Article first published by Natural Womanhood and Body Language


 
Among those who promote fertility awareness based methods (FABM) of family planning and the body literacy that comes with them, opinion is split on the topic of condoms. I am simply going to use this opportunity to highlight one little-known (and pretty remarkable) fact: there are times when using a condom actually increases the likelihood of pregnancy. Hang in there—please let me explain!
A Counterintuitive Concept
The title of this article seems like a joke, doesn’t it? As we all know, condoms are a form of birth control. Although they are very ineffective (the CDC reports only an 82% effectiveness rate[1]), and don’t prevent nearly as many diseases as one may think[2], condoms can still prevent pregnancy in some instances. They also carry far less health risks than all forms of hormonal birth control. As a result, some people choose to “supplement” a fertility awareness-based method (FABM) with condoms. Since condoms are another method of preventing pregnancy, wouldn’t it make sense that using condoms in addition to an FABM would exponentially decrease your likelihood of achieving pregnancy? (I.e. by adding an additional layer of protection so to speak? No pun intended…)
When Condoms Don’t Work the Way You Intend 
Although it may be counterintuitive, using condoms with FABMs reduces the FABMs’ effectiveness rates. When a couple uses an FABM, they know when the woman is going through the fertile part of her cycle. Many couples who are seeking to postpone pregnancy choose to abstain during that time. Others, however, choose to use condoms (or another barrier method).
Here’s the rub: your success rate is only as good as that of the worst method you are using.

When Condoms Increase the Likehood of Pregnancy

When you use a combine condoms and an FABM, you are stuck with the condom’s low effectiveness rate. FABMs’ impressive effectiveness rates (up to 99%!) reflect the effectiveness of that FABM when used alone, not the effectiveness of that FABM when combined with another method of family planning. The reported effectiveness rate of condoms, however low, is still higher than it would be for FABM couples who only use condoms during the woman’s fertile time. This is because reported effectiveness rate of condoms does not differentiate between the times when the couple has intercourse while fertile and the times when the couple has intercourse while infertile. In other words, the effectiveness rate of condoms takes into account all of the instances in which the couple used a condom even though the woman couldn’t have achieved pregnancy, even if they didn’t use any form of family planning whatsoever.
When FABM couples use condoms during the woman’s fertile time, they are having sex with a less effective family planning method at the exact part of the woman’s cycle when she can get pregnant. If you think about it, you’ll realize that every single time a woman becomes pregnant even though she and her partner used a condom during intercourse, the woman must have been in a fertile part of her cycle when they had sex (otherwise, there was no way that she could get pregnant).
Ditching Condoms
Couples who say goodbye to condoms may experience other benefits as well. Semen has health benefits for both men and women. It contains mineral zinc, as well as ascorbic acid, blood-group antigens, calcium, chlorine, cholesterol, choline, citric acid, creatine, fructose, glutathione, lactic acid, magnesium, nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, sodium, sorbitol, and vitamin B12 — all of which are important to a woman’s reproductive health.[3] The benefits of semen also extend beyond the physical. Semen contains many mood-elevating compounds such as endorphins, estrone, prolactin, oxytocin, thyrotrpin-releasing hormone, and serotonin.[4] It is also full of prostaglandins that bond the couple to each other.[5]
At the end of the day, it’s important to be as informed as possible about the family planning method you choose. Sometimes it’s hard to navigate your way through all the condom propaganda, whether it’s pro-condom or anti-condom. Stick to learning the facts—you deserve it. You don’t want to put yourself in a situation where the condom you use does the exact opposite of what you are hoping it will do!
[1]“Effectiveness of Family Planning Methods,” U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011,  http://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/unintendedpregnancy/pdf/contraceptive_methods_508.pdf
[2] “How to Lower Your STD Odds,” Men’s Health, June 27, 2011, http://www.menshealth.com/sex-women/std-diagnostic-guide
[3] Cite
[4] Michael Castleman, MA, “Attention, Ladies: Sement Is An Antidepressant,” Psychology Today, January 31, 2011, https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/all-about-sex/201101/attention-ladies-semen-is-antidepressant
[5] Cite