Birth Control Slideshow Pictures

Medical Author:

Omnia M Samra, MD

Coauthor:

Sandra Wendel

Medical Editor:

William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR

William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR

Dr. Shiel received a Bachelor of Science degree with honors from the University of Notre Dame. There he was involved in research in radiation biology and received the Huisking Scholarship. After graduating from St. Louis University School of Medicine, he completed his Internal Medicine residency and Rheumatology fellowship at the University of California, Irvine. He is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology.

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Before Sex

• Talk with your sexual partner about using birth control before you have sex. If preventing pregnancy is your goal, make sure you or your partner or both are using some form of birth control.
• If you use condoms, have a supply available, even if you also use another form of birth control. It's important to have more than one condom because the condom may break when you put it on. Also, because condoms can only be used once, you may need more than one if you have sex more than once.
• Some people are allergic to latex. If this is the case, choose a condom made from another substance. However, other substances may not be as protective against sexually transmitted diseases as latex.