Open Directory - Health:Reproductive Health:Birth Control

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Top: Health: Reproductive_Health: Birth_Control

Sites listed here will focus on information and education, and will not be primarily commercial.
For other sites, one of the following categories may be more suitable:

Shopping/Health/Reproduction_and_Sexuality/Birth_Control for sites selling products to consumers,
Business/Healthcare/Products_and_Services/Reproductive_Health/ for manufacturers of contraceptive products, or
Society/Issues/Family_Planning/ for sites concerned with the issues and arguments involved.

Birth control is also known as contraception. It refers to the prevention of a pregnancy following sexual intercourse, and may involve physical barriers, hormonal manipulation, or surgical intervention. (Some people also include abortion and abstinence.)
Contraception can be a controversial issue in terms of politics, religion and ethics.

Barrier Methods

These may be products for men or women, and include condoms, femidoms, cervical caps, and diaphragms. Their function is to prevent sperm entering the female reproductive tract.

Emergency Contraception

Sites listed here will focus on information, with little or no commercial content.

Drug manufacturers are listed in Manufacturers and Online Pharmacies are listed here.
Sites about RU-486, mifepristone, and other nonsurgical abortion procedures should be listed in the appropriate subcategory of Health:Reproductive Health:Abortion.

Emergency contraceptives are methods of preventing pregnancy after unprotected sexual intercourse (usually up to 72 hours after). They do not protect against sexually transmitted infections. Emergency contraception is not abortion, although some people who object to abortion also object to emergency contraception.

Hormonal Contraceptives

Sites listed here will focus on information, with little or no commercial content.

Drug manufacturers are listed in Manufacturers and Online Pharmacies are listed here.

Birth control assisted by hormonal methods.

Natural Family Planning

This category is for informational or educational sites only.
Online sales sites belong in Shopping/Health/Reproduction_and_Sexuality/Birth_Control and will NOT be listed here unless the majority of the site is non-commercial. Similarly, Society/Issues/Family_Planning/Natural_Family_Planning/ is a more appropriate category for sites with a focus on the issues involved.

This refers to avoiding pregnancy without using any "artificial" means such as barrier methods, intrauterine devices, hormones or surgery.
Methods considered "natural" include early withdrawal, and/or monitoring of the menstrual cycle to avoid having sexual intercourse on the days of maximum fertility.
While less reliable than other methods of contraception, natural family planning is more acceptable to some religious, ethnic or cultural groups.

Open Directory Health: Reproductive Health: Pregnancy and Birth: Pre-Conception
Open Directory Shopping: Health: Reproduction and Sexuality: Birth Control
Open Directory Society: Issues: Family Planning
Open Directory Society: Sexuality: Children and Adolescents: Teen Pregnancy Prevention

Last update: 8:33 PT, Friday, August 31, 2007 - edit