I have always had health insurance and never really thought about what the birth control options were without it. That made my birth control a whole $8 a month or so. But that’s neither here nor there. I don’t have health insurance anymore and neither do many college girls in need of birth control.

The laws have changed since the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, which alters how drug makers are permitted to calculate rebates related to Medicaid. Somehow or another, this act twisted itself around to make it expensive for companies to offer schools discounts on birth control. Lame. So instead of paying $3-$10 a pack, thanks to discounts, college students are now being forced to pay $30-$50 a pack instead. Even for the cases when insurance would cover the difference, what about the girls who don’t want to involve their parents’ insurance with their birth control?

A female college student should be able to obtain reasonably priced birth control in this country without the assistance of health insurance.

Of course there are numbers of conservative folks out there who would argue that with sex comes the responsibility of motherhood, but if I may beg to differ, that is an opinion. The problems associated with unplanned pregnancy, on the other hand, are hard facts.

Who is really driving the drug companies to make specific decisions like this? Paying this much money for birth control, especially during a recession, is what I would qualify as unreasonable. Were these packs of cigarettes, not packs of helpful pills, then I’d understand. But birth control should be at the disposal of all sexually active young women in our country not yet prepared to mother.

Birth control doesn’t create a problem–it prevents one. Not offering birth control at a reasonable rate might push girls to stop using it, leaving this country with the burden of paying to care for more unwanted children.

Young women should not be punished for trying to make responsible choices and we must get up and remind the lawmakers, drug companies and universities of this fact. There is no reason men should be able to get Viagra for $8 a bottle, but women must spend 5 times that much on birth control.

Have you had this problem on your campus? How much does your birth control cost?

[Photo from Abcnews.net]

But this time, by the luck of the draw, I happened to get a check-up from someone that (gasp!) actually knew what they were talking about. Now I’m not saying you should listen to this doctor (nurse practitioner if you want to get technical) instead of your own, but these are a few little known facts I picked up that I thought I would share. Beware, as these tidbits may scare you away from sex for life (or at least for the night).

1. In order for your birth control to be 99.7% effective, you must take it every day within 30 minutes of the same time.

Apparently, the hormones that make you temporarily infertile only work for 24 straight hours. According to Susan (the nurse practitioner), you should be okay if you miss the time by 1 to 2 hours. If you miss more than that, however, you should use condoms for at least a week.

2. If you don’t take birth control at the same time every day, the effectiveness can be as low as 92%.

For all of you that have taken statistics, that means you have an 8% chance of getting preggers. Let me say that clearer: the chance of you having a small person come out of you in 9 months is 26 times higher if you don’t take your b.c. regularly. Noooo thank you.

3. Some STDs, especially HIV, have an incubation period of up to 6 months.

That means that even if you are negative for the disease today, you won’t be in the clear until you have another negative test 6 months from now. And that only applies if you haven’t engaged in any high-risk sexual activity. In short, make him wrap it up.

4. You can get HIV easier from oral-anal contact aka “rimming” (the grossest sex slang ever) than from any other form of oral sex.

This one was in a Safe Sex pamphlet that Susan so generously gave me. Not that I’m recommending that everybody run and try this one out, but just use that fact to put things into perspective.

5. Alcohol and drugs can weaken your immune system, making you more susceptible to infection.

Yes kids, that includes STDs and other icky things. I can also testify that being drunk makes having sex, especially enjoyable sex, just that much more difficult to maneuver. What’s more, according to my lovely pamphlet, alcohol and drugs can also impair your judgment and make you do things you may regret in the morning. Who knew?

We’re not sure this commercial will convince guys that wearing a condom will still “feel the same,” or that Durex is better than Trojan. In fact, the only thing this commercial really does is give our men something else to do with our contraception while we are straightening our hair.

But it’s still funny as hell.

I have been addicted to Diet Coke for years. I used to start off with a jumbo fountain D.C. on my way to class at 10 AM, followed by another one at lunch and yet another (mixed with rum) for an evening snack. There was nothing on this planet that could come between me and my beloved Diet Coke. In fact, I wasn’t sure there was any way I could love it any more.

But, dear readers, there is: it seems that not only is Diet Coke the tastiest, most delectable treat on this planet….

It is also an effective spermicide!

Oh yeah! You heard me. That stuff you have been drinking by the gallon also happens to be strong enough to kill those little impregnators. Could there be a more perfect beverage? I think not.

Sure, this fact may worry some people (“blah blah how can I put something in my body that is strong enough to kill sperm blah blah blah?), but I couldn’t be happier! Just think of the possibilities:

No need for condoms or birth control when you have a 20 ouncer in the fridge! (Note: not quite sure how one would go about using that 20 ouncer as a contraceptive….) Or better yet, Coca Cola condoms! They taste like Diet Coke (which will make me much more happy to get near ‘em) and have the same effectiveness at preventing pregnancy as a can of D.C.!

This changes everything.

A: Ladies, listen up: Plan B is NOT the abortion pill. Not by any stretch of the imagination.

So what is it if it’s not the abortion pill? Basically, Plan B what it sounds like — it’s your backup plan, meant to be taken up to 72 hours after unprotected sex or contraceptive failure, to prevent pregnancy. In fact, Plan B contains levonorgestrel, an ingredient found in many regular birth control pills — but in a higher dose and in two pills, taken 12 hours apart. Again, Plan B only prevents pregnancy; it doesn’t terminate an existing one, like the abortion pill would.

