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birth control
Article Free Pass- Introduction
- Natural fertility
- History of birth control
- Social and political aspects of birth control
- Birth control and health
- Methods of birth control
- Family planning services
- The legality of birth control
- Ethics and the influence of religious systems
- Conclusions
- Related
- Contributors & Bibliography
- Year in Review Links
Male contraception
- Introduction
- Natural fertility
- History of birth control
- Social and political aspects of birth control
- Birth control and health
- Methods of birth control
- Family planning services
- The legality of birth control
- Ethics and the influence of religious systems
- Conclusions
- Related
- Contributors & Bibliography
- Year in Review Links
Intrauterine devices
Almost any foreign body placed in the uterus will prevent pregnancy. While intrauterine devices (IUD’s) were invented in the 19th century, they only came into widespread use in the late 1950s, when flexible plastic devices were developed by Jack Lippes and others. The IUD, made in a variety of shapes, is placed in the uterus by passing it through the cervix under sterile conditions. Like oral contraceptives, IUD’s probably act in several complementary ways. When the IUD is in place an abnormally high number of white blood cells pass into the uterine cavity, and the egg, even if fertilized, is destroyed by the white blood cells before implantation. Nevertheless, one to three out of every 100 users per year will get pregnant with the IUD in place.
An intrauterine device can be inserted on any day of the menstrual period and immediately after a birth or abortion. The advantage of an IUD lies in its long-term protection and relative ease of use. The disadvantages include heavier menstrual flow and an increased risk of uterine infection. Approximately 60 million women use IUD’s worldwide. The largest use is recorded in China. IUD’s are most satisfactory when used by older women who have had children and are recommended less frequently for young women, primarily because of the risk of pelvic infection.
In 1970 Jaime Zipper, a physician from Chile, added copper to plastic devices, thereby permitting designs that caused less bleeding and increased effectiveness. IUD’s that slowly release progesterone derivatives have also been developed.
Voluntary sterilization
More than 100,000,000 couples worldwide have selected sterilization, and the method prevents more pregnancies each year than any other method of birth control. Voluntary sterilization has proved popular in both rich and poor countries, and the number of operations performed is likely to continue to rise. Wherever sterilization of the female (tubal sterilization) has been offered it has proved popular. Fewer male sterilizations (vasectomies) than female sterilizations have been performed worldwide but demand grows consistently wherever a reliable service is offered.
Vasectomy is a quick, simple operation normally carried out under local anesthesia. The vas deferens, the tube carrying the sperm from the testicles to the penis, is blocked, and a number of ejaculations must be made after the operation to remove all the sperm capable of fertilization. Local bleeding and infection can occur after the operation, but no long-term adverse effects have been demonstrated in men. In some animals, however, disease of the blood vessels has been reported to be more common after experimental vasectomy.
The fallopian tubes, which carry the egg from the ovary to the uterus, lie buried deep in the female pelvis. To perform sterilization a surgeon must either open the abdomen, in a procedure called laparotomy, and close the tubes under direct vision, or insert an optical instrument (laparoscope) to view the tubes so that a clip, ring, or electrocautery can be applied. The only proved side effects of female sterilization are those associated with any surgery and local or general anesthesia.
An individual seeking sterilization must accept the operation as irreversible while at the same time understanding that in rare cases, in either sex, the operation can fail even when properly carried out. In cases of extreme need, reversal of both female and male sterilization has been attempted, with more than 50 percent of patients later conceiving children. Surgical reversal is easier for male sterilization.
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