Unintended pregnancies are pregnancies that are mistimed, unplanned, or unwanted at the time of conception. Sexual activity without the use of effective contraception through choice or coercion is the predominant cause of unintended pregnancy. Worldwide, the unintended pregnancy rate is approximately 45% of all pregnancies, but rates of unintended pregnancy vary in different geographic areas and among different sociodemographic groups. Unintended pregnancies may be unwanted pregnancies or mistimed pregnancies. While unintended pregnancies are the main reason for induced abortions, unintended pregnancies may also result in live births or miscarriages.
Unintended pregnancy has been linked to numerous poor maternal and child health outcomes, regardless of the outcome of the pregnancy. Efforts to decrease rates of unintended pregnancy have focused on improving access to effective contraception through improved counseling and removing barriers to contraception access.
Contraceptive use has numerous health benefits such as preventing unplanned pregnancies, ensuring optimum spacing between births, reducing maternal and child mortality, and improving the lives of women and children in general. However, many women chose less effective traditional contraceptive methods in Nigeria over more effective modern contraceptive methods due to fear of the side effects of the latter, a classical example is the use of Ampiclox to prevent pregnancy.
What is Ampiclox?
Ampiclox is a brand name for a combination antibiotic medication that contains ampicillin and cloxacillin. Ampicillin and cloxacillin belong to a class of antibiotics known as penicillins, and they work by inhibiting the growth and reproduction of bacteria.
Ampiclox is commonly used to treat bacterial infections such as respiratory tract infections, skin and soft tissue infections, urinary tract infections, and certain types of gastrointestinal infections. It is also used for the prevention of infections during surgery and dental procedures.
Can Ampiclox prevent pregnancy?
No, Ampiclox cannot prevent pregnancy or flush out sperm. Beecham Amplicox or any other brand of Ampiclox should never be used for the prevention of pregnancy, abortion, or flushing out sperm from the vagina because they do not work for that purpose. Learning how to use Ampliclox to prevent pregnancy is also a waste of time.
To understand how Ampiclox works, it is important to first understand how pregnancy occurs. Pregnancy occurs when a sperm fertilizes an egg. The fertilized egg then implants in the lining of the uterus, where it begins to grow and develop into a fetus. Contraception, or birth control, is the use of methods to prevent pregnancy from occurring.
There are several different types of birth control methods, including hormonal methods, barrier methods, and permanent methods. Hormonal methods of birth control, such as the birth control pill, work by preventing ovulation, which is the release of an egg from the ovaries. Without ovulation, there is no egg available for fertilization, and pregnancy cannot occur. Barrier methods of birth control, such as condoms and diaphragms, work by physically blocking the sperm from reaching the egg. Permanent methods of birth control, such as tubal ligation or vasectomy, involve surgery to permanently block or cut the tubes that carry the sperm or eggs.
Ampiclox, as an antibiotic medication, works by killing or inhibiting the growth of bacteria. It does not have any effect on the reproductive system, and therefore cannot prevent pregnancy. In fact, taking antibiotics such as Ampiclox can actually decrease the effectiveness of hormonal methods of birth control, such as the birth control pill. This is because antibiotics can interfere with the metabolism of estrogen and other hormones, which can lead to a decrease in their effectiveness.
It is important to note that antibiotics should never be used as a form of birth control. Antibiotics are powerful medications that are only intended to be used to treat bacterial infections. Using antibiotics inappropriately can lead to antibiotic resistance, which is a growing public health concern. Antibiotic resistance occurs when bacteria become resistant to the effects of antibiotics, making infections more difficult to treat. It is important to always use antibiotics as directed by a healthcare provider and to never use them for any purpose other than treating bacterial infections. A safer option is to use contraceptive pills like Postinor 2 or Postpill to prevent unwanted pregnancy instead of Ampoclox.
History’s 10 worst forms of birth control
History is full of all sorts of horrible-sounding devices, tricks, and superstitions women have used to try to avoid getting pregnant before the pill and latex condoms came along. Here are 10 of the weirdest birth control methods from throughout time.
Lemons
This method dates back to the Talmud. Women would soak sponges in lemon juice before inserting them into the vagina. The idea was that citric acid’s spermicidal properties would prevent impregnation. Famous Lothario Casanova allegedly inserted the rinds of lemons in his lovers as a method of preventing little Casanovas.
Mercury
Your body temperature may be rising, but putting mercury anywhere near your privates is not recommended. But ancient civilizations, enamored with the mystery metal, assigned it healing properties for a variety of ailments.
Women in ancient China were told that drinking hot mercury would prevent pregnancy. Which is kind of true, since drinking mercury can lead to organ failure and death, so those women definitely wouldn’t be carrying a child anytime soon. ALSO READ: Nigerian Foods and Beverages to Avoid During Pregnancy
Coca-Cola
Not all crazy birth control methods date back to ancient pre-technology societies. In the 1950s, the idea spread that the carbonic acid in Coca-Cola killed sperm, the sugar exploded sperm cells and the carbonation of the drink forced the liquid into the vagina. So it became an after-sex douche: Women would shake up a bottle, insert it and let the soda fly. Research studies eventually debunked the method.
Animal intestines
As far back as the 1400s, China and Japan were using lamb intestines, sometimes soaked in milk, as primitive condoms that covered just the head of the penis. Maybe it was because the process of sausage-making looked familiar to horny people of the time. But in Japan, some condoms were made of tortoise shell or animal horn, which would likely be significantly less pleasant.
Blacksmith water
Ancient Greeks, always mindful of waste, found a way to reuse the water that blacksmiths used to cool materials. Some thought drinking it would prevent pregnancy. The idea persisted up through World War I, when women volunteered to work in factories for free exposure to lead. Of course, exposure to lead can cause lots of other health problems, so pregnancy was the least of their concerns.
Weasel testicles
This one was straight up for believers in magic, who were common during ye olde Dark Ages. Women in Europe wore amulets fashioned from weasel testicles, or bone taken from the right side of a black cat, to ward off pregnancy.
Flushing
Lots of women throughout history thought the answer to pregnancy was flushing it all away. Native American women tried steaming sperm out using a special kettle; others have tried seawater, vinegar, lemon juice and other acidic liquids. As we all know, spermicide isn’t effective at stopping pregnancy once the seed is already inside the vagina, so steaming it never stood a chance.
Crocodile poop
The ancient Egyptians came up with this method, dating back to 1850 B.C. Women would stick a ball of crocodile dung and honey in themselves, hoping the alkaline qualities would prevent pregnancy. It probably stopped pregnancy, but only because a big ball of reptile droppings is an effective mood killer.
Cotton
This one took some work. As cited in an ancient medical manuscript dating back to 1550 B.C., women were told to grind dates, acacia tree bark and honey together into a paste and apply the mixture to seed wool, which would be inserted vaginally. The acacia in the cotton fermented into lactic acid, which has spermicidal properties, and the wool served as a physical barrier blocking insemination. These proto-diaphragms were buried with women so they wouldn’t get pregnant in the afterlife either.
Pennyroyal
Ancient Greeks and Romans used this plant from the mint genus for many things — flavoring, cooking, and drinking to induce menstruation and abortion. The use of it as a birth-control device appears in 1st-century physician Dioscorides’ volume on herbal medicine. But drinking too much of this tea can be toxic and lead to organ failure. SEE: How to Spot Fake Birth Control Pills
