Femidom

The Femidom is colloquially called "female condom" or "female condom". The name of the contraceptive already suggests what exactly it is - a femidom is very similar to a condom, but is not placed over the man's penis, but inserted into the woman's vagina.

What is a femidoma?

The Femidom As mentioned at the beginning, it is also referred to as a "female condom" or a "female condom". The reason is that the development of the femidome was based on the condom.

This is because the contraceptive for women, which was introduced and launched on the market in 1990, is a wafer-thin plastic tube that is inserted into the vagina before sexual intercourse.

Like the condom, the Femidom protects against unwanted pregnancy, but also against sexually transmitted diseases.

Shapes, types & types

In most cases that will happen Femidom in a hose-like unitary form which is quite flexible. This means that the diameter of the femidome adapts to the width of the vagina.

Different femidomes are available in length, but they are mostly between 15 and 18 centimeters long and can be fully or partially unfurled. In addition to femidomes made of plastic (polyethylene), there are also femidomes made of latex and various special shapes. There are femidomes that do not end in an upper ring, but in a sponge.

There are also femidomes, which are supposed to protect against sexual intercourse and rape with small hooks. Often these are also rigid and "hook" on the perpetrator.

Structure, function & mode of operation

At a Femidom it is a plastic or latex hose up to 18 centimeters long, which consists of a ring at the beginning and end. When used correctly, the two rings are positioned in front of the entrance of the vagina, outside it, and inside in front of the cervix.

Since the cervix is ​​very sensitive, the femidome should only be unrolled as far as necessary - to the extent that the partner can move the penis largely unrestricted in the vagina during sexual intercourse, but without the upper ring of the femidoma permanently hitting the cervix of the uterus .

The Femidom is very soft and flexible and adapts to the length and width of the vagina. In its application, the femidome is similar to a diaphragm, because it is unrolled and then inserted as far as possible into the vagina. Here, however, it works similar to a condom in that it prevents direct contact between the penis and the body fluids between the two partners.

This reduces the risk of contracting venereal diseases and unwanted pregnancy.

Medical & health benefits

When used correctly, this protects Femidom not only before an unwanted pregnancy, but also before the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases.

The best example of this is the HI virus, but also all other diseases that can be transmitted through the mucous membranes. Incidentally, the Pearl Index of the Femidoma is around 5 to 25. This means that statistics according to around 5 to 25 out of 100 women surveyed who have proven to have used the Femidoma for one year of contraception nevertheless became pregnant.

As a direct comparison: The Pearl index of a condom for men is 2 to 12. The reason that the Pearl index of the femidome is slightly worse is the increased risk of using it incorrectly. Because especially with the accuracy of fit and the correct application you may have to practice a little. However, the Femidom also has a lot of advantages.

In comparison to other contraceptives for women, for example the pill or the diaphragm, this not only protects against pregnancy, but also against the transmission of diseases. Compared to a condom, the Femidom scores better in terms of authenticity and flexibility. On the one hand, it does not depend on the stiffness of the penis and, on the other hand, it can be inserted hours before the actual sexual act.