Ideal Bite

I have to say that I am disappointed in a few of today's Bite tips. The greenest way to avoid pregnancy is by fertility awareness. Check out tcoyf.com. It is an eco-friendly, woman-empowering, all-natural, free way for a woman to know her body and prevent pregnancy. There are many people who do not and will not use condoms. So to encourage woman to use contraception - harmful chemicals that alter a woman's natural hormone levels and can be damaging - is wrong. By the way, the failure rate of FAM is 2% - same as the condom and better than any barrier method (as long as one follows the method).

The best contraceptive methods were omitted! If you're serious about helping halt the overpopulation crisis we are facing, nothing beats a vasectomy! You can get it done locally, almost zero-waste, it's permanent, and depending on your insurance (including Canada), it's free! Of course, if you're in a non-monogamous relationship, you'll still need condoms to avoid disease, but you'll never have a pregnancy scare again! Also, since men have no control over whether a woman has an abortion or gives up her child for adoption, it also prevents potential child support payments. Getting your tubes tied is also an option, but the surgery is more involved and riskier.

I wanted to correct some misinformation in this Bite Daily Tip. Sheer Glyde dental dams are NOT female condoms. Dental dams are designed to create a barrier between one partner's mouth and another partner's body. They are designed for oral sex on a woman, or for oral-anal contact. Glyde dams are made of latex, but there are other types available that are made of polyurethane (Hot Dams brand) for people who have latex allergies. Female condoms are another product altogether. Female condoms are made of polyurethane. Here's some basic info about female condoms: http://www.ashastd.org/condom/condom_female.cfm They can be a bit difficult to find and rather expensive. Female condoms are designed for use in the vagina, however they can also be used during anal sex. Please consider sending a clarification out on this tip about the fact that a dental dam is NOT a female condom. Thank you. - Lauren D. a sexual health educator in North Carolina

I am thoroughly disappointed in this article, and I really hope that the people in charge of this site read this! Just because condoms are biodegradable doesn't mean they will decompose!!! COME ON PEOPLE!!! In order for things to break down, they need sunlight, rain, erosion.... how is that going to happen if the garbage we send to the dump is compacted tight into a cube then stacked under a bunch of other compacted cubes? It may work if the WHOLE CUBE is biodegradable products. To the girls that are in a committed, loving relationship for a LONG TIME (the ONLY ONES who REALLY should be having ANY babies) use a diaphragm! They are the most eco-friendly! No different than the article that was posted about menstrual cups just last week or so! (And YES, I do own one and love it ladies! Seriously CHECK THEM OUT!) Re-usable is WAY better for the environment than disposable! If you aren't in a serious relationship and are still having sex, sure! get the condoms... (I believe we should all be paraben-free) but throw them out the window or something instead of in the garbage! And for the record, I feel the same way about ANYTHING that says the package is biodegradable... Sun Chip bags (not sure if they are out yet, but they will be soon if they're not) dog poo bags... if it says it's biodegradable, PLEASE THINK TWICE BEFORE BUYING ANY OF THESE PRODUCTS! Are they really necessary to even have them if they aren't going decompose? Remember to REDUCE and REUSE before anything!

Does anyone actually use dental dams? I mean really? Condoms are awful too.

When I was a counselor at a crisis pregnancy center whenever a girl came in for a test one of the screening questions we asked is " What form of birth control have you been using?" if they said "Condoms" I almost wanted to just say "Congratulations your going to have a baby." without even doing the test. ( Of course I didn't do that . I conducted the test professionally.) An earlier post mentioned fertility awareness. This used to known as the rhythm method. If you are truly regular and you can predict ovulation so you can avoid sexual contact at that time that is helpful,But I recommend a condom during your non-fertile time because sometimes those little swimmers survive longer than you think. Personally I had a tubal ligation after my second child. It is preferable for a man to be sterilized because they don't have long term affects and some women do. However, I was married to a selfish jerk at the time. I taught my children that the only 100% sure way to avoid pregnancy and STD's is abstinence. I also taught them about various birth control methods for when they were married or if they decided not to follow my best advice.

i just asked my husband last week if there are eco-friendly condoms! we are a green family and after just having our second child, and using cloth or biodegradable diapers, i was wondering why we never thought about how much waste condoms produce!

Bite team, I hope you realize that even young children read your tips. It would be much more appropriate to have a separate Adult Bite for sex-related topics or to at least mark sex tips as "PG-13" or the like. Many mothers do not appreciate their young children asking "Mommy, what's a condom? What's it have to do with a penis? Can I do sex too?"

I think it's great to see so many people offering other suggestions! I'd like to point out, first of all, that tubal litigation or a vasectomy is not an option for everyone. Some of us do want to have a baby at some point. ;) Also, diaphrams aren't available anymore where I'm from, which is quite likely the case in many other places. IUDs are also a great option in terms of eco-friendliness. They *are* still hormonal birth control, but the hormones go directly to where they are needed, so there are fewer of them circulating throughout your body. The only waste is the package it comes in and the gloves the doctor uses (compared to package after package of birth control pills). They can be taken out whenever you want to have a child, or can stay in for up to five years. They're much cheaper 5 years worth of oral contraceptives, too!