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The sponge is a product that is soaked with a spermicide. This spermicide soaked product
is pushed as far into your *** as possible before you have sex. After you have sex, you
need to keep the sponge in for a few hours before you remove it, in order to reap the
contraceptive effectiveness.
In general, the sponge is not as effective as other over-the-counter birth control options.
If you use the contraceptive sponge perfectly, you get a better form of effectiveness. However,
nobody's perfect. In some studies, one in four women who use this form of birth control
will get pregnant with each use. So keep that in mind. It's 75 percent effective, and it
doesn't prevent sexually transmitted diseases.
If you are considering using birth control that is not prescribed by a nurse practitioner
or a physician, the sponge is not the best option. Please consider using condoms, at
least until you can get a better birth control option for you. And by the way, condoms are
an excellent form of birth control. You don't need to see a doctor. You don't need to tell
anybody that you're using anything else. You can just use the condoms. Everybody's happy.
And it also prevents sexually transmitted diseases.
So, please, the sponge, while it is convenient in some ways, it is not as effective as using
condoms, and it does not prevent sexually transmitted diseases. So I reiterate. Use
condoms, and if you don't like using condoms, use them until you can get to your doctor
or your nurse practitioner, and then discuss your birth control options in more detail.