Whilst we live in a world where everything is available to us over a counter or via the touch of a button, it’s a wonder why some women still opt to use archaic and quite frankly, risky ways of preventing pregnancy.
Besides abstaining from sex completely, the safest ways of reducing the risk of bringing a new individual into the world is by using condoms and/or contraceptive pills/coils/injections.
Let’s have a look at some of the contraceptive myths that some women still subscribe to and why they probably won’t work!
Lemon slices
Yep, apparently, if you shove lemon slices into your vagina after intercourse, the acidity in the juice will kill off any living sperm thus preventing a possible unwanted pregnancy!
This is unlikely to work but is very likely to mess up the PH balance of one of your most intimate areas leaving you with anything between a mild irritation and angry infection.
Cider vinegar
Much like with the lemon, the idea comes from the acidity levels in the vinegar acting as some sort of crazed sperm murderer when the reality is, douching with cider vinegar can also really mess with your vaginal balance and just like with the lemon, could leave you susceptible to nasty infections.
Herbals
Apparently, a fusion of certain herbs consumed as a drink could stop the fertilisation process and whilst I can almost see the logic behind this presumed method of preventing pregnancy, an eyebrow is still forced to rise.
Why?
Well, unless you are familiar with the herbs you are consuming and how you personally may react to them, I would be very reluctant. Unknown herbs can contain high levels of harmful chemicals which could have an adverse effect on your body.
Then there’s the; ‘who grew these herbs’ and ‘what are they crossed with,’ as well as the questions around concentration levels vs consumption amounts.
The list is endless….so I’d say, avoid unless you really know what’s what!
Always Coca Cola
No, no, no, NO!
OK, so there is the argument that Coca Cola can clean your loo or remove rust etc. one thing it is not very likely to do is kill sperm.
Whether you believe douching with a fresh can of coke will clear out any semen that may be lingering in your cervix or if you’ve been advised to pop a couple of aspirins and down a can of coke at the same time, please understand that attempting to prevent pregnancy this way is simply just dangerous!
Above are random ways some believe pregnancy can be avoided. There are plenty more weird ways strewn across the internet but don’t be fooled. As mentioned earlier, the sure fire ways to try and prevent an unwanted baby is by using condoms and/or contraceptive pills and even then, it’s not 100% guaranteed.
If you want a 100% guarantee….avoid sex completely!
Oh and just for the record, having sex on your period or having him withdraw as soon as he comes are two other so called methods that will NOT reduce your risk of getting pregnant.
Oh and here’s one last one, if you’ve recently had a baby and believe that while you are breastfeeding, you are somehow exempt from conceiving…think again!
