‘I like sex but how do I not get pregnant?’

Dear Eppy, 

I am the type of woman who likes to have sex with a man without using condoms.  I also don’t like to use the IUD or the pill.  Right now, my partner and I use the condom just to make sure I don’t get pregnant.  But I’d really like to try the natural way of preventing pregnancy.  How do I go about this? RISKY LADY                             

Dear Risky Lady,

I interviewed Dr. Boy Vazquez to answer your question about avoiding pregnancy.  Dr. Boy Vazquez is a retired ob-gyne.  Right now, he is busy with his businesses.  He owns Café Juanita, Haru Sushi Bar, and Shunji Hair Studio in Pasig.  

Dr. Vazquez says that there’s no method that can give you 100-percent assurance that you will not get pregnant.  Whether you use the IUD, the contraceptive pill or the natural way, the chances of getting pregnant will still be there. 

There are a number of natural ways of decreasing the chances of getting pregnant, called the natural methods of birth control.  One method is achieved by counting the days surrounding the menstrual cycle.  According to Dr. Vazquez, this is called the Rhythm Method.  A menstrual cycle is counted from the first day of the menstruation to the first day of the next menses.  If one has a regular 28-day cycle, the calendar method predicts that 14 days from the first day of your menstrual cycle, ovulation is expected to occur, during which you are likely to be fertile for the next few days (about two).  In the succeeding 14 days, the lining of the uterus becomes thicker in preparation for a possible pregnancy — if fertilization occurs.  If there is failure, and conception has not occurred, then the lining will be shed as menstruation.  The window for intercourse for those avoiding pregnancy is five days before and five days after menstruation, granting that you menstruate for four days only.  This is the time when you are likely infertile.  On the other hand, if the number of days of your cycle is irregular, you have to compute for the days to determine when one is likely fertile.  You have to deduct 18 days from the shortest menstrual cycle and 11 days to the longest menstrual cycle to compute for the likely period of ovulation.  Consider a menstrual cycle that is 35 days (shortest) to 45 days (being the longest).  Deduct 18 from 35 and you’ll get 17days for the shortest cycle; and deduct 11 from 45 days, which is 34 days.  That means if a woman menstruates today, she must count 17 days from today.  On the 17th day till the 34th day, there will be a risk of pregnancy.  Within this time frame, she may ovulate.

Dr. Vazquez says that if you don’t like counting days, then there’s another way of checking if you are fertile. This method requires you to check the character of secretion in your vagina.  This secretion is commonly called “white blood.”  The secretion during the period towards ovulation is usually abundant, clear, watery, and slippery.  In contrast, if the secretion is rather thick, then one is less likely fertile at that time.  To check for the thickness of secretions, obtain secretion from the vagina using your thumb and forefinger.  Test for consistency or “thickness” of secretion by slowly separating the thumb and the forefinger.  If the secretion is abundant, clear, watery, and slippery (like the consistency of an egg white) and does not break when you separate your thumb and forefinger, then you are likely to be fertile until the last day of this type of secretion.  Unprotected sex may lead to pregnancy during the days with this type of secretion until a few days after this type of secretion stops.  After ovulation, the secretion becomes thick and does not stretch between the fingers.  The cervical mucus method is sometimes combined with the basal body temperature method.

The basal body temperature method is based on the observation that there is a slight increase in basal body temperature during ovulation.  Take your temperature the moment you wake up before any activity and record these for several cycles. You will notice that there will be a time when the basal body temperature will rise. If your temperature suddenly goes up, compared to your previous temperatures, that may mean that you have ovulated and are likely fertile and may conceive after intercourse.

These natural methods of birth control are by no means fool-proof and thus may fail for many reasons. One should consider, for example, that sperm may survive in the fallopian tubes for a few days and the egg for one day after release; furthermore, more than one egg may be released in one ovulation. The natural method also requires diligent and precise observation and recording of changes. There are also many conditions that may alter the so-called signs (for example, an increase in body temperature can occur in many instances other than ovulation).  What is written here should not be used in place of professional help.  Consult a health professional for a more detailed instruction and better understanding of these methods before embarking on any of these methods. EPPY                                                                                                          

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‘Is masturbating five times daily healthy?’

Dear Eppy,

I read something about masturbation in your column.  I’m in my late 20s, just broke up with my girlfriend of seven years, who is based abroad, and I haven’t had sex with anyone for years.  I’ve been masturbating more than five times daily for many years now.  Do you think it’s normal and healthy? I’m into bodybuilding so I take protein powders that made me never run out of loads of semen every time I do it. I just find masturbating a regular hobby. Please share your thoughts on this.                        NAUGHTY FINGERS 

DEAR NAUGHTY FINGERS,

Normal is a dangerous word.  Some people think that because it is not normal, then it means there is something wrong.  That is not the case.  There is a difference between “normal” and  a “disorder.”  A person can be “not normal,” yet there is nothing wrong with him/her or he/she doesn’t have a disorder.  Before I continue, I must say that I am speaking in psychological terms and not in moral terms or religious terms.  My response does not refer to any form of judgment.

In your case, if you have the ability, energy, and desire to masturbate five times a day, then for you that is normal.  But if your case was plotted in a statistical graph, then you will not be considered normal.  Does that mean that there is something wrong with you?  It depends.

Let me summarize Kaplan and Sadock’s position on masturbation in their book Synopsis of Psychiatry.  If you seek out a sexual experience repeatedly and the consequence of doing that affects your health, source of income, relationships, and social life, then you are considered a sex addict.  Also, if you use masturbation in place of sex with a partner, then this may manifest a problem. 

By the way, chances are, your “load” is in abundance because you are masturbating a lot.  Ejaculating a lot increases the amount of semen. EPPY 

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E-mail: eppygochangco@gmail.com