IMHO, AO is not an appropriate form of birth control and we should not suggest that it is

General
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I don’t want to step on any toes and I try to avoid making proclamations, but every time I read a post in which somebody mentions or suggests or relates a story involving anal sex as a form of birth control, it makes me uncomfortable.

Of course, in many societies anal sex IS a form of birth control and may be the only form of birth control available to some people other than abstinence.

There is a special name for the practitioners of anal sex as birth control. They are called “parents”.

Anal sex is not an effective form of birth control. It is sort of like playing a reverse lottery – most of the time you won’t get a winning ticket or get pregnant, but every now and then you will “win” (or “lose”).

Of course, a woman is tremendously less likely to become pregnant through anal sex compared to vaginal sex, but it can still happen.

In fact, in porn, it is not uncommon for a man to penetrate anally, but then orgasm outside (probably for the benefit of the cameras) and onto the woman’s vaginal area – and then also possibly insert vaginally . Such demonstrations may be training younger men and women (i.e. those with less life experience and less understanding that what they see in porn is not always what it seems to be) that anal sex is a way to not become pregnant.

There have to be lots (probably millions over some period of time, worldwide) of babies conceived as a “side effect” of anal sex. One load of ejaculate contains millions of “swimmers” and it only takes one “swimmer” to get somewhere it was not intended to be. That can happen easily in many ways. For example, after orgasm in the ass, the man could penetrate vaginally – another bad idea without a thorough washing – and carry some sperm deep into the vagina. It only takes ONE!

My point is that responsible AO folks, such as the great people that hang out here, should probably avoid saying anything that could be interpreted (especially by young people who may not be so bright) to suggest that anal sex is an “appropriate” form of birth control. Because it is only an appropriate form of birth control if the couple does not mind getting pregnant.

I fully understand that nobody here is outright suggesting that anal sex should be a form of birth control (even though that is practiced / has been the practice in many times and places). However, I think we should temper what we choose to say, or if the subject does come up, we should qualify what we say to recognize (with the inexperienced reader in mind) that we don’t recommend anal sex as a form of birth control.

I hope I have not stirred up a hornets nest. I avoided commenting on this for a while, but it kept weighing on my mind.

Fortunately, my wife is older (as am I) and thus we don’t have to be concerned about pregnancy. However, I don’t know how I would have handled the situation if many years ago I had been with a woman, of child-bearing age, who liked anal sex… A condom wrecks the anal experience for me, but a great way to have had ED would have been to be worried about getting my partner pregnant.

Speaking of “many years ago”, I just wished that I had understood back then what I understand now about men, women, sex, and relationships. I would have been a much better person for having that knowledge and I would have had a whole lot more sex! If travel back in time is ever invented, that just might be the inventor’s motivation.

Thank you to the creators of this site and the kind folks that populate it. When are going to have our first annual convention?

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Thank you for speaking up on this topic. It’s indeed been overdue.

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I read a case of serious overthinking here.

  1. Cuming over the pussy after anal is mainly for porn. Real anal lovers want to cum in her bowel
  2. Anyone who doesn ‘t understand how a woman can get pregnant, shouldn’t have sex yet.
  3. I am born because my (then 31 year old) parents believed that my mum would not get pregnant when fucking standing up !
  4. Not only muslims, but also christian girls in the south of Italy and soutern states of the USA, use anal sex as birth controll for decades. Mainly to do with preserving vaginal virginity too.

Anal sex is a good and 100% natural birth controll method. Anti conception pills are bad and should be avoided as much as possible. Chemicals have no place in our bodies.

The pill decreases womens libido, it forces menstruation into set timelines. How can that be good for her body ? The pill often causes uneasy female problems that never get talked about. Like inflamed vulva. Blatter inflamation. Some women even feel mental numbness due to the pill.

I’ve done ass to pussy a number of times with my girlfriend after she used a simple douche. Never had any problem.
My ex had problems all the time. She needed to rince her vulva weekly to avoid more problems. She pushed in ointment in her pussy montly, to cure yet another new problem.
My anal only fiancee never has issues. She says before me, thus before being anal only, she too had all kinds of vaginal problems like my ex. She says she feels healtier because of being anal only.

