Condoms, diaphragms, basal thermometers: which natural contraceptives are reliable?

The most important points in brief

• Ever since people started thinking about such abstract things as family planning, contraception has also played a role.
• There are a number of ways contraception works today.
• But which of these methods are safe?
• We are investigating the effectiveness of condoms, diaphragms and basal thermometers.

The best proven way to prevent pregnancy is to avoid sexual intercourse. However, this is a path that is of course not an option in the long term, the drive suppression does not work in the long term in either man or woman. And if sex falls short in a relationship or doesn't happen at all, then that's definitely not healthy in both psychological and physical terms.

The most popular and the safest contraceptives

There are better - or shall we say more pleasant - methods of avoiding an unwanted pregnancy than completely avoiding sexual intercourse. As far as the popularity of these contraceptive variants is concerned, the contraceptive pill is quite far ahead, and the method is also very safe. However, the prescription is only available from the gynecologist. The contraceptive pill cannot simply be ordered in an online shop.

This does not apply to condoms, diaphragms and basal thermometers (these can be ordered from Kanela, for example). But how promising are these contraceptives? And how respected are they? Are they close to the “pill” that most women nowadays consider to be the most popular method of contraception because the hormone-based method is very safe? Many couples decide against the pill for precisely this reason, because the woman's organism is flooded with hormones. In addition, many couples find it no longer appropriate if only the woman is responsible for contraception.

Diaphragms and condoms as contraceptives

If women choose a diaphragm, they can buy it online and in drug stores and pharmacies. However, every woman must have the gynecologist determine the correct size that the membrane, which is usually made of silicone or latex, should have in advance, as safety depends extremely on the size. The Pearl index for the diaphragm has a value from 1 to 20 (the lower, the safer; in this case the value clearly depends on how precisely the diaphragm is inserted).

The condom, on the other hand, also makes men responsible, and it should be taken for granted today that men also actively address this obligation. When used correctly, the condom is fairly safe and also protects against the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases. Chauvinistic excuses from men (“my penis is too big for a condom”) are not allowed - condoms come in different sizes. The Pearl Index rates condoms with 2 to 12 points, which means that the method is quite reliable if done correctly.

The temperature method using a basal thermometer

This is a type of contraception that can be very reliable when combined with other methods, such as the Billings method (measuring the cervical mucus to determine ovulation) or the Knaus-Ogino method (noting the cycle days). The temperature measurement alone is quite uncertain, as are the other two types on their own, but the combination of a basal thermometer and one of the other two methods reduces the Pearl index to 0.8 to 3 points - safe contraception is guaranteed. However, the combination of two measures requires an iron discipline in terms of discipline and accuracy.