use more than one method to avoid an unwanted child. Others would rather take a relatively safe, but not too user-friendly,

method and avoid the possible side effects and complications of a simpler one. Still, in other circumstances, it could become

a simple matter of personal preference and comfort, where one woman simply finds herself more at ease using one form of birth

control over another. Any one of these reasons could be behind a woman's decision to choose spermicidal products over other

options available to her on the market.

Simply put, spermicide is very much like insecticide: insecticide kills insects, so spermicide kills sperm cells. Logically,

if the sperm cells are dead, then they can't fertilize the woman's egg cell and get conception going. This, therefore, makes

it an obvious candidate for being an effective form of birth control. However, as far as the statistics go, spermicidal

products are still behind the birth control pill in terms of effectiveness. This is largely because the pill takes an

approach that, on some levels, is more effective. Essentially, the pill (and other hormone-based birth control measures) fool

the woman's body into thinking it already is pregnant, which prevents the egg from being released from the ovaries in the

first place.

One detail that some women are not fond of is the fact that spermicidal products are applied directly on the vagina. For some

women, this can be considered a very sensitive area, which might make them slightly uncomfortable with the idea of applying

anything aside from soap and water there. Others are not willing to put up with the possibility of mild irritation that may

occasionally come with this form of birth control. However, other women don't seem to have a problem with this and fully

utilize the medication in whatever form it takes, though creams and gels are among the common ones. Usually, the process is

done manually, but some come with equipment designed specifically to make application of the spermicide easier. Not applying

it according to specifications or instructions can lower the effectiveness, increase the chances of side effects, or render

them completely useless.

Spermicidal products work at their best when applied properly, according to the instructions they came with. Each variation

of the concept has a different method of application, so clearly, one does not use spermicidal cream in the same way they use

the film variant. As a method of birth control, it is often suggested that a woman use it in conjunction with another form of

birth control. The idea is to create a mutual fall-back system, with the spermicide hopefully working if the other method

fails, with the opposite situation also being true. On its own, it can be effective enough, but the window of risk is much

higher than with a birth control pill or in conjunction with another method. Most spermicides have a 71% rate of

effectiveness, compared to the pill's 90% or higher range.