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We don’t need to talk about ejaculating onto the vulva, as, just like @AnalLover pointed out, one sperm cell is enough. Sperm can also, at times, be found in the precum. Anus and vagina are very close together, and with combined lube, vaginal fluids, precum and vigorous movement, it’s easy for fluids to be transferred in a way not intended (and that’s not counting various ways of how sperm might be transferred via touching). One cell is enough. Not one drop. One single cell that makes it into the vagina can lead to pregnancy.

We’re talking statistics here; is it likely you’ll get pregnant from anal sex? You’re less likely than if you have vaginal sex for sure, but it’s still possible. If you don’t want to get pregnant, take the same precautions for anal you would take for vaginal sex. That being said, one’s risk of STI-infection is higher with anal than any other kind of sexual contact, so touting anal sex as safe sex is doubly wrong.

We can talk about the side effects of the pill of course, of which there are plenty. We can talk about how condoms, like any kind of birth control method aren’t 100% effective. However, just like we should have those discussions, we should also talk about the (possible) risks of pregnancy when having anal.

As for @Backdoorlover’s point 1 and 2: What a “real anal lover” does and doesn’t do is no concern of any person’s reproductive system, and not everyone who reads this forum will have sex in the way he does. Those people might also include those who have a less than perfect understanding of how pregnancy occurs; as he rightfully points out in his example number 3, some people can get married and live for three decades without learning about it.
As for 4.: (Back alley) abortions have always been part of human civilization. Just because people think of something as contraceptive does not mean it is as reliable as all the people who used it and will use it need it to be.

As for the “chemicals have no place in our bodies”: That’s a pet peeve of mine. Anything we can touch, eat, drink, swallow is chemical in nature. And even if one wants to draw a distinction between “naturally occurring” and “produced in lab”, the hormones used in birth control can be naturally produced by a woman’s body. So sure, let’s talk about side effects of the pill, but let’s please not give it the meaningless moniker “chemical”, but instead have a real discussion about it.

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Any kind of drug which is made with crude oil as base, is chemical and doesn’t belong in a human body.

If the pill is created using human hormones as a basis, then why the side effects ? Why the loss of libido ? Why even has it an effect on a woman’s mindset ?

This discussion is a bit beside the point for me, because pregnancy is caused by sperm getting in the vagina. That is the only thing people need to understand to prevent it.

Do you realize how many of my generation have kids today because they did things like pulling out before ejaculation. Please :man_facepalming:t2:

Learn the basics.

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You all do realize there are only two 100% guaranteed forms of birth control, right? Abstinence and post-menopause/post-hysterectomy sex. Absolutely everything else carries a risk of pregnancy, even if very slight. As someone who was conceived while parents used “reliable and effective” birth control (and two siblings who were also surprisingly conceived while birth control methods were being used) I’m here to tell you, abstinence is your only 100% worry free, child free form of birth control until the woman is post menopause.

So as far as it goes, AO is probably as decent odds as the next form of birth control. Use responsibly.

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I agree with backdoorlover. Anal sex IS an effective form of contraception. Ok, there’s a tiny risk that a pregnancy will occur, as Firefly pointed out, but come on guys. If a pregnancy occurs, just be loving parents. Sex with 0 risk of conception doesn’t exist. If you don’t want to have kids at all, just don’t have sex. Simple.

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Anal was the main form of birth control my wife and I used for abt 10 years. For us it was extremely effective. But that is purely anecdotal and not proof.
As stated by others there is no 100% effective birth control for equally active, fertile couples. Studies indicate that condoms are 96-98% effective in lab conditions, but effectiveness is more like 80%+ in real world conditions based on lack of experience using and putting them on, putting them on too late in sexual,activity, and other factors.
It is absolutely fair to say that there are many side effects of contraception pills that a person must weigh out in their choice. I’d suggest it’s not productive, or related to anal only discussions to veer into debating whether all chemicals have a place in people’s lives as that’s a slippery slope into ideological beliefs rather than AO.
I think the fairest solution is to say that anal, like most forms of birth control has a risk of pregnancy. The most effective ways if ensuring it is effective is to avoid cum in or on the vulva, alternating between vaginal and anal, ensuring precum does not enter vagina, etc, kind of a best practices area. And that many people may choose it over the potential side effects of other forms of BC, as we did.

