Withdrawal or pull out method vs Cap or diaphragm

I came off the combined pill around 4 years ago after trying many different pills and never quite feeling myself/having terrible clots in my periods on breaks. I'd been told by drs it was the only way to have safe sex from pregnancy and felt i had no choice. The good old fashioned pull out method has been my best friend ever since! Once i spoke to a very wise nurse who told me that i could try the natural cycle way or rely on pull out cleverly. Now i want to say that this isn't for everyone. I have been in a healthy long term relationship with someone i trust and with whom we communicate during all aspects of sex. Because of this we have been able to have all kinds of sex (including penetrative) without any pregnancy scares. My partner is a cis man and i a cis women, and the secret is FULL COMMUNICATION. If he is close to cuming he stops (NEVER ACTUALLY RELY ON PULLING OUT AS YOU CUM NO NO). It's about calming things down on his end when he thinks he'll climax. that means pulling out and moving to oral etc for a while before going again. Normlly this means i get a whole lotta love while he calms down so BONUS!! POSITIVES - I often cum first as it means i always get to cum as he can keep going and we are not relying on one way to have sex. I feel myself! We are more experimental and go on for longer. Its about trust so things feel more intimate, it has led to better communication and much better forplay. This means i cum more often. Knowing my own cycle and getting to know how my body and hormones work. Having sex slowly and sensually, with my pleasure and his both being taken into account due to the fact you can't just have full penetrative sex without thinking. NEGATIVES- he obvs can't cum in me. he doesnt personally feel sad about that. When finally he can't be in me anymore he has to cum using other ways to finish. It means it can be a bit stop and start (personally i think this is fun). You do have to be more careful. THIS IS DEFINITELY FOR PEOPLE WHO KNOW THEIR SEXUAL PARTNER WELL. ITS ABOUT TRUST. You can't just bang it out like in the movies haha! I do pregnancy tetss every 3 months just in case pre cum has snuck in (it's very unlikely this gets you pregnant especially if your partner is aware of this. but worth thinking about) Overall, Chefs Kiss - but i do sometimes miss he cumming inside me ! BUT WON'T GO BACK

Only used it on occasion and normally alongside another form of contraception. I don't really recommend it as it feel risky

The withdrawal method is really not for everyone. But me and my partner prefer to not use male condoms and I use my Flo app to track my ovulation and period which helps me gauge when is the best time to use this method. As I’m not trying to fall pregnant again right now, and I don’t really want to use any hormonal contraceptives, this method has definitely worked for me but can only work if your willing to take control with family planning.

Apart from the issue I'm currently dealing with (it getting stuck inside of me), I LOVE the diaphragm. I found out I wasn't never fitted (which is why it kept getting stuck upon removal), so my new, awesome doctor actually sized me. It's easier than popping in a tampon once you learn how to do it and then ya pop it out the morning after sex. No side effects, no hormones, no emotional hangover. It's very hard to find though. Pharmaceutical companies don't want women to buy one silicone object that lasts for the rest of your life, so finding the right size and actually getting it has been a challenge. My mom used it and only got pregnant to have me (her only child) and I've been using it for 5+ years with no issues.

I've used Caya several times over the past couple years (they last up to 2 years- due for a new one now). I use it on the edges of my fertile window (with fertility awareness) and/or combined with withdrawal or condoms to boost efficacy during the fertile window. Always use with Caya/Contragel- they come with an applicator to re-insert the gel into the vagina, as you need to reapply the gel each time you have sex. Watching the YouTube instructions on how to put it in (plus the instruction manual in the box!) helped me understand how to use it properly and to have an idea of how it was inserted properly.

I used the caya cap. It has been a game changer after previously taking the pill. I feel in control, no need to remember to take a pill, just put it in when needed. Better than condoms as it is women based and not detectable. Effect of not taking hormonal contraceptives has been amazing. All the side effects that I had ( migraines, reduced sex drive, dryness, breast tenderness, strong period pains, breakthrough bleeding and emotionalness) all gone. I wish someone had told me about it before!

