The female condom or femidom is a thin sheath which is placed inside the vagina prior to any sexual contact, in order to prevent sperm emitted from a male penis from entering the body. Unlike the latex male condom, a femidom is made out of thin polyurethane. Femidoms also contain no spermicides and are slightly bigger and wider than the male equivalent. The sheath is placed within the vagina in a way that also covers the cervix and the surrounding area. If the femidom is applied once sexual activity has begun, there is an increased risk of pregnancy through the initial contact that has been made with a pre ejaculate present on the penis. Therefore, application should be completed prior to any form of sexual activity and users are advised to take care in ensuring that the penis is not inserted outside of the femidom, where it would make contact with the vaginal wall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The female condom or femidom is a thin sheath which is placed inside the vagina prior to any sexual contact, in order to prevent sperm emitted from a male penis from entering the body. Unlike the latex male condom, a femidom is made out of thin polyurethane. Femidoms also contain no spermicides and are slightly bigger and wider than the male equivalent. The sheath is placed within the vagina in a way that also covers the cervix and the surrounding area. If the femidom is applied once sexual activity has begun, there is an increased risk of pregnancy through the initial contact that has been made with a pre ejaculate present on the penis. Therefore, application should be completed prior to any form of sexual activity and users are advised to take care in ensuring that the penis is not inserted outside of the femidom, where it would make contact with the vaginal wall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The femidom can be fitted at home without requiring assistance. Users have been known to lie down, squat or even stand with one leg in a raised position.\u00a0 Begin by holding the closed end or tip of the femidom with one hand. Locate the ring within this tip and squeeze it between your fingers. Using your free hand carefully spread the lips of the vagina. The squeezed ring pushed inside until it reaches the top end of the vagina. Two fingers should then be placed inside the femidom and used to push the ring of the sheath further inside the vagina until it is fitted tightly, leaving no area of space. Next, the outer ring should cover the opening of the vagina with the top of the ring positioned around the clitoris region. It is important to guide the penis through this outer ring and into the vagina. Once ejaculation and sexual activity is completed the femidom must be carefully removed. This is done by simply twisting the outer ring of the sheath and pulling it out carefully, in order to avoid spillage of any ejaculate or other bacterial liquids. The device must be disposed of sensibly and a new femidom must be used in every instance of sexual encounter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because the femidom is made out of polyurethane there are little or no problems with women of all ages using this type of contraception. It contains no spermicides which may have led to reactions and discomfort for some women users. Whereas with latex condoms allergic reactions were commonplace, polyurethane does not create the same or similar allergy issues and does not perish when in contact with oil based lubricants. Provided the products are in date and marked with the European CE or BSI Kite mark they can be used to full effect.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Like condoms, femidoms carry no risk of serious side effects such as cancer, cysts or vaginal bleeding. They also provide protection against sexually transmitted infections like HIV and AIDs, which pill programmes and other contraceptive devices, are unable to. Femidom use also eradicates the need for a commitment to any programme of pills or long term birth control devices.\u00a0 When used correctly, they also offer a 95% level of effectiveness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Femidoms do not offer the same levels of effectiveness found in many of the hormone based contraceptives and therefore offer an increased risk of pregnancy. \u00a0The careful installation process can also remove the spontaneity of the sexual experience. The extra care and attention required during insertion, taking time to ensure that the penis enters correctly through the larger ring of the femidom, can also disrupt the rhythm and enjoyment of sexual activity. As with all condoms, a small risk of tearing and spillage remains.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The female condom or femidom is a thin sheath which is placed inside the vagina prior to any sexual contact, in order to prevent sperm emitted from a male penis from entering the body. Unlike the latex male condom, a femidom is made out of thin polyurethane. Femidoms also contain no spermicides and are slightly…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.caughtout.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/29"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.caughtout.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.caughtout.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.caughtout.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.caughtout.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.caughtout.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/29\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33,"href":"https:\/\/www.caughtout.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/29\/revisions\/33"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.caughtout.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}