I dont want to sound like a jackass or anything, but why do most women (most being the ones that ive talked to on the subject taht are in HS or graduated around the 17-21 age range) not like birth control. Now it seems to me that birthcontrol isnt to bad at all, and that these women dont understand that seriousness of having a baby. Can someone pleas like to explain why someone would rather risk getting pregnant and having an unplanned baby or having an abortion, instead of takin a pill that would save you from alot of trouble.
Sorry about the length, but its a serious subject, 18-m
There are lots of reasons why some women are reluctant to use birth control, many of which have already been brought up.
Firstly and most obviously, ignorance and denial are real factors. In the US, sex education is woefully lacking in most schools, and most girls simply do not realise just how likely they are to get pregnant if they have regular unprotected sex. Others just ignore it. You may find it difficult to understand how people can just push aside their fears and continue to go about their buisnesses knowing their at risk, but people do it in all areas of their lives: think of all the people who ignore their growing credit-card bills, their workloads piling up, whether their partner has any STDs etc. It's easy for some people to kid themselves and push any negative thoughts to the backs of their minds, even when their are serious consequences.
Then there are practical factors. For young women in the US cost is a prohibitive factor (I live in England, and I can assure you that having to pay for my pills would certainly have influenced my decesion to go on them) especially when you are young and living with your parents.
Another factor is that if you are taking birth control, this can make insisting on using a condom difficult as you are "already protected". It's extremely sensible to use a condom even if you are on birth control because condoms obviously protect against STI's whilst the pill does not, but if a woman is on the pill many guys will try to use this fact to suggest that they should have condom-less sex. If you find it hard to stand up to a boyfriend pressurising you in such a way, it can seem much easier to not go on the pill and so always have a reason to have to use condoms, which actually benefits your sexual health as you are protecting yourself from infection as well as pregnancy. Women might also fear that going on the pill gives them a label that they aren't comfortable with. Taking the pill regularly is different from buying a condom and keeping it "just in case", it's a thing you have to make a consious effort to keep doing, and they may fear that doing so makes them "slutty" even if they haven't actually had sex.
Hormonal contraceptives are also not for everybody. It's not like popping a single paracetomol when you have a headache, it's making a commitment to take a pill at the same time every single day. It doesn't sound a lot, but it only takes a girl missing one pill to risk pregnancy, and for many young girls it's simply easier to rely on a barrier method where you can be certain you're protected, rather than being vaguely sure that you've taken all your pills recently. There are also side effects to taking any hormonal birth control that are worse for some women than others - weight gain, change in breast size and tenderness, moodyness and potential greater risks from certain diseases.
If you mean birth control at all, not just hormonal methods such as the pill, that's harder to answer. Ignorance and denial are factors. Women may dislike condoms for the same reason that men do, that they stop the flow of the moment and reduce sensation. There are in fact many other methods of birth control other than the Pill and condoms, but because sex education in the US is lacking many people do not know the full extent of options, and assume that if they aren't happy with either condoms or the pill, their isn't an option for them.
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