# What is so hard about using contraceptives? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 11, 2004, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-so-hard-about-using-contraceptives/228597 "2004-02-11T04:16:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Merkwurdigliebe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/74df32/32.png) [@Merkwurdigliebe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merkwurdigliebe)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-so-hard-about-using-contraceptives/228597/21 "2004-02-11T18:46:50Z")
> [@whiterabbit](#): > > **Merk** (forgive me for shortening it!), you shouldn’t be using the same condom for more than one session anyway. So you have sex, you take a break, you have sex again, using a new one the second time. Then you don’t have to worry about…um…overflow. Lol! I thought that was implied! No, but you know how even after you do ejaculate there is still a little bit left in your urethrea, so I would be worried about it coming out in the NEW condom. 🙂 I suppose that wasn’t clear enough. I suppose I feel its safer that way although I don’t know if its really worth it. My feelings are that its nice enough to have sex, I don’t have to have it twice in a row nowadays. ---
**Author:** ![robo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a8b319/32.png) [@robo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robo99)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-so-hard-about-using-contraceptives/228597/22 "2004-02-11T18:48:59Z")
> [@Arturius](#): > > This may sound silly, but after watching talk shows, other tv programs, if people are going to cheat, WHY CANT THEY USE CONDOMS! I mean, ‘aww god damn havin’ anotha’ baby, how in hell deed that happen’. > > Is it stupidity? Is it expense? I mean, this goes beyond cheating; its just stupid cheating in my opinon. > > Is there an actual reason, or some research into this? 😕 They’re too small for one thing. I’ve heard of larger varieties but have never seen them. ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-so-hard-about-using-contraceptives/228597/23 "2004-02-11T20:09:26Z")
> [@robo99](#): > > They’re too small for one thing. I’ve heard of larger varieties but have never seen them. Really? I’ve seen the Magnum “Larger Size” ones at that boutique of decadence, Wal-Mart. [ShopInPrivate.com](http://ShopInPrivate.com) also carries them. ---
**Author:** ![CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crankyasanoldman/32/11670_2.png) [@CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrankyAsAnOldMan)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-so-hard-about-using-contraceptives/228597/24 "2004-02-11T21:32:09Z")
There are other reasons that some people find contraception a challenge. People can have medical problems that preclude use of some methods, reducing the availability/optimal choice of contraception. For example, a latex allergy will certainly make finding condoms more difficult. Some people can’t tolerate spermicide. Some women get blood clots on the pill, so it isn’t safe for them. Finances can also be a factor. The most reliable forms of contraception (besides abstinence) are often the most expensive. ---
**Author:** ![larsenmtl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d78d45/32.png) [@larsenmtl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/larsenmtl)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-so-hard-about-using-contraceptives/228597/25 "2004-02-11T22:50:33Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally Posted by robo99 > They’re too small for one thing. I’ve heard of larger varieties but have never seen them. I might just be a little naive, or maybe too modest because I was 21 before I figured out why my condoms failed so often. I needed to use the magnum size. ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-so-hard-about-using-contraceptives/228597/26 "2004-02-11T23:55:07Z")
> [@Merkwurdigliebe](#): > > Lol! > My feelings are that its nice enough to have sex, I don’t have to have it twice in a row nowadays. I’d feel the same way if I were having it right now. _sigh_ Sorry about the misunderstanding, I thought you were worried about double the ejaculate in the same condom. I can see where that might be a problem. As for the better methods being expensive, that’s why I got my ex to chip in on my costs. The condoms were way cheaper than my pills, even though I get them through Planned Parenthood (I guess I’m not quite poor enough for the REALLY deep discounts). I don’t think I’d want to be having sex with a man who wouldn’t be willing to help with those particular costs, uh uh, no way. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2004, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-so-hard-about-using-contraceptives/228597/27 "2004-02-12T00:08:53Z")
