Period pain? Birth control can help!
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By: health
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July 9, 2013
Having a painful period can mess up your day, or week—or weeks! Every woman’s period is different and the same woman’s periods are often different over time. So how do you know if the pain you have with your period is normal? And what can you do to make your periods less painful? My periods […]
Taking medication? Stay on top of birth control
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By: health
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June 13, 2013
Medication can be a great tool for improving health—but some medicines that are wonderful for you can cause problems for a developing pregnancy. So if you use certain types of medication, it’s extra important to use birth control carefully and consistently. If you’ve decided you’re ready to get pregnant, make sure to talk to a […]
Got a health condition? Know your birth control options!
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By: health
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May 14, 2013
There is an effective birth control option for everyone—including those with health conditions like heavy or irregular periods, obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, or breast cancer. Some methods can actually help treat certain conditions. Let’s look at six fairly common medical conditions and the birth control methods that are best for each. 1. Painful or […]
IUDs, STIs, and PID: What’s the deal?
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By: health
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April 17, 2013
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 Some health care providers with out-of-date information refuse to give young women or women without children […]
Um, can I get pregnant if…? Part 2!
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By: health
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March 14, 2013
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 […]
Pregnancy 101
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By: health
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February 4, 2013
Pregnancy is what happens when sperm meets up with an egg and the fertilized egg sticks to the lining of the uterus. So any type of sex where semen gets inside the vagina could result in a pregnancy—even if the penis is near but not inside the vagina when the penis-owner ejaculates. It doesn’t matter […]
Birth control for breastfeeding moms
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By: health
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January 3, 2013
Now that your bundle of joy has come, it’s time to snuggle up with that new-baby smell and settle into being a mom. Between that and dealing with the effects of sleep deprivation— going to the grocery store in pajamas, falling into bed right after dinner, and drooling in public —you’ve got enough to worry […]
5 myths about herpes, busted
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By: health
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December 11, 2012
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 […]
How to make sex safer in 4 simple steps
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By: health
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November 12, 2012
Most of us have said, or heard a friend say, at one point or another “Hello birth control—goodbye condoms!” I get the thought process behind this—but as a healthcare provider for young women, it worries me. Here’s why: young women have the highest risk for accidental pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Double trouble… A […]
Birth control bullies: When your partner wants your method to fail
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By: health
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October 25, 2012
When I was training to become a doctor, one of my patients was a 25-year-old woman. She already had one child and didn’t want to get pregnant again. She’d been using the birth control patch , but came to me because the patch wasn’t working for her. When I asked her “why not?” she said, […]