To think withdrawal is quite safe...

[LilyPotter44]

Whenever I see threads on here about natural family planning and the withdrawal method as means of contraception, people always act as if it's stupid and completely unreliable. Now don't get me wrong, it's not fool proof. But is it really as reckless as people make out?

Dh and I have recently had a baby (3 months ago) and are yet to sort contraception. I don't want to go back on the pill and he's thinking of getting a vasectomy but there's a wait. Having done my research it seems like withdrawal can work when done properly - i.e fully withdrawn a decent length of time before ejaculation not left right until the last second. Studies also seem to indicate that 'pre-ejaculate' for the most part doesn't contain sperm. So why are people so against it? Have you had any experience with it and did it work for you?

@Flopisfatteningbingforchristmas only for perfect use. And perfect use withdrawal is the same.

Had a miscarriage at 47 using this approach. Vasectomy was booked very soon after

Buy some condoms for God's sake. It isn't rocket science. If you are concerned about the reduced sensation then Skyns are a very good brand.

It's also not much fun surely if you are both on edge monitoring?

If you know how to use it effectively & understand the risks, then crack on.
If you don't want the snide comments, keep your business to yourself...nobody is going to know unless you tell them.

People really need to stop calling it a 'method'. It's not. It has no legitimacy as a way of controlling conception and only exists because of historical religious resistance to contraception.

Anyone who has used this 'successfully' as a way of not getting pregnant just got lucky.

Put it this way .. would you all be telling your 16 year old daughters 'it's fine, darling, just get him to pull out at the last minute. You definitely won't get pregnant'?

Can you guarantee and trust that he will be fully withdrawn a decent length of time before ejaculation? The existence of my DS is proof that the withdrawal method isn't exactly foolproof. Everything I've read about pre ejaculate suggests that although it doesn't contain sperm itself, sperm can leak into it. Do you really want to take the chance?

I know a few friends who use it along side an app where they track their periods / ovulation etc. There are "safer" times of the month to do it and they completely avoid it on the ovulation days etc.

I think that's worth looking at in terms of the practical experience though, VapeVamp. It does take two, but the hormones involved are almost one sided only (whether it's erring to prevention or to conception, in fact - and he 'just' pulls out). It's great if your cycle behaves in the way that GCSE biology led you to believe, but once you start actually looking at that, and having the burden and the pretty unsexy obligation to keep going with apps and calendars and checks if you want to, it doesn't often work like that. And what happens when you have got that data? Some connected days of abstinence and/or of always interrupted sex, which neither may enjoy being obligated to follow over time. Some preoccupations of 'wtf, I haven't ovulated? Oh, that's because it came along at the end of a late period for some reason. That shouldn't happen. Does that mean it's going to go haywire this month now?' Having loads of body data isn't always that reassuring for feeling secure in what you're doing, for me anyway.

It worked well for my grandparents.
They had 12 children

My sister ended up with 2 under 2 this way. But good luck!

with ovulation tracking/natural family planning

^ well that's not simply the withdrawal method. If done properly then it's a reasonable form of contraception.

The result of us doing this is currently climbing on me, trying to chew on my glass to help with teething pains...

I think it's great if you don't really want to be pregnant but wouldn't mind that much. That's the situation we're in atm and it's working fine. Cba with condoms, anything hormonal sends me loopy and my eldest DS is the happy result of having a copper coil . If I were desperate not to be pregnant I don't think I'd rely on it though!

No alternatives Are NOT all hormonal.
Used a Dutch cap for all my contraception since DS1, more than thirty years ago.

If getting pregnant is r the worst thing and you’d definitely keep it then use it. It’s better than nothing but no foolproof at all and depends on lots of things.

Isn’t the worst thing

Another woman who has never heard of diaphragms.
😳

Oh stop! No its not proven to be helpful and never will be.

Another living proof of the withdrawal method not being up to scratch here 😁

How can it be better than nothing? It's literally nothing.

It's sad that so many women are suggesting it's fine if she doesn't mind another baby. We shouldn't have babies unless we actively want them.

Well I got pregnant through pre-ejaculation so I certainly wouldn’t recommend the pull-out method

Aside from anything else, it sounds miserable.

It's always worked for me (20 years now), and I also avoid dtd during my fertile period

It'll be the avoiding sex when you're fertile that prevents pregnancy