I know one person born on the Pill and another born on the diaphragm and foam. Worse, I know of a lady who had two kids on birth control, so she had her tubes tied, and had a third kid that way, then got a hysterectomy, and had her forth kid after that. Turns out she had two reproductive tracts, which is apparently rare but not as rare as you might think. I think she ran off and became gay after that, if I remember the story right. ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2004, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-so-hard-about-using-contraceptives/228597/28 "2004-02-12T03:22:02Z")
> [@Napier](#): > > I know one person born on the Pill and another born on the diaphragm and foam. > > Worse, I know of a lady who had two kids on birth control, so she had her tubes tied, and had a third kid that way, then got a hysterectomy, and had her forth kid after that. Turns out she had two reproductive tracts, which is apparently rare but not as rare as you might think. I think she ran off and became gay after that, if I remember the story right. Ummm. Wouldn’t the surgeons have sort of NOTICED if there was a second uterus? When a hysterectomy is done, the top of the vagina is normally closed off, you know. I’m sure somebody would have noticed if she had two of those. However, I also know two women who each had her third child after having a tubal ligation. ---
**Author:** ![Drethelin2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/838e76/32.png) [@Drethelin2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drethelin2)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2004, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-so-hard-about-using-contraceptives/228597/29 "2004-02-12T05:03:50Z")
Whatever happened to good old abstinence? If you want to be intimate, cuddle, hug, kiss. If you’re just going for orgasm, masturbate. Masturbation is the safest sex. ---
**Author:** ![Ms2001](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ms2001/32/18463_2.png) [@Ms2001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms2001)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2004, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-so-hard-about-using-contraceptives/228597/30 "2004-02-12T06:38:16Z")
> [@Drethelin2](#): > > Whatever happened to good old abstinence? If you want to be intimate, cuddle, hug, kiss. If you’re just going for orgasm, masturbate. Masturbation is the safest sex. When has telling people not to have sex ever been effective? ---
**Author:** ![WILLASS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/54ee81/32.png) [@WILLASS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WILLASS)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2004, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-so-hard-about-using-contraceptives/228597/31 "2004-02-12T07:51:21Z")
Use the same condom _twice_? Man that is rank…use a new one cheapskate! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![POd\_Querent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/91b2a8/32.png) [@POd\_Querent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/POd_Querent)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2004, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-so-hard-about-using-contraceptives/228597/32 "2004-02-12T08:23:21Z")
One question, for those who’ve had a condom break: did you use Vaseline as a lube? You can’t forget that petroleum jelly weakens condoms. Closer to the topic of this thread… every now and then you hear a story of a primitive tribe somewhere being introduced to condoms, and then their birth rate goes _up_ because they misused them. In one story I heard, the tribesmen were doing just what the doctors showed them… rolling the condoms over their fingers. :rolleyes: Ignorance is a huge problem. If we could just get over our squeamishness and be honest with our kids (and presumably primitive tribesmen) it’d be a lot better. Anybody remember the Sex Ed scene from Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life? It’d be tough to misinterpret that! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Arturius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Arturius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arturius)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2004, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-so-hard-about-using-contraceptives/228597/33 "2004-02-12T12:56:37Z")
> [@POd\_Querent](#): > > One question, for those who’ve had a condom break: did you use Vaseline as a lube? You can’t forget that petroleum jelly weakens condoms. > > Closer to the topic of this thread… every now and then you hear a story of a primitive tribe somewhere being introduced to condoms, and then their birth rate goes _up_ because they misused them. In one story I heard, the tribesmen were doing just what the doctors showed them… rolling the condoms over their fingers. :rolleyes: > > Ignorance is a huge problem. If we could just get over our squeamishness and be honest with our kids (and presumably primitive tribesmen) it’d be a lot better. Anybody remember the Sex Ed scene from Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life? It’d be tough to misinterpret that! 🙂 very good point. False sense of security I guess. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-so-hard-about-using-contraceptives/228597.md?page=1)