the Affordable Care Act health insurance plans for 2022. You can now enroll in one of these plans until January 15, 2022, at healthcare.gov . Some states have their own open enrollment periods and websites for signing up. Check to see if your state does . […]
5 myths about the IUD, busted
After years in unofficial exile, the IUD is finally making a much-deserved comeback in the U.S. The device got a bad reputation mostly due to health problems women experienced using the creepy-looking Dalkon Shield , a poorly designed model of the IUD that’s been off the market for decades. Fortunately, medical providers and researchers , […]
Something for the (IUD insertion) pain…
As the comments on some of our articles will testify, IUD insertion is more painful for some women than for others. As more and more U.S. women are deciding that the gain is worth the pain , researchers and health care providers are looking for ways to make the insertion process more comfortable for all. […]
