I was just wondering why it is so hard (10 pharmacies visited and still haven't gotten my prescription filled) to find barrier methods of birth control (not counting condoms)? Especially considering the permanence of a child and the many things that can screw with the effectiveness of hormonal birth control (not to mention the pain of having your cervix dilated for an abortion).
Oh--also, I have read that there are non-nonoxynol-9 spermicides, but have been unable to actually find them anywhere. Do you know what they are and where to get them?
Desperately Seeking Diaphragm
Dear DSD,
I think that it's supply and demand--diaphragms and cervical caps have become less popular in recent years. Patients have told me that they've switched to other methods because their barriers were "too messy" (both need to be used with a spermicide for best effectiveness), or they didn't want to stop fooling around with their guy to put it in. And the barriers are just not as effective as hormonal methods, with failure rates of 15 to 25 percent per year. Consequently, it can be really hard to get a cervical cap or diaphragm. I think your best bet is the chain pharmacies--if they don't stock these items, they can usually order them for you.
Unfortunately, there are no non-N9 spermicides available in the US. N9 in all its forms (suppository, foam, film, gel, cream) is moderately effective at killing sperm--when used alone, it has a failure rate of 18 to 29 percent. N9 does NOT offer protection against STIs and HIV, however, and should be used only vaginally, no more than once daily. There are some other spermicides in research trials that we hope will also be effective against HIV and other STIs, but nothing's available yet.
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