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This makes a lot of sense. We have no desire to have a child yet, hence why I always prefer to take the semen in my mouth. That feels fairly safe when it comes to birth control plus it means very little goes to waste

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I reckon being strictly oral would drop the odds of pregnancy to “more likely to be struck by lightening” and your arrangement being about same odds as general pulling out, tbh.

Of course, that’s not accounting for any individual’s fertility. Some people have a terrible time getting pregnant and others seem to if they kiss too long.

At the end of the day, be responsible, know pregnancy is always a risk, and may the odds be ever in your favor.

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I’d say the chance of getting pregnant in an oral only situation are no different from getting pregnant or an STD from sitting on a toilet seat.

Birth control meds were responsible for killing my wife’s libido for decades. We had an active sex life but she only experienced clitoral orgasms. Had she been open to anal at the time, she could have stopped taking the meds and take our chances on a pregnancy. Information on meds and side effects back then was less available and big pharma doesn’t want to disclose the potential loss of libido.

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I never had any vaginal sex, but I’m still using implant. there are still things we often do can result pregnancy in low chance. for example, if my husband cum in my ass when there are only us, he may use fingers to take some out, then rub my clit. or if we are not along, I may sometime receive blowjob from a cumful mouth. they both a risky. having a decent birth control means we don’t need to be careful, and can just do as want.

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I both agree with, and thoroughly disagree with this post.

1- Anal as a method of birth control is only as effective as how it is practiced. If you cum inside your partner’s ass then fuck her pussy, your pregnancy risk is associated with the likelihood of residual sperm on your dick entering her pussy because of vaginal penetration. If you finger her afterwards, you again risk putting sperm in her. If you fuck her pussy and pull out and cum in her ass, you still risk your precum getting her pregnant. Just the fact that you only cum in your partner’s ass does not protect you from pregnancy, and it’s VERY important that people understand that, because you can pretty easily get your partner pregnant even if you “only do anal”.

2- The majority of concerns with pregnancy from anal, such as those I listed above are not risks from anal sex itself. The actual risk from anal penetration is that some leaks out and gets into the woman’s pussy. That is technically a possibility, but statistically, I would wager that specific failure mode is less likely than most other forms of birth control. Barriers can break, hormonal BC can sometimes not work properly, and even some surgical BC isn’t actually 100% (my youngest brother is a testament to vasectomy’s chance of failure). People don’t say that hormonal birth control pills are not an “appropriate” method of birth control because you can miss a day and reduce their effectiveness. Nor do they say condoms aren’t “appropriate” as BC because you can use them incorrectly.

The point I’m making is that I believe anal sex CAN be an effective method of birth control so long as it is used properly, just like all other forms of BC, and even if done “correctly” there is still a chance of failure, also just like any other method of BC. Please note I’m NOT saying more people SHOULD be doing it for BC, that’s a whole other can of worms that I don’t want to open here.

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Yes I’d agree that AO makes pregnancy less likely but it will come down to sordid details. In that sense contraception is another “practice” and there is no doubt they overlap in effect, but I think the purpose of this thread is to make everyone aware that other measures need to be taken for precaution. In particular when handling cum and its leakage.

I think the best practice is to ensure all cum is swallowed. Anal creampies look fantastic but that leaking cum can easily find its way into the pussy unless care is taken. So positions like doggy are a risk, because of gravity, that cum will leak out of the arsehole and run down into the pussy. Even with creampie eating, the woman must remain on her back until it is all consumed.

In the throws of ultimate pleasure can you maintain good discipline?

