The human cervix on day 7 of a menstrual cycleThe image above shows the cervix and the opening (the os) in its center that leads to the uterus, on day 7 of a menstrual cycle shortly before the woman becomes fertile. The camera is looking at the cervix as a doctor would while the woman is on an exam table with a speculum inserted to hold her vagina open. The cervix is the conical protrusion from the back end of front wall of the vagina. The back side of the rim of a diaphragm fits into the posterior fornix (the area behind the cervix) which is the dark area under the cervix in this pic. The front rim of the diaphragm tucks into her pubic notch just above her pubic bone. The bladder is above the vagina’s anterior wall (at the top pf the pic) and the colon is behind the vagina’s posterior wall (at the bottom of this pic) In cervical barrier contraception a diaphragm or cervical cap with spermicide in the dome covers the cervix to prevent sperm from passing through the opening in the cervix and reaching the woman’s fallopian tubes where, when she is fertile, it can remain motile and potent for 7+ days waiting for the woman to release an egg.
A selection of contraceptive diaphragms and cervical caps
Cervical barriers: The above image shows a selection of contraceptive cervical barriers used to protect a woman’s cervix during sexual intercourse. The cervix fits under the dome of the barrier which seals against the wall of the vagina or directly against the cervix. The eight barriers shown in the image are, from left to right:
Top row: The Ortho All-Flex, an arching-spring diaphragm and the Cooper/Surgical (Milex) silicone wide seal diaphragm.
Second row: Prentif cavity rim cervical cap and the FemCap
Third row: Lea’s Shield and an Ortho coil spring rim diaphragm
Bottom row: A Semina silicone diaphragm made in Brazil and an Oves cavity rim cervical cap.
Discontinued or otherwise unavailable barriers: The Prentif cap and Lea’s Shield are no longer generally available and Semina and Oves are only available in the U.S. in clinical trials.
Cervical barriers: The above image shows a selection of contraceptive cervical barriers used to protect a woman’s cervix during sexual intercourse. The cervix fits under the dome of the barrier which seals against the wall of the vagina or directly against the cervix. The eight barriers shown in the image are, from left to right:
Top row: The Ortho All-Flex, an arching-spring diaphragm and the Cooper/Surgical (Milex) silicone wide seal diaphragm.
Second row: Prentif cavity rim cervical cap and the FemCap
Third row: Lea’s Shield and an Ortho coil spring rim diaphragm
Bottom row: A Semina silicone diaphragm made in Brazil and an Oves cavity rim cervical cap.
Discontinued or otherwise unavailable barriers: The Prentif cap and Lea’s Shield are no longer generally available and Semina and Oves are only available in the U.S. in clinical trials.
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A complete FemCap with the removal strap still attached
FemCap: FemCap is the best barrier for protection during dive-sex because it can be used at any depth and is the only barrier that provides meaningful thrust buffering. In the image above the wider brim, shown on the left, is worn against the back wall of the vagina. The removal strap is often trimmed off which gives the wearer and her partner a bit more room when the male is big relative to his partner’s vagina. The outer walls of the brim seal against the walls of the vagina and the dome covers the wearer’s cervix.
An All-Flex diaphragm compressed for insertion
All-Flex diaphragm: All-Flex is the Ortho-McNeil version of the arching spring rim diaphragm and the type most often prescribed by experienced barrier fitters. That’s because it has a stiffer spring that can be worn by women with poor vaginal muscle tone and because since it folds in two planes (see the image above) into a crescent it is easier to get the back rim of a compressed All-Flex behind the wearer’s cervix. The All-Flex reduces the number of times women insert their diaphragms improperly and are therefore unprotected.
Birth control at St Lucy’s: I have started my Contemporary Sexual Health class for students who will be entering the school for the Summer term. CSH is a mandatory course given the temptations available in the surrounding area. Though compulsory almost all the students are very interested in learning how to protect themselves during recreational sex.
St Lucy’s policy on the use of contraceptives is where possible to minimize the use of hormonal contraception. For some few women hormones are necessary to regularize their cycles or control heavy bleeding, but St Lucy’s believes in teaching discipline and learning to use a cervical barrier correctly does teach discipline. Used correctly a properly fitted diaphragm or cap is (at St Lucy’s) actually better than the pill for teens because a large percentage of teens don’t take their pills correctly. The student’s barriers come with RFID chips so we can track who is wearing their protection and who isn’t and the ones who aren’t get penalty points which bring them in line quickly. And, of course a diaphragm can be used to minimize the mess during menstrual sex. Both diaphragms and caps can be used to protect against over-pressure events during dive-sex but a diaphragm is effective only to a depth of 10m when the rim starts to distort due to the pressure.. A strapless FemCap is better than a diaphragm for dive protection because there is no limit to the depth at which it can be used and it also provides thrust buffering if the woman’s pelvic anatomy is small in relation to her partner.
Hey Jill:
ReplyDeleteDid you repost much of this info from your old Yahoo 360 blog? I know you've broached many of these subects before.
I have to wonder about some of the things that go on on CSH classes. How many of those girls are amazed by what would go on with their bodies when in coitus? Also, have there been many girls who have simply been grossed out over sex itself and insertion and removal of barriers?
I have to think that the result of CSH would be what the Religious Right contends would be the result if a full discussion of sexuality is taught in schools - the students going full-out in sex after learning all about it rather than what they want, to scare them into abstenance. I know the girls there are very open and experimentative, but what have you seen as the result of these classes with St. Lucy's students within three months, a year or beyond?
“Did you repost much of this info from your old Yahoo 360 blog?”
ReplyDeleteThe content was certainly covered somewhere in my 250+ posts on 360 but this platform gives me an opportunity to add more images which should make the subject easier to understand by interested readers.
“How many of those girls are amazed by what would go on with their bodies when in coitus? Also, have there been many girls who have simply been grossed out over sex itself and insertion and removal of barriers?”
The screening process for St Lucy’s students is very thorough so the vast majority of our girls are well adjusted and comfortable with their bodies and revel in being female. And for the few who aren’t they work with counselors. Counseling and peer pressure usually brings those few around.
“I know the girls there are very open and experimentative, but what have you seen as the result of these classes with St. Lucy's students within three months, a year or beyond?”
St Lucy’s is not - Girls Gone Wild IV - by any stretch of the imagination; but we do prepare our students for the real world. The students aren’t any different that those of the same age with raging hormones and access to the media anywhere else in the country. The thing that sets a St Lucy’s girl apart is that she is taught the risks and how to minimize them while enjoying her sexuality. Our experience here, from records kept by public health and Planned Parenthood is that girls from conservative families and schools are poorly prepared for the real world. After leaving their cloistered environment – at least out here - they get into trouble at three or four times the rate of someone who has taken a good comprehensive contemporary sexual health course.
"Our experience here, from records kept by public health and Planned Parenthood is that girls from conservative families and schools are poorly prepared for the real world. After leaving their cloistered environment – at least out here - they get into trouble at three or four times the rate of someone who has taken a good comprehensive contemporary sexual health course."
ReplyDeleteThat is how I feel about that, too. The Sarah Palins and other ultra-conseratives of the world preaching "abstenance-only" are only doing a disservice to young girls (and boys for that matter). If they just teach them a well-rounded course in human sexuality (including different methods practiced around the world as well as contraception), they would be well prepared for adulthood. We don't simply know what to do when we turn 18 or get married.