That being said, yes, stock up! Plan B is now available at pharmacies without a prescription if you’re 18 or older. Whether you’re boinking every hour on the hour or in a dry spell, it will give you some peace of mind to know you have a “sh*t happens” plan. My friend recently needed it, and although she was able to get it within a few hours, not everyone is so lucky. Plan B reduces the chance of pregnancy by up to 89%, but it’s more effective when taken sooner rather than later.

Get it now, on your next tampon run, and you won’t have to deal with any what ifs down the road. You may never need it, but if you do, whether it’s because of a broken (or forgotten) condom, or a sexual assault, the last thing you need to be doing is freaking out and driving at 3AM in search of an open pharmacy. If you’re shy about asking for it, you can print out a request card for it on www.go2planb.com and just hand that to the pharmacist. Don’t worry, you won’t be the first to do it.

Of course, once you have it, it shouldn’t be your primary method of birth control. It’s up to 89% effective, so if you use it irresponsibly, you’ll soon become part of the other 11%. Have safe sex, have extra condoms on hand (enough for you and a friend!), and consider using a birth control pill if you’re having sex regularly.

For more information on how to use Plan B, head to www.go2planb.com.

It’s a piece of spermicidized film that “is manually inserted high into the vagina” to prevent pregnancy. However, not only do you have to really get that shiz up in there (and I mean REALLY up in there–check the little illustration), it’s not even as effective as a condom.

According to Planned Parenthood, the spermicide used in this product is not very effective.

And just for your own purposes, here is another pretty good resource: GoAksAlice.

I don’t know. I mean, on the one hand, the site offers a free sample (and God knows I love a free sample, almost as much as I like a wide-legged pant…but I digress). So it won’t cost you anything to try it out.

Unless, of course, you get pregnant as a result.

And then it’ll cost you a whole lotta baby (and maybe some unwanted baby daddy too).

Well, I don’t know. I haven’t used it. Anybody here tried VCF? Am I totally off base?

My love-hate relationship with the Pill is something I have come to accept.

I always feel as if I technically should be on it for the generic reasons of being a 23-year-old female. But, then, when I am on it, it makes me super-emotional (which is out of character for me), moody, bloated, and just plain not myself. Now, that could just be because I haven’t found the “right” brand of pill, as my gynecologist rudely told me. But I know I am not the only one who feels this way. I have talked to numerous friends who stopped taking it for a multitude of different reasons.

I actually have a real problem with people expecting that just because I am a young recent college graduate (or for those of you still in college– a crazy co-ed), I should, without a doubt, be on birth control. It’s my body and I can choose to do whatever I want with it.

Certain studies and hazards of the Pill make me suspicious as to what’s the truth about the side effects and what is just fodder from the pharmaceutical companies trying to make big bucks.

That being said, I have to weigh the potential benefits of taking the Pill, and the results of a recent study just may cause me to reconsider…

The study has shown that being on the Pill can have a large influence on protecting against ovarian cancer. Women who took the Pill for over ten years will have protection from ovarian cancer even 30 years later, according to newser.com. Researchers also found that oral contraceptives have already been responsible for “200,000 ovarian cancers and 100,000 deaths from the disease, and that over the next few decades the number of cancers prevented will rise to at least 30,000 per year.”

To me, that is a significant amount of risk diminished by taking the Pill, and causes me to think twice about automatically writing off any health benefits. No matter what the topic, I suggest every college girl think long and hard about the choices you are making now and how it might affect your body later.

So, it came as a surprise to me when I saw an article in the New York Times reporting that “The Sponge is Back, With a More Modern Approach.”

Apparently, the pharmaceutical company has updated the packaging for the Today Sponge from conservative and feminine looking to pictures of “hip-looking women, playful typography, and colors that officials call ‘fuchsia and wine.’”

Interesting marketing ploy, but I have a hard time believing that young women will start using the Sponge again, mainly for the statistics of inefficacy.

“16 percent of American women who had never given birth and may have used the sponge incorrectly or inconsistently became pregnant within a year, while 32 percent of women who had given birth and used the sponge this way became pregnant. The pregnancy rate for women who relied on condoms for birth control and may have used them incorrectly or inconsistently was 15 percent, while the rate for women using birth control pills in this way was 8 percent.”

So, I struggle to understand why anyone would choose to use the Sponge if it has such a low efficacy rate compared to other forms? I am also ashamed to admit that I hardly even know how the Sponge works. I looked into this and found all the info I ever needed to know on Wikipedia. “The sponges are inserted vaginally prior to intercourse and must be placed over the cervix to be effective.” Sounds messy and gross.

Yet, there are some advocates of the Sponge and they make good points. For one, it was convenient to buy. You didn’t need a prescription and could buy it at a local drugstore. Also, you avoided any complications with pills and how that may affect you chemically, emotionally, etc.

Will the Sponge be a big hit and make a comeback? Hard to tell, but my guess is no. Yet, I do think it is a step in the right direction for there to be many alternative forms of contraception offered so girls have a number of options to pick from depending on their preferences and bodies.