Poorly fitting condoms raise pregnancy risk
Badly-fitted condoms not only reduce the pleasure of sex for men and women, but also raise the risks of sexually transmitted infections (STI) and pregnancy.
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Badly-fitted condoms not only reduce the pleasure of sex for men and women, but also raise the risks of sexually transmitted infections (STI) and pregnancy.
Condom use is increasingly becoming popular for contraception. However, there are concerns that couples may turn away from them if they fail to fit comfortably and correctly, and risk unsafe sex instead.
To identify associations between men's self-reports of ill-fitting condoms and condom use problems, researchers recruited a sample of men via advertisements in newspapers of two urban and one small town in USA, and a website of a condom sales company. A total of 436 men completed a questionnaire posted on the website of The Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction. Inclusion criteria included at least 18 years of age, had used condoms for penilevaginal intercourse in the past 3 months and the ability to read English.
Out of 436 men, 195 reported that their last sexual encounter involved an ill-fitting condom. A total of 120 of these said that this had reduced their own sexual pleasure, and 57 said it had reduced it for their partner. In addition, 34 said they had removed the condom early, while 18 said the condom had broken during sex. All of these problems were far less frequent among men who reported a well-fitted condom.
This study shows that ill-fitting condoms not only reduce the pleasure of sexual intercourse but raise the risk of the condoms not being used correctly, along with a higher risk of STIs and pregnancy. This calls for the need for better promotion of proper condom use and increased awareness among the masses.
Condom use is increasingly becoming popular for contraception. However, there are concerns that couples may turn away from them if they fail to fit comfortably and correctly, and risk unsafe sex instead.
To identify associations between men's self-reports of ill-fitting condoms and condom use problems, researchers recruited a sample of men via advertisements in newspapers of two urban and one small town in USA, and a website of a condom sales company. A total of 436 men completed a questionnaire posted on the website of The Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction. Inclusion criteria included at least 18 years of age, had used condoms for penilevaginal intercourse in the past 3 months and the ability to read English.
Out of 436 men, 195 reported that their last sexual encounter involved an ill-fitting condom. A total of 120 of these said that this had reduced their own sexual pleasure, and 57 said it had reduced it for their partner. In addition, 34 said they had removed the condom early, while 18 said the condom had broken during sex. All of these problems were far less frequent among men who reported a well-fitted condom.
This study shows that ill-fitting condoms not only reduce the pleasure of sexual intercourse but raise the risk of the condoms not being used correctly, along with a higher risk of STIs and pregnancy. This calls for the need for better promotion of proper condom use and increased awareness among the masses.
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