Contraceptives and Common Sense: Conventional Methods Reconsidered, The Population Council, Judith Bruce and S. Bruce Schearer, 125 pp., 1979, A public issues paper from: The Population Council One Dag Hammarskjold Plaza New York, NY 10017 212/644-1300 Barrier methods of contraception can be dated back as far as half a million years with the usage of animal, vegetable and mineral products. Until the 1960s the more "advanced" barrier methods-condoms, diaphragms, cervical caps, and spermicidal creams and jellies-were considered to be the most reliable and therefore the most widely used means of birth control in the modern world. However, with the advent of oral contraceptives in the 1950s and intrauterine devices in the 1960s, female contraceptives became captives of the overwhelming 20th century bias towards complexity and "high technology." "In 1977, while public agencies spent more than $18 million to develop new hormonal, surgical and immunological contraceptives, they spent only $143,000 on testing and improving conventional contraceptives." Already existing "research on the condom, diaphragm and vaginal spermicides shows that all of these methods are technologically capable of providing very high effectiveness, equivalent to that provided by IUDs." Contraceptives and Common Sense: Conventional Methods Reconsidered is a scientific and factual document advocating the use of barrier methods in order to enhance the health and safety of women in all societies and within every socioeconomic class. This publication also emphasizes the self-reliant nature of conventional contraceptives, for "over time, users of these methods are less physician-dependent than those selecting the IUD or oral contraceptives." Instead, "Nurse/midwives or other trained paraprofessionals can be utilized more so." Because of the safe, voluntary and self-administered nature of barrier contraceptives, women's health collectives have been advocating them. This publication provides an enlightening and refreshing approach to a serious, yet solvable problem. There are many carcinogens existing within our present environment that are beyond a woman's immediate control. Utilization of a barrier method enables a woman to eliminate the threat of a Page 12 RAIN November 1979 chemically self-induced cancer stimulated through the usage of high technology birth control devices. -DW Cervical Caps Although widely used in England, an up and coming (so to speak) American alternative to the diaphragm is the cervical cap. The "cap," unlike the diaphragm which is predominantly dependent upon chemical spermicide for full effectiveness, works primarily as a suction cup. With just a small amount of spermicide and the suction which the cap provides, effectiveness is identical to the diaphragm (around 95-98 percent effective when also using the Billings mucous method or a basal temperature chart which allows the woman to know approximately when she is ovulating and therefore most fertile). The caps are presently difficult to obtain in the U.S. Perhaps this is because they do hold a smaller amount of jelly/creammuch to the dismay of the spermicidal corporations. Ah! Politics everywhere. Cervical caps can be obtained at: (and for more information) • Portland Naturopathic Clinic National College of Naturopathic Medicine 530 S.W. 3rd Ave. Portland, OR 97204 503/226-3717 • Women's Community Health Center 639 Massachusetts Ave., No. 210 Cambridge, MA 02139 617 /54 7-2302 Cervical caps are distributed by: • Lamperts (Dalston) Ltd. 200 & 202 Queensbridge Rd. Dalston, London E8 31 Z 01-254-0342 Traitor Tampons What will happen to women next? Now our old friend "the tampon" is being questioned as to whether it is a tricky, treacherous traitor. Woman Health International is now carrying on a volunteer Researcher Tasks Tampon Investigation. This study is searching to find the actual fibrous and chemical makeup of the tampon. Up to this point, tampon manufacturers have refused to submit this "trade secret" to the public. This mysterious "trade secret" is believed to be a contributor towards female-related diseases. Presently there are approximately 40 research volunteers in Washington, DC, who have had contact with the Federal Drug Administration and who claim that they are powerless to coerce the tampon manufacturers to reveal the contents of their product. All who are interested in aiding this investigation and contributing to the good health of many women, please contact : • Peat O'Neil Woman Health International 410-1086 Post St. San Francisco, CA 94109 • Santa Cruz Women's Health Center 250 Locust St. Santa Cruz, CA 95060 408/427-3500 • Berkeley Women's Health Collective 2908 Ellsworth St. Berkeley, CA 94705 405/843-6194 A Friend from the Sea An alternative to the tampon is the sea sponge, which is safe, sanitary, ecological and economical. The Luna-Sponge comes from the Mediterranean Sea, bearing no chemicals or artificial ingredients, in a convenient cloth sack for clean storage. This woman-run, California based company has no trade secrets and presents all the necessary and interesting facts about sponges in a delightful and informative booklet. And the profits from the Luna Sponge Company go to pay the workers and to woman's health related causes. Once a woman has been enlightened as to the advantages of the sea sponge, going back to the tampon seems absurd. The sponge gives a woman the opportunity to get to know her own body and to feel more comfortable and acquainted with her individual menstrual cycle. Imagine, after years of being taught that female menstruation is shameful and dirty,
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