Podcast: Debunking Myths About Birth Control

This episode of "Science Vs" is setting the record straight about "what’s fact, what’s not, and what’s somewhere in between" when it comes to birth control. They're focusing on three methods of contraception: withdrawal, the pill, and IUDs, with a final section of the podcast being reserved for the male pill discussion. A gynecologist, a neuroendocrinologist, a men’s health researcher, and a group of teenagers offer their expertise and two cents about the matter. 

I don't want to give too many spoilers, but here are a few conclusions: With withdrawal, meaning the guy pulls out before he finishes, it's basically like playing the roulette, because there is sperm in the precum — "the liquidy stuff that comes out of the penis before the main event". The IUDs aren't very popular among ladies — many of the teenagers interviewed winced at the idea of having something installed in their uterus; they feared IUDs are gonna render them infertile.

The reason for this negative feeling towards these contraceptives dates back to the 1960s, when a gynecologist in Baltimore created a scorpion-looking IUD, with a special feature: a braided string, that allowed doctors to pull it out when the woman wanted to get pregnant. It turns out that string also allowed bacteria to travel up a woman's uterus. Hundreds of women using the device had miscarriages, a few of them died, and so IUDs began being associated with damage to the uterus. But they are actually very effective, because scientists have changed the design — there no more braided string that causes infections.