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There is risk of pregnancy irrespective of the birth control method used. Women get pregnant despite being on birth control meds.

This risk increases with various birth control such as diaphragm, IUD, cycle timing, and withdrawal. I don’t have specific data, but I’d say anal sex is as effective a means of birth control as every other method.

I wish we’d started anal only earlier in our relationship since birth control meds absolutely killed my wife’s libido.

Maybe it’s just me but does a woman who has only anal sex really need to use a birth control method to protect against that one in a million chance of pregnancy? That’s like telling someone they need birth control if they give oral sex or a hand job to their partner because sperm on her hand might come into contact with her vagina when wiping herself.

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Well if she’s masturbating with that hand and wiping it on her clitoris there could be an issue :slight_smile:

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Comparison of Birth Control Methods to Anal Sex

Method: Anal Sex

How it is Used: Anal sex involves inserting the penis into the anus for sexual pleasure. It is a method that can be used to prevent pregnancy by avoiding vaginal intercourse.

Failure Rate (average use): 8% for pregnancy prevention, as sperm may still enter the vagina if ejaculation occurs near the vaginal opening or if semen is transferred from the anus to the vagina.*

Risks & Side Effects:

  • Increased risk of STIs (Sexually Transmitted Infections) including HIV, due to the thinness of the anal lining and potential for small tears. (There is no risk if you and your sexual partner are negative for STIs).

  • Anal discomfort, pain, or bleeding, especially for those who are not accustomed to anal sex.

Advantages:

  • No Hormonal Side Effects: Unlike hormonal birth control methods such as the pill, patch, or injection, anal sex does not involve the use of hormones. This means there are no associated hormonal side effects like mood swings, weight gain, or changes in menstrual cycles.

  • No Medical Intervention Required: Unlike methods such as IUDs or implants, anal sex does not require any medical procedures or devices. This can be advantageous for individuals who prefer to avoid medical interventions or have concerns about insertion or removal procedures.

  • Immediate Reversal: If a couple decides they want to conceive, they can immediately switch to vaginal intercourse without any waiting period, unlike methods that require time to wear off or be removed.

  • No Allergic Reactions: Unlike some barrier methods, such as condoms or diaphragms, anal sex does not carry the risk of allergic reactions to latex or other materials.

  • Cost-Effective: Anal sex is free and does not require the purchase of any products or devices, making it a cost-effective option for birth control.

  • No Prescription Needed: Unlike hormonal contraceptives or IUDs, anal sex does not require a prescription, making it accessible without the need for a doctor’s visit.

  • Enhanced Intimacy: For some couples, anal sex can enhance intimacy and sexual exploration, adding a new dimension to their relationship and sexual experiences.

  • No Impact on Future Fertility: Unlike some surgical sterilization methods, anal sex does not affect future fertility, allowing couples to consider pregnancy in the future without any barriers.

These advantages make anal sex a viable option for couples looking for an effective and accessible form of birth control, provided they are comfortable with the practice and aware of the associated risks.