Having experienced terrible physical and mental health side effects from both types of contraceptive pill (Combined and POP), and permanent pain and repeated UTIs with the copper coil, I hoped that Caya diaphragm would be a suitable non-hormonal method to try. Unfortunately, I found insertion very tricky - it seems I have a case of "deep vagina, small fingers", as I could never tell whether I'd pushed the diaphragm up far enough to cover my cervix, and sex was always a bit uncomfortable. I'm naturally prone to cystitis and thrush, and getting both while using the diaphragm also put me off using it long term. However, on the plus side - I didn't get pregnant (though I was still breastfeeding a lot, and my periods hadn't yet returned postpartum), and I did manage to avoid the hormonal depression, skin changes and weight gain/loss that I've experienced in the past with pills.

All in all it was acceptable

Fiddly and a faff. Didn’t bother a couple of times and ended up pregnant. He’s nearly 20 now and I’m still married to his father so not all bad :) Tried the copper coil for a bit after but it gave me very heavy periods and stomach cramps which had never been a problem before. Switched to the mirena coil and now on my third - no periods for 15 years and no menopausal symptoms despite being 52. What’s not to like?

I was only using it shortly, as I wanted to avoid hormones. It was not bad, but the need of using a spermicide as well was the reason why I stopped, I had vaginal discharge caused by the spermicide.

A bit fiddly until I got used to it.

An oldie here! I was first fitted with a Cap (can't recall the brand) when I was 27. I had been married for just over six months but, more importantly, had been on the Pill for more than 10 years and was keen to use a contraceptive method that was ultra-reliable and guaranteed to have no side-effects, either short or long term. The Brook Advisory Clinic in Tottenham Court Road fitted my first Cap, I'd been going there since I was a schoolgirl and stayed with them because it was clear they were far more expert in contraceptive medicine than my GP - and I suspect that is still the case. Before deciding to use a Cap all available methods were talked through with me by a nurse, specially trained by Brook and, frankly, with better knowledge that our family GP (who I knew well as a family friend) or any other doctor I knew. Before coming off the Pill I was taught with a practice Cap how to coat it with spermicide gel and how to insert correctly. I was sent out to walk around the area for 20 minutes, ostensibly to see if I had inserted it correctly but in reality I suspect this was more of a confidence building exercise to reassure me that it wasn't rocket science and that the Cap would remain in place until it was removed*. I was encouraged to start using my Cap while I was tailing off the last month of Pills so that when the time came I would be confident in using it "for real". Once I was dependent on a Cap I found it to be a quick and easy method. No need to insert hours before you think you may need it: carry in your handbag and simply insert when you go to the loo (if out for a date) or last thing at night before you go to bed. One huge plus is that if your period starts while you're out-and-about and you have your Cap in there are no embarrassing leaks and no stained underwear - the Cap catches it all! I used a Cap for 10 years, only stopping when I decided the time was right to have children. I had no side effects of any kind and no failures. As a child of 1960s and have grown up with the expectation of always having aan active and lively (and varied!) sex-life. The Cap proved more than equal to the task. So long as you use it correctly, this is the one sure-fire female-led method with no side effects and plenty of pluses. One very important point: DON'T expect your family GP, or the practice nurse, to be very enthusiastic about fitting you with a Cap. It is still the case that contraceptive medicine is barely touched on in standard UK medical training for doctors, and I'm told it doesn't happen for nurses either. In any case, I'd strongly advise any woman seeking proper, accurate and informed contraceptive advice to go, at least for the first year, to a specialist clinic such as those run by Marie Stopes or the Brook. * I'm concerned by at the comment by another reviewer that her Cap can slide around in her vagina: if this is the case either it doesn't fit properly or she isn't using it correctly; whichever, if it isn't securely in place over her cervix then it cannot work properly.

As someone who has struggled with more mainstream contraception, this was a miracle. Zero side effects and non-invasive! You're able to insert it up to two hours before sex so it doesn't have the moodkiller effect of a condom, and neither partner can feel it once it's in, unless you're searching for it with a finger. Inserting and removing it takes a little getting used to, but the initial learning curve is very much worth it. (And any Mooncup users will find it easy enough.) Note you will need to be fitted by a nurse/ health practitioner to ensure its effectiveness. This can be tricky to find unless you live in a larger city/ you have a very thorough doctor, but it was worth persisting for me.