Scarleteen

So my partner and I had sex twice today.

I am currently on yasmin, taking it diligently and we used a condom for sex plus the withdrawal method as we don’t want to get pregnant.

By using all 3 methods, how safe/effective is it? I am just wondering if there is an additional method we can use?

Hi Juliaho90,

It sounds like you and your boyfriend are being really mindful about safer sex, which is great. We are strong proponents of combining two methods of contraceptives, called the The Buddy System. Whilst no method of birth control can be 100% effective, combining two methods brings you as close to this as you can get.

As you'll be able to see in the linked The Buddy System article, the maths on the effectiveness of using a condom in combination with a Combination Oral Contraceptive like Yasmin is 99.99% effective with perfect use - 98.7% effective with typical use.

In the article you'll see that three or more simultaneous methods are not calculated or recommended as the increase in effectiveness will be minimal if anything. The article shows the maths on lots of different scenarions and links through to our comprehensive guide to birth control, Birth Control Bingo, which could be useful if you're curious about trying a different pairing at any time.

If you have any questions about the above, please don't hesitate to ask.

Thanks Elise. So I guess our combined method plus withdrawal is good enough?

Hi Juliaho90, yes, there's no need to add more methods, you're doing great Using withdrawal in addition to the pill and a condom isn't really adding anything (its like diminishing returns if you're familiar with the concept from economics), so if you prefer to keep doing that you can, however if you'd actually prefer not to use withdrawal every time, you are well covered by the pill + condom as you can see.

Hahaha nope! I am horrible at economics!
I’m just worried that due to the friction of us having sex, the condom might tear. When we have sex, there isn’t any pain or anything so we were both pretty lubricated down there without having to use additional lubricant. He puts on the condom after we make out,m, then he usually takes it out and we change positions using the same condom. Will that cause any problems?

Hi Juliaho90,

As long as a condom does not break or come off, you can assume it did its' job. Too, when a condom breaks it will be very obvious when you look at it (and often one or both people will actually feel it break).

How has managing you OCD and anxiety, especially around pregnancy and birth control, been going lately?

I think since I have been using the pills and condom plus withdrawal, it makes me feel less anxious but I don’t deny that I sometimes do let my anxiety get the best of me.

My partner helps in a great way by checking the condom each time just to reassure me.

I guess when I see him pull out, there is nothing, no fluids dripping out, can I assume that there is no leakage and all’s good?

Are you working with a therapist, or using self-help tools like apps or workbooks to help you during those anxiety spikes?

And yes; a broken condom will look similar to a popped balloon, so it will be very obvious it's broken.

Yes I am seeing a therapist at the moment to help with the anxiety spikes. Are there any apps or workbooks you’d recommend?

Hi!

We have a lot of good resources compiled at this link: Anxiety and Other Mental Health Resources

Check it out and try out some of the apps on there. They can be really helpful!

- Val

My mom made me take this ginseng drink yesterday and I wonder if it is one of the herbs that interact with Yasmin? I also had sex with my partner after drinking the tea. Do I need to take emergency contraception? I have about 4 more days if I need Ella. Thanks!

Hi Juliaho90!

Though I haven't found anything that suggests that ginseng will interact with Yasmin's ability to prevent pregnancy, I would strongly recommend reaching out to your doctor directly just to be sure there is no risk. The lack of information on this online may be linked to a lack of study of ginseng's or other herbal medicine's impact on birth control rather than there being no interaction, so I think your doctor may have some good insight for you here. Do you feel comfortable reaching out to your doctor?

Scarleteen's Something You Can Worry About Less: Interference and Hormonal Birth Control has information about what can and can't impact hormonal birth control's effectiveness. Some good info to have if you ever need a reference!

Thank you! I think I should be ok as the doctor didn’t tell me that I should avoid certain herbs/teas.

I have another question in mind that I’d like to ask and I hope that’s ok...

Why do contraceptives never have 100% efficacy? Is it because it takes into consideration human errors? Like take a condom for example, it’s 98% with perfect use, but what about the 2%? Is it be it considers that the condom might slip off or tear? But if it doesn’t tear or slip off, then is it still 98% or are we looking at 100%?

The same for the pills though. In perfect use, it’s over 99% effective. But what about that 1%?

Hi Juliaho90,

So, the simple answer is that bodies are weird. Even with perfect use or a method that is very hard to mess up (like an IUD or the implant), there can be very rare instances where a person's body does not respond to the contraceptive method the way it's intended to and pregnancy occurs.

Thanks Sam!

Does this mean that if I use a triple combination of birth control method: Yasmin pill + condom + withdrawal with condom, all taken as instructed, the chances of pregnancy are unlikely? I guess the more methods you use the lower your chances?

Hi Juliaho90, yes, the article The Buddy System: Effectiveness Rates for Backing Up Your Birth Control With a Second Method shows you the math on how this works.

Using two methods together, even when highly effective on their own, reduce the risk of pregnancy even more, as the chance of both methods failing is even less than just one not working. The introductory paragraph is also really useful in understanding how this works, and if you scroll down past the statistical lists of all the combinations together, there is a great explainer of how the math works. I think you'd find it really helpful, have a read and let us know what you think.