Comparison Table

Method How it is Used Failure Rate (average use) Risks & Side Effects
Anal Sex Insertion of the penis into the anus for sexual pleasure. 8% Increased risk of STIs, anal discomfort.
Abstinence No sexual intercourse and no type of contact between the male and female sexual organs where bodily fluids could be exchanged. 0% No Side Effects
Cervical Cap A soft rubber barrier that covers the cervix to prevent sperm from entering the uterus. 12% (higher after childbirth) No Side Effects (unless allergic)
Condom – Female A sheath, often made of latex rubber, inserted into the vaginal canal to block the passage of sperm. 21% No Side Effects (unless allergic)
Condom – Male A sheath, often made of latex rubber, covering the erect penis to block the passage of sperm. 18% No Side Effects (unless allergic)
Depo-Provera Injection Injection of Progestin that is given every 3 months to prevent ovulation, changes the cervical mucus to block sperm, and change the lining of the uterus to prevent implantation of a fertilized egg. 6% Irregular, missed, or heavier than normal menstrual cycle, weight gain, breast tenderness, depression, bloating, abdominal pain, headaches, allergic reaction.
Diaphragm A soft rubber dome that covers the cervix to block the passage of sperm. 12% No Side Effects (unless allergic)
Fertility Awareness Using the menstrual cycle and other tools to predict ovulation and abstaining from intercourse during these expected fertile times. 25% No Side Effects
Implant – Hormonal A small, matchstick-sized implant inserted in the upper arm and lasts for 3 years, releasing a hormone supply. Works in a similar way to Depo-Provera. 0.05% No period, spotting, light or heavy and prolonged bleeding; painful menstruation, acne, weight gain, depressed mood; blood clots, movement of the implant, ectopic pregnancy, ovarian cysts.
IUD – Copper A device is inserted into a woman’s uterus (by a doctor) to block sperm and change the uterus lining to prevent implantation of a fertilized egg. 0.8% Ectopic pregnancies increased bleeding during menstrual cycle, severe menstruation cramps, perforation of the uterus, Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID).
IUD – Progestin A device is inserted into a woman’s uterus (by a doctor) to block sperm and change the uterus lining to prevent implantation of a fertilized egg. 0.2% Ectopic pregnancies increased bleeding during menstrual cycle, severe menstruation cramps, perforation of the uterus, Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID).
Nothing/Chance No birth control method. 85% No Side Effects; highest chance of unintended pregnancy.
Oral Contraceptive (estrogen/progestin) Taken daily by women to suppress ovulation, change cervical mucus, and change the lining of the uterus to prevent implantation of a fertilized egg. 9% Nausea, headaches, weight gain, depression, irregular bleeding, acne, blood clots.
Oral Contraceptive (progestin only) Taken daily by women to change the cervical mucus to block sperm and also changes the uterus lining to prevent implantation of a fertilized egg. 9% Breast tenderness, weight gain, menstrual cycle changes.
Ortho-Evra Patch A patch containing synthetic hormones placed on your skin; works the same as oral contraceptives. 9% (greater if over 198 lbs) Similar to oral contraceptives.
Spermicide (only) A jelly, foam, or cream containing chemicals that kill sperm. 28% No Side Effects (unless allergic)
Sponge A soft saucer-shaped polyurethane sponge that blocks the cervix and absorbs semen. 20% (40% after childbirth) No Side Effects (unless allergic)
Sterilization – Female A permanent surgical procedure to prevent pregnancy: the fallopian tube is damaged (cut, tied, burnt) to prevent the passage of eggs and sperm. 0.5% Risk of ectopic pregnancies, potential for pregnancy after 10 years.
Sterilization – Male A permanent surgical procedure to prevent pregnancy: vas deferens tube is damaged (cut, tied, burnt) to prevent the passage of sperm into ejaculate fluid. 0.15% No Side Effects
Vaginal Ring – Hormonal A flexible ring placed inside the vagina near the cervix. Active for 3 weeks. Has actions similar to oral contraceptives. 9% Blood clots, liver or gallbladder problems, TSS, depressed mood, acne, headache, weight gain, nausea/vomiting, movement of the ring.
Withdrawal Withdrawal of the penis before ejaculation. 22% No Side Effects

*In the study that cited an 8% failure rate for anal sex as a method of birth control, they included those who’s ascribed method of birth control was anal sex, then practiced vaginal sex anyway. It also included those who had vaginal sex and finished anally.

Surely, properly practiced as a method of birth control, anal sex is likely to have a much lower failure rate (likely below 1%), making it one of the most effective forms of birth control. Add to that the fact it’s free and has virtually no side effects and it’s a no-brainer: anal sex is the best method of birth control.

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Well said. Thanks for doing the research on birth control effectiveness. My wife wishes she would have substituted anal for oral birth control meds when we were much younger.

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This is interesting stuff. Would you mind sharing the study that cites the 8% failure rate? I’d love to read it!

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This knocks over the whole opinion of the opening post.

We should advertise anal sex as a effective birth controll method.