While women have many birth control options, from pills to implantable devices, men are limited to using condoms, having a vasectomy or practicing the withdrawal method, which is also referred to as coitus interruptus or the pull-out method.
Condoms
Step 1
Open the condom package carefully. Avoid using your teeth or fingernails, which tears the condom. Apply a water-soluble lubrication to the inside and outside of the condom if it isn't already lubricated. Using a water-based lubricant reduces friction and helps prevent tears. Oil-based lubricants like petroleum jelly, cooking oil and hand lotion can weaken latex condoms, resulting in tears or breaks.
Step 2
Squeeze the air from the reservoir tip as you place the condom over the tip of your penis. The rolled rim of the condom should be on the outside. If you are uncircumcised, pull your foreskin back before placing the condom on your penis. If the condom doesn't have a reservoir tip, leave a half-inch space at the tip and squeeze the air from this space. The reservoir tip and the space leave room for semen to collect.
Step 3
Hold the tip of the condom as you unroll it over your erect penis. Check the condom for a correct fit and for air bubbles between your penis and the condom. Remove any air bubbles by sliding the air bubble toward the base of your penis.
Step 4
Hold the condom at the base of your penis as you withdraw from your partner's vagina.
Step 5
Remove the condom from your penis carefully so semen doesn't spill out. Dispose of the condom in the trash. Don't dispose of condoms in the toilet.
Withdrawal Method
Step 1
Withdraw your penis from your partner's vagina when you fell you are about to ejaculate. This action takes a great deal of self-control and experience.
Step 2
Ejaculate away from your partner's vagina.
Step 3
Urinate and clean the tip of your penis before having intercourse with your partner again. These actions remove any remaining sperm that is left in the urethra or on the tip of the penis.
Vasectomy
Step 1
Make an appointment with a urologist to discuss having a vasectomy. This type of birth control method is better for men who don't want to have children in the future. It is possible to reverse a vasectomy, but the reversal may not work and the procedure has more complications and is riskier than having a vasectomy.
Step 2
Learn about the procedure from your doctor. It will include numbing the surgical area and either making a tiny puncture or a small incision in the scrotum. The tubes that carry semen, the vas deferens, are tied, cut and sealed. The procedure will take 20 to 30 minutes for your physician to perform. You may notice swelling and bruising of the scrotum for up to two weeks after the vasectomy.
Step 3
Understand that this procedure isn't effective immediately since sperm is present beyond the sealed portion of the vas deferens. It takes about three months for the sperm to be used up, during which time you will need to use an alternate form of contraception, like a condom. Your physician will confirm that there are no more sperm left in your ejaculate with a semen analysis.
Tips and Warnings
- Alternative methods of birth control that don't involve vaginal penetration include abstinence and outercourse. Abstinence involves not having any sexual contact. Outercourse is the use of other ways to be intimate with your partner including kissing, solo or mutual masturbation, body-to-body rubbing, oral sex and anal sex. According to Planned Parenthood, condoms are 98-percent effective, and the withdrawal method is 94-percent effective if used correctly, but if these options are used incorrectly the effectiveness of condoms decreases to 85 percent and the effectiveness of the withdrawal method decreases to 73 percent. A vasectomy is a permanent method of contraception that involves an outpatient procedure, which is nearly 100-percent effective at preventing pregnancy.
- If you are practicing the withdrawal method it is important to understand that pre-ejaculate fluid can contain sperm that can get your partner pregnant. Never reuse condoms. The withdrawal method and a vasectomy will not protect you against sexually transmitted diseases.
References
- "Introduction to Maternity & Pediatric Nursing: Fourth Edition"; Gloria Leifer, MA, RN; 2002
- Planned Parenthood: Withdrawal
- Planned Parenthood: Condom
- Planned Parenthood: Abstinence
- Planned Parenthood: Outercourse
