If a woman has intercourse unexpectedly without using any reliable means of contraception, there is one last possibility for avoiding pregnancy. It is called the 'morning-after' pill or shot and involves some massive doses of hormones. It is thought that these doses prevent implan- tation of the fertilized egg in the uterus. The doses usually make the woman who takes them very nauseated for a few days, and many doctors don't like to prescribe them. Howeverm they cause no permanent harm, as far as is known. Other methods of birth control are being investigated by scientists and doctors, who feel, almost without exception, that necessary to mankind is a low-cost, easy, sure, safe method of limiting the size of families - and a method that will be acceptable to all. It is important to emphasize that there is much wrong and dangerous information passed around birth control methods.

Some uninformed people try methods that do not work, like douches (squirting liquid into the vagina). Saran wrap, or urination right after intercourse. These methods do not work. The only way for a couple to be certain about a birth control method is to know that it is medically approved by the medical profession and that the product used is approved for birth control by the health aurhorities of the country in which you live.

Fortunately, it is now possible in most cities and in many rural areas for people to receive expert advice on contraception and to obtain the birth control products they need. Organizations like the Family Planning Association and most public health and medical centres provide these services, at no cost if the user cannot pay. No one should be afraid or embarrassed to ask for information about birth control.

For any person who is going to have sex and is not ready to have and care for a child, it is a must. It is interesting that many married couples have used the best methods of contraception with what they intended to be the greatest care, only to find that the wife has become pregnant and that a child is on the way. In rare cases, even vascetomies and tubal ligations may fail. By processes not entirely understood, the cut ends of the vas deferens or the fallopian tubes may reopen and reunite. However, failures of contraception are usually not failures of good methods but failures on the part of the people using them. Birth control can be counted upon to succeed only when used correctly and without haste.