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Diaphragms
Is A Diaphragm the Right Choice for You?
By Shel Franco
Picture this. The baby is off to dreamland, the phone is off the hook and you and your partner are finally able to enjoy an adult moment. Just as things heat up, he scurries out to the kitchen and returns with a hollowed-out lemon half.
By now you're feeling rejected, confused and convinced your love will never be a Casanova. But wait. That's exactly who he is trying to be. Rumor has it that history's quintessential lover provided each of his conquests with a hollowed-out lemon. For what? Birth control, of course.
In fact, ancient populations relied on the lemon as birth control for two reasons: The hollowed fruit, when inserted into the vagina, acted as a barrier to sperm passing through the cervix, and the acid served as an all-natural spermicide.
Today, few women would visit the produce section for contraception thanks to birth control pioneer Margaret Sanger, who brought the Dutch-invented plastic diaphragm to the United States in 1916.
Over the years, changes have been made to make the diaphragm more comfortable, but the basics are still the same – a circular object, small enough to be inserted into the vagina but large enough to cover the entire cervix.
The diaphragm, which resembles a round latex cap, may be inserted several hours before having sex. This is accomplished much like the use of a tampon, only there is no applicator. Instead, you fill the "cup" with spermicidal jelly, fold the apparatus in half, slide it into the vagina and guide it over your cervix with little more than sensation and instinct guiding the way.
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