You know when you miss your period and your whole world starts to feel like it’s spinning? Suddenly flashes of your life being over-as-you-know-it, fill your mind. You start to do math, hardcore fertility mathematics. Consult your Period Tracker app only to realize that yes, there was a flower on the calendar that same night you were definitely getting intimate. Your boobs are tender. Your life is over.
If only you hadn’t skipped those few pills in your birth control pack because you were too lazy to get up from the computer to take that little pink chiclet. The truth is, women miss about 2.6 birth control pills per cycle, on average. You’re not alone. Women everywhere have a love/hate relationship with contraception.
We’ve all had our scares, me included. And every single time we swear to ourselves that we will be more diligent the next month. Keep track of every single sleepover. Set a reminder on our smartphones. Be better at being a sexually active adult. I ask you, is that realistic? Sometimes we need to realize that our busy lifestyles have forced us to put contraception on the bottom shelf. Besides, if you’re a responsible, independent adult with their finances in order, you should, in theory, be able to take care of a child.
I’m guilty of that backwards logic, too.
As you know, this year I’ve partnered with birthcontrolforme.com, who have given me the opportunity to open up about something that I think as women, we should be talking about way more frequently and openly. We should be talking about contraception; whether behind closed doors or right here online for everyone to see, and for Google bots to cache.
We should be encouraging young women around us to write down their #3YearGoals, whether they include pregnancy or not, and to actively put a contraception plan that really fits their lifestyle into effect. It’s gotta be top shelf, guys. It’s your life, and it’s your future. Don’t wait for your partner to decide what form of contraception you’ll be using – you decide. This goes for STIs, HIV, HPV, and the latest sexually transmitted virus, ZIKA.
So mark your fertility calendars and period tracker apps, Monday, September 26th is World Contraception Day. It’s an annual friendly reminder to make informed choices when it comes to birth control and sexual health. The mission of #WCD2016 centres around a vision where every pregnancy is wanted. I think this is so extremely important for young people to talk about at an early age. Information is power. Information is sexy.
Let’s Talk About It!
I’m opening up the forum here for anyone to take the lead on this discussion. Leave a comment below and let’s talk about what we can do to raise awareness as World Contraception Day approaches.
This post was sponsored by birthcontrolforme.com however the opinions are my own.
Your opening paragraph gives me life lmao. I do think people should talk about contraception more :) And I also wish I FELT like I could talk about contraception earlier than seems comfortable – like with and to my sisters, who I feel are very uncomfortable about the topic. I try to let them know I’m here for them to ask questions. One thing I’d love for people to be more open about is the types of contraception available to women. Like the patch, injections, intrauterine devices etc.
http://www.dressupchowdown.com
Ya! I totally agree. I’ve only ever been on the pill but I SUCK at taking the pill. When the statistic says the average woman misses 2.6 pills per cycle, I probably missed 4-5 pills. SO bad. I think you just have to force the conversation lol like that embarrassing older sister. That’s what I did.
I wanna know more about other options, too. But no one ever seems to talk about them, it’s like an underground world of birth control
xo J
hahahaha this was a great read. I got an IUD put in about a year ago and it changed my life. No more 9 pm alarms and rushing to get my birth control. Actually – no more periods, period. I will never go back!
Ok, yes! Two of my close friends got it. Mixed reviews. One says, like you, that it changed her life. The other says it was the worst pain in the world and cannot wait to get it taken out. I’m torn. It seems expensive too and I hate the idea of having something stuck inside me for like, years. But no period – that seems worth it! I swear I should buy stocks in Kotex.