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Try Something New – The Female Condom
The female condom is a much-needed device in sexual health.
The female condom is a much-needed device in sexual health. For one, the female condom serves as a tool of agency to its users. The female condom provides unique prevention at the intersections of STD, HIV, and pregnancy prevention. Today, the FC2 is the only female condom approved for sale in the United States.
So, what does the the female condom offer you? In addition to commonly known benefits of latex condoms, the female condom…
(1) Empowers the receptive partner to wear the condom, who is often more at risk for becoming pregnant and/or contracting STDs, including HIV.1
(2) Provides an alternative barrier method to persons with a latex allergy. It’s made of a synthetic rubber called nitrile!
(3) Use of the female condom for anal intercourse is not FDA approved, but research suggests it is safe and acceptable for use among MSM.2 In fact, the female condom is not as tight and constricting as latex condoms, some men prefer “female” condoms to male condoms.
Your prevention options are not as limited as they may seem!
Resources for Providers:
NCSD and the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA) are proud to partner with the Female Health Company (makers of the FC2) to release the Female Condom Billing Fact Sheet and a palm card for patients designed to inform providers that the female condom is reimbursable with a prescription.
What is NCSD doing to promote the female condom as an STD prevention option?
NCSD has, and will continue to, eagerly seize opportunities for greater access to the female condom. Just last year we posted two blogs on NCSD’s Blog STD Prevention Gone Viral. The first blog by NCSD’s Administrative Services Coordinator, LaTwyla Mathias is titled “The Global Rise of the Female Condom,” and available here. The second blog, written is “Global Female Condom Day” and is available here. Female Condoms: Health Department Success Stories factsheet allows you to see how other health departments are accomplishing female condom campaigns and brainstorm ideas for your own project area.
Please continue to help us promote options and access by joining the conversation by following us on Twitter @NCSDDC or on Facebook.
Sources:
1. http://www.aidsmap.com/Female-condoms-for-anal-sex/page/1746303/
2. Renzi C, et. al. AIDS. 2003 Mar 28; 17(5):727-31