Hot on the heels of the Hoohaa Monologues and the suspension of high school girls for saying “vagina” in an excerpt from The Vagina Monologues, Australia finally has a new form of contraceptive device available. The contraceptive ring is finally hitting the shelves in Australia.
But where do you put it?
The ABC news coyly informs us that “the device is inserted internally”. So you don’t slip it onto your finger, next to your engagement^Wwedding ring. Do you wedge it into your mouth? Up your bum? Implant it under the skin? Apparently “The device is a soft plastic ring that releases the contraceptive hormone directly into the bloodstream.” Does a cardiothoracic surgeon have to install the bloody thing straight into a major vessel?
To the Daily Telegraph! But I’m still none the wiser. At least I know the cutters won’t need to be called in:
“A small, clear ring that is self-administered, the NuvaRing delivers a smaller dose of the hormones directly into the system and is worn for three weeks out of every month.”
And now I know “the new monthly method is a soft, plastic ring“. Well, phew, it’s soft and comfy! That’ll be a plus, wherever it has to be lodged.
And there’s no need to go to Adelaide, which is always a point in favour for any contraceptive plan:
Professor Kovacs, director of Monash IVF, said the contraception ring is an improvement on the pill as the hormones are delivered directly into a woman’s system rather than having to be digested. “When you take the pill orally it’s like going from Melbourne to Sydney via Adelaide ““ this goes straight into the circulation.
I find my confusion escalating by the end of the Telegraph article, though – apparently the device can work by thought power alone? TeleContraception(tm)!
“Melinda Cootes, 27, from Penrith, began using the ring as part of a trial three years ago and said it is not difficult to insert. “It is really easy and simple to use. You only have to think about it every three weeks and they give you stickers which I just put in my diary to remind me.”"
Well, hoorah at last for the Sydney Morning Herald . They come right out and say it:
“A self-inserted vaginal ring that protects from pregnancy for three weeks straight goes on sale in Australia from Tuesday.”
But they do bugle a note of caution: “Sexual health experts expect the NuvaRing to be popular among women who can overcome the hurdle of having to put the flexible plastic device in themselves.” Yes, you really can’t expect normal sexually active women to go putting fingers in themselves.
Type it. VAGINA. VAGINA. VAGINA.
That really wasn’t so hard.
Thanks for having me here in the Hoydenverse,
Lauredhel
So coy, those journalists.
Your ending reminds me of that song from Not the Nine O’Clock News, that plays totally on puns, and each verse ends with what is not quite “overChinaoverChinaoverChinatown”.
Hmmm. [off to YouTube]
Why, why, why do you have to remember every three weeks? Can’t they make something that is set and forget, because I always do? I suppose the alarm on the mobile going off every three weeks will be less irritating that it going off every night to remind me though.
I’d be interested in how effective it might be if it is left inserted longer to allow longer intervals between menstruation. There’s no scientific reason to stick to having a menstrual flow each month, I believe recent research says that having just one or two flows a year has been demonstrated to show no health problems for women at all.
People use the Nuvaring continuously, changing it every three weeks rather than taking a week’s break before inserting the next one. It’s just like period-free or “seasonal”-period OCP regimens. I don’t know about leaving the same ring in for longer, however; I’d be guessing that the limited reservoir of hormone would wear off, most likely at a rather inconvenient time.
One family planning course I went to suggested that continuous OCP use was more effective than three-weeks-on, one-week-off. The riskiest time is the time around the break week; by the end of the break week an ovary can have a follicle formed and ready, pretty close to releasing an egg. if a pill stuff-up occurs in the week fore or aft, the risk of pregnancy rises. With continuous use, a five-day course of antibiotics or a forgotten pill or two doesn’t particularly raise the pregnancy risk, because it’s not abutting a further pill-free week.
Some women take a “near-continuous” approach; they take the pill continuously until an “error condition” occurs, then take that error as day one of a pill-free week, take their break, and start again.
The set-and-(mostly)forget methods all have their flaws, so far: implants, copper IUD, progestogen-releasing IUD, sterilisation. But at least there are now a lot more options than there were 10-15 years ago.
But does it come with a cute little paste inserter as per Tampax? (do they still make Tampax?)& as one old enough to remember the health problems that copper IUDs caused among my straight sisters in the 70s & 80s why am I not filled with warm fuzzy feelings about this? & though my understandings of heterosexual sex are perhaps a little shaky, what happens to the ring during coitus? or is that how it works – you can’t have sex as it might dislodge the ring?
The ring is pretty large and flexible, so it sits high in the vaginal vault. I haven’t used one, but I gather from reports (publicity and from individuals) that it doesn’t interfere with PIV sex.
I have to say I’m rather a fan of the progestogen-impregnated IUD, which mitigates most of the copper-IUD side effects. It’s not for everyone, but I think it’s probably under-used.
Just confirming the one-to-two periods a year is (as far as we know) medically okay, thing. I have PCOS, which in part involves having quite irregular periods in the few-months-between-ish way. Everything I’ve seen, and been told by my doctors, has been that it’s not really a problem (unless I’m trying to get pregnant), but to see the doctor if if I start getting towards the 12 months with no sign of a period mark.
My doc was telling me about this ring a couple of years ago, when it was common in Europe. Apparently, it rocks. The best bit is the reduced amount of hormone it chucks into your body.
It’s not actually good for your body to suppress ovulation for too long, though… I forget where I read that.
RE skipping periods – I used to do it on the pill, but found I got progressively more psycho. In fact, the pill (in all its forms) has give me more trouble than it’s worth.
Bring on the Ring! I say.
(My fave line on the telly news was a comment that this new doodad “may significantly reduce the risk of pregnancy!” It made me laugh and laugh because there was no mention of the fact that this was a _contraceptive_ – and reducing the chance of pregnancy was kind of the point).
I just had the Depo shot which works for three months. Hurts a bit, but it’s worth the effort to not have to remember to take that little pill.
Anyone running a book on how long before the progestogen implant grepper arrives?
He doesn’t grep on “contraception”. His bells are rung by another word entirely.