Birth control when you’re living with HIV/AIDS
If you are one of the 1.1 million people in the U.S. living with HIV or AIDS, you might have heard that your choices of birth control are limited. The good news is that many methods—including some of the most effective ones—should still work well for you. What you can use depends on whether you […]
Sex toys and smooching: Can they give you HPV?
We’ve said it before: human papillomavirus (HPV) is incredibly common . But scientists are still working out some of the details when it comes to how the virus is transmitted and how it can affect people who get it. What we do know is that HPV is sexually transmitted and that most people’s bodies clear […]
A quickie guide to male reproductive anatomy
Think of this as a tiny anatomy lesson for a dude’s junk. Why? Because knowledge is good, understanding basic biology is important, and you never know who you’re going to impress by identifying where the frenulum is. Penis. The male external sex organ responsible for delivering sperm. The largest one on record was 13.5 inches […]
Well-woman visits: 6 things you should know
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 . […]
Accidental pregnancy: It’s a tough nut
Can the U.S. bring the proportion of unplanned pregnancies down to 44% by the year 2020 ? Maybe the goal sounds modest, but unplanned pregnancy is a tough nut to crack. Recent research from the Guttmacher Institute found that the rate of unplanned pregnancy in the U.S. actually went up slightly between 2001 and 2008, […]
STIs and relationships: What you need to know
Reality check: More than half of all people who have sex will get a sexually transmitted infection (STI) in their lifetime. Women between the ages of 15 and 24 have about a 1 in 30 chance of contracting a common STI like chlamydia or gonorrhea . We hope that doesn’t include you— and we want […]
While you’re in there: Birth control for right after having a baby
Planning for a baby can be overwhelming. You’re dealing with prenatal care, setting up a nursery, making a birth plan, and simply preparing to be responsible for a new life. But the real work starts when you get that newborn home—and the last thing you’re going to want to worry about is an unplanned pregnancy. […]
Slacking on the HPV vaccine
The HPV vaccine protects against cervical cancer and genital warts. The national Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommends that all girls and boys ages 11 and 12 get all three doses of the vaccine. (Ladies and gents ages 13-26 who haven’t had all three doses yet can get catch-up shots.) Yet national studies tell us […]
A quick guide to skipping periods with birth control
That weekend at the beach you’ve been looking forward to or the first day of school or a new job can be stressful times to have your period start, especially if your periods are painful . Wouldn’t it be nice on days like those not to have to worry about pads, tampons, or pain killers? […]
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 […]
