ContributedQ Doc, I am 21 and I have just been blessed with the birth of a son. My guy and I are about to resume sex. So I was planning to go back on the Pill.
But now I have been told by a friend of mine that it is not good to take the Pill when you are breastfeeding. Is this true?
Also, the same friend has told me that a girl does not need to bother about any contraception while she is feeding her child with breast milk, as 'one cannot get pregnant during that time'. She says that breastfeeding is a natural contraceptive.
Should I believe her?
A When you resume having sex after a baby, it is important to use good contraception. Otherwise, you can become pregnant again very soon. And your body will not have enough time to rest and recover from the childbirth.
I usually recommend to my patients that they start using contraception from about six weeks after giving birth. By that time, most couples are starting to have sex again.
However, your friend is quite right in saying that you should NOT take the Pill while you are breastfeeding. That is because the pill may actually STOP the flow of milk.
Many new mothers go on the Mini-Pill instead because that does NOT stop the milk.
What is the Mini-Pill? It is not a low-dose version of the Pill, as many people imagine. It is actually a different thing: A tablet that contains only ONE hormone, instead of the TWO which are contained in the ordinary pill.
The hormone is called a 'progestogen' or 'progestin.' For that reason, the Mini-Pill is often known as 'the Progestogen-Only Pill' or 'POP'.
I think the Mini-Pill would be a good idea for you. It will give you excellent protection against pregnancy until you finish breastfeeding. After that, you can decide whether you want to go back on the 'real' pill.
Now, let me turn to the second thing that your friend told you. She said to you that 'a girl does not need to bother with contraception while breastfeeding', as she can't get pregnant during that time.
That is NOT true, so please do not follow her advice! If you do as she says, you may rapidly find yourself with child again.
Admittedly, it is true that breastfeeding offers SOME protection against pregnancy. Certain African tribes have used it very successfully in order to limit their families.
But in order to achieve a good degree of contraception, you have to breastfeed very intensively - giving the baby breast milk every hour or two throughout the 24 hours of the day, and seven days a week.
That sort of intensive round-the-clock 'nursing' is not practised in Jamaica, or in most other regions of the world - partly because the mother needs to get some sleep!
So, I certainly do NOT rely on breastfeeding as your method of contraception. There are various good methods available to you besides the Mini-Pill, there is the coil (IUD) and the condom.
Q I am a 16-year-old guy, and as you know, we teenagers do have problems. Mine is that I am masturbating, and do not want to.
The longest I have managed to stop for was about a month. But at the end of that time, I started again.
Can you recommend any medicine that would make me cease altogether, doc?
A I am afraid that there is no medication that can stop a teenager from masturbating. I appreciate that you have moral convictions that make you wish to cease doing this. But it is rather like stopping smoking: Only tremendous willpower can help you do it.
However, I think you should bear in mind that masturbation is totally harmless healthwise. All experts in sexual medicine now feel that it is just a natural form of release for teenage boys - and indeed for many teenage girls too.
Q I am a young female, and I have noticed that my boyfriend has a cut on the tip of his penis. He also has a small rash, near the end.
So I got him to go to a doctor, who stated that it could be syphilis, or some other scientific name.
I don't have a rash, or any symptoms. What should I do?
AYou must NOT have sex with this boy until he has been treated and cured!
To be frank, his symptoms don't sound much like those of syphilis. So you need to find out what this other 'scientific name' was. When you have discovered the name, email me again and I will try to help.
In the meantime, I feel that you should have a check-up for VD at a clinic.
Q I am a teenage guy, and sometimes I think that other males at school are looking at me in a sexual way. But I am not in the homo business, doc!
So why do they glance at me as though they are attracted to me?
A My best guess is that you are misinterpreting these 'glances' from the other guys.
I doubt if they are really interested in you - when after all, there are so many beautiful GIRLS to look at!
However, it is possible that you may have unconsciously developed some rather 'feminine' habits or gestures. Check out your own behaviour, and see if you could be giving out any signals that would make other guys think that you are gay.
Q I am 19, and I am having a problem with my fingernails. There is a gap, so that I can see the inside part of the nail!
Some people say it is whitlow. What do you think, doc?
ANo, whitlow is an infection next to the nail. It is really painful, and in your case you do not appear to have any pain.
It is possible that you have a fungal infection of the nail, or maybe a skin disorder called psoriasis. But what you must do is have those fingernails checked out by a doc in the next week or so.
Q I am an 18-year-old girl with period problems. My menses never come at a fixed time, and sometimes they last a whole month!
Also, I am very tired. Why?
A Almost certainly, you are tired because you are ANAEMIC. In other words, your blood is weak because you have lost so much of it in the menses.
You must see a doc right away, and have some tests to find out why your periods are so irregular and so prolonged. After that, you can probably have some medication to regularise them.
The doc will also give you some iron pills, to build up your blood to normal strength.
QDoc, a girl gave me a blowjob last week. Could that make her pregnant?
A No, that cannot happen. So quit fretting.
Want advice from Doc? Email editor@gleanerjm.com or fax 922-6223, attention Doctor's Advice.
