condoms plus withdrawal -- how effective?

Thank you for responding. Withdrawal methods and condoms are more like barrier methods of birth control. These are helpful in preventing pregnancy but are not always the most effective. Hormonal methods such as the Pill, the Patch, shots/injections and the vaginal ring are methods that women use to prevent pregnancy in addition to condom use. This way you are internally and externally protected.

The hormonal methods do not protect you against sexually transmitted diseases and thats what condoms are used for (in addition to help prevent pregnancy) but you should keep yourself protected by hormonal methods as well to help prevent pregnancy.

As for your ovulation time, only taking an ovulation test will confirm that you were actually ovulating at the time although, it is too late to be certain now. The rule of thumb is 10-14 days as described above but again, this is different for each woman as we are all very different.

How old are you? Do you have an available OBGYN that you can consult to consider hormonal methods of birth control? If you are young, you may want to consult a Family Planning center that usually offers a free clinic to young women that are underage and afraid to speak to their parents. If you are interested, I could help you obtain some information for a place local to where you reside. You may message me personally for a more private chat.

Let me know if I can be of more assistance.

we did it 16 days after my last period last december. am i right that i am ovulating that time? we used condoms and the withdrawal method.
i don't know if this is a birth control method but i heard it from my friends.. after we had sex, i tried as hard as i could to pee.

Hi Miss Anxious,

There is always a chance of pregnancy every time you have sex. There is no chance of getting pregnant while engaging in oral sex (I am not sure if that was a question).

While you did take precautions (using a condom), they are never 100%. Since you are a week from starting your period, I would wait until your period is late to be concerned for possible pregnancy. As for the next time, I would be cautious and use birth control (such as the Pill) and condoms to be protected both ways. Do you use another form of birth control besides condoms?

If you are generally concerned, you could pick up a pregnancy test to settle your nerves. Pregnancy tests can be generally taken within a week of a missed period although some claim earlier. I would wait until a week after a missed period to be certain as they are generally 99% accurate.

Another question is why do you think you are ovulating? A general rule of thumb is that you ovulate between 10-14 days after you start your period. You would start counting day 1 as the first day of your period. If you are one week from starting your period, then you may not be ovulating. Did you take an ovulation test?

This may help settle your nerves a bit but waiting for a missed period would generally be your best bet. I hope this helps.