Your reproductive health is important, but it’s not always the easy thing to talk about – with your doctor or with your partner.
Unfortunately, when you aren’t engaged with your own desires and needs, you can face some pretty serious consequences.
Learning to take control of your reproductive health, though, can help you lead a more satisfying life, in and out of the bedroom.
Learn To Talk About It
This first step to better reproductive health is learning to talk about what you want, but don’t worry – you don’t have to tackle the really sensitive stuff first.
Instead, take time to think about your short-term and long-term goals. For example, do you want to have kids?
If so, in what time frame? Do you want to carry a child, adopt, or use a surrogate?
Answering these questions for yourself, as well as discussing them with your partner, can help you make important decisions about birth control and other health issues.
Commit To Birth Control
If you’re not interested in getting pregnant right now, the next thing that you should do is to choose a form of birth control and commit to it.
There are several ways to do this, though.
The simplest is to take an all-purpose approach and use condoms since you can buy them in stores and they also protect against STDs.
Many people prefer to have a backup when using condoms, however, which is why you might want to choose another form of birth control – and today you don’t even have to see your doctor in office.
You can get a prescription for birth control through Nurx, a reproductive telehealth service, then simply pick it up at your local pharmacy.
Normalize Testing
STD testing isn’t exactly sexy, but if you want to prevent significant harm to your reproductive health, the simplest and most valuable thing that you can do is to normalize getting tested.
Yes, it’s always wise to use protection, but even better than that is always knowing your STD status, and that of your partners.
Go get tested together and, if you’re not monogamous, make it a routine date night and get tested together every few months.
You can get dinner or drinks afterward, get your results a few days later, and enjoy the freedom of knowing you’re in the clear.
Explore Other Modes Of Protection
While testing, birth control, and condoms are all an important part of protecting yourself, there’s a growing number of healthcare providers who recommend that anyone who is at an increased risk of exposure to HIV take pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), which can prevent infection in the event of exposure.
Prescribed under the brand name Truvada, PrEP isn’t generally recommended for those who are at average risk of HIV infection, but it’s a powerful tool for those who have multiple partners or a partner known to be HIV positive.
The Art Of “No”
As important as it is to be able to talk about what you do want – in the short term and in the future – a big part of managing your reproductive health is knowing what you don’t want and being clear about it.
Learn to say no and how to resist pressure.
More importantly, if you find yourself with a partner who pushes you to do things you don’t want to, don’t stay with them. Saying no is important, but being with someone who listens to you is even more critical.
Managing your reproductive health is a lifelong commitment, but it can also be empowering as you become more confident.
And while it’s sure to feel awkward sometimes, this isn’t optional.
This is about your health and your happiness.