Personal Question... - Springfield,IL

I was advised that this isn't the safest method but of course if that's all you can do then that's all you can do. While rubbers are uncomfortable though there are other forms of birth control, I did use a diaphram and that way my husband and I felt good and I was protected. Only time it didn't work was when the two times we didn't use it! And now I have two darling grown young men. Are diaphrams still in existence? I know there are a lot of forms of birth control that cost a lot, but then raising a child costs in the three or four figures these days, teehee. actually have gotten pregnancy tests at the dollar store, so don't rule that out. Good luck!

My 3 week old son is living proof that this can happen. We used withdrawl everytime, and like you, my ovulation cycles were always different. I used to take this form of birth control for granted, and although we are overjoyed with our new baby, we refuse to be surprised by this method again!

Have you charted your BBT at all in the past? If so, you might have a sense of what your normal pre-ovulatory temp is, versus your post-ovulatory and pregnancy temp is (they're usually about 0.5 degrees higher). In this case you could always do a quick temp check in the AM to see where things are at - this would at least give you an indication of whether you have ovulated already. (If you haven't no need for a pregnancy test - if you have, you might want to "waste the money" for your own peace of mind). ...or you can keep waiting and get more and more excited (until you get your period or break down and take a test) :)
Ultimately, they don't call this method "pull and pray" for nothing! Best to combine with some "fertility awareness" such as described in Taking Charge of Your Fertility (mentioned below, too) if you really want to avoid pregnancy. Then again, if you only "sort of" want to avoid, that's another story :)

hi Chrissy - they say that it is possible, but it hasn't happened to me yet. Withdraw is the only birth control method I've been using for the past 16 years with my husband and the previous partners and I never got pregnant using that method...

Pretty sure that this is possible. What are you waiting for, take a PG test and find out. Generic ones are not that expensive (about $10) and if you're on day 40 I'd bet the results would be rather accurate. Also, if that is your only form of birth control, well, I'd also be charting your cycles (to avoid your most fertile days if you are trying to avoid getting pregnant....or kickin' it during those times if you are ok with becoming pregnant). Read Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler (sp?). Extremely enlightening and put me so much more in tune with my cycles by charting my basal body temperature (and saved me a few $$...if I wasn't charting, I probably would have taken a lot more pregnancy tests that would have been false....but once you know that your period will arrive 14 days after your BBT peaks, it makes your questions/worry about "am i/am i not" really subside.

Withdraw is one of the least reliable methods of BC. Pregnancy tests from a dollar store are cheap (only $1!) and just as effective as other ones. My husband and I use the withdraw method only when we didn't mind if we got pregnant but weren't trying exactly either. I hope you get the results that both you and family want. Good luck!