Cassandra told her best friend Seun that she was pregnant. She felt so sad because she always made sure to have sex riding on top. Everyone said that if you stay on top, it will make the sperm flow out. Imagine her shock when she missed her period and the pregnancy test just confirmed her worst fears that truly ‘belle don enter’
Just last month, her friend Seun had told her all about WHISPA and how she could get any contraceptive through them but did she listen? Now Seun being the good friend that she was, held her close and offered moral support while she cried her heart out.
To ensure other ladies can avoid this kind of wahala that Cassandra is in, let us briefly show you some of the wrong things people do around the world (but especially in Nigeria) to prevent pregnancy). Most of these methods are highly unreliable, while some are just plain dangerous and even unsafe. So let’s get started.
1. Peeing after sex
Peeing after sex does not and honestly can never prevent pregnancy. This is because the opening where the sperm swims through is different from the opening where urine passes out from. Sperm is ejaculated into the vagina during sex, and when you pee, the pee comes from the bladder and flows out through the urethra. Now think of your vagina and your urethra as two different sides of a large expressway. This means that nothing that goes through one channel can actually cross to the other side unless a medical accident has happened.
Therefore, the urine you are pushing out and the sperm that is running in can never meet each other, because they are travelling on different routes in your body. Peeing after sex has one key advantage though, which is to curb or reduce your risk of urinary tract infections. This is because rubbing each other’s genitals during sex can allow microorganisms to settle outside your urethra (pee opening). This is why peeing after sex is beneficial because it pushes those germs away, however, it cannot prevent pregnancy.
2. Applying substances like vinegar, Dettol, alum, soap, or putting any herbs like ginger and turmeric in the vagina before or after sex
Doing this is not only ineffective, but it is also quite harmful.
First, it’s not clear if the goal is to actually prevent pregnancy or to cook soup inside your vagina or to sterilize it like you would a public toilet. Secondly, all these different substances can severely irritate your vagina walls (meaning your vagina would become red and inflamed). This would make you vulnerable to sexually transmitted infections. In addition, the PH balance of your vagina is going to alter. Normal vaginal microorganisms that normally would not grow abnormally in your vagina could begin to flourish which can cause reproductive tract infections such as Bacterial Vaginosis.
3. Douching
Despite repeated advice against it, douching after sex (which means rinsing or washing the inside of the vagina) is still a common practice in Nigeria and many parts of the world. Douching is harmful and mostly helps in washing away good, helpful bacteria from your vagina. Douching remains one of the quickest routes to increase your frequency of having non-sexually transmitted vaginal infections. It does absolutely nothing to prevent pregnancy.
There are millions of sperm cells in one drop of semen. By the time you begin and finish douching, the fastest sperm would have gotten past your cervix (the entrance to the womb) and be on its way to the fallopian tube. This means that enough sperm cells are now far away from your vagina. They are just waiting to mingle with the egg and therefore no amount of washing or douching can reach those lucky sperm to wash it out.
4. Using two condoms during sex to prevent pregnancy
This is done with the assumption that it gives extra protection. Sadly, wearing two condoms at the same time can result in no protection at all. The reason why this is a problem is that the two condoms will rub against each other and this would only result in friction. With Friction, both the inner and outer condom will break or tear. Now the fun part is that you might not even be able to see the tear with your naked eyes. You might think you are protected when you are not. This is because a microscopic tear is big enough for the equally microscopic sperm cells to pass through and fertilize an egg.
The bottomline- you can choose to wear a thicker condom like our extra strong condom, but do not ever-ever attempt to wear two condoms together. Two condoms is not a double protective measure but a way of using a condom wrongly that could result in both pregnancy and Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs)
5. Girl on top/cowgirl sex position or Jumping after sex (Definitely a wrong thing to prevent pregnancy!)
Jumping is a great exercise that helps you stay fit. When it comes to preventing pregnancy, jumping makes zero sense!
The idea behind girl on top and jumping after sex is that people expect the sperm to flow down. Essentially, you are depending on gravity to help you prevent pregnancy. Sorry to burst your bubble. Gravity is going to disappoint you. This is because gravity can not help you during a woman’s fertile period. Her vaginal fluid actually helps sperm cells move up the vagina. Not to mention, the reason why ejaculation to the man feels like a volcano is erupting. This is because it also helps to shoot the semen which contains millions of sperm cells up and away.
You could be an expert at cowgirl like Cassandra or really good at jumping after sex, awesome! But please note that there are millions and millions of sperm that have taken off. Some are even leading the race to fertilize your egg. You might even see some semen drip out. This does not prevent the outcome of what can happen. Imagine your egg is at home with no contraceptive to act as a security man.
In summary
Don’t be like Cassandra, book a contraceptive today. You can get one that suits your needs and your body and is also affordable. This way, you can choose to ride as often as you want and anytime you want. You don’t need to be scared of becoming an impromptu mom.
Interested in contraceptives? Take our free contraceptive assessment and also book yours for an affordable fee. Go to home-contraceptives to get started. And if you have questions, you can also chat with a doctor on WHISPA today.
