The Student Room Group

Anyone here using a diaphragm?

Any girls here who uses a diaphragm?

I am considering it as I am seeing someone exclusively now and want an alternative to condoms but don't want to take hormones.

I haven't used it before and understand you need to go to the Doctor first to get the right size estimated. Also I am not from the Uk so the way things go here might be slightly different.

Do they need to order one particularly for me? Does it take long? How much does it cost?
Yes, they come in a range of sizes, but the place you get them from should have most of those or be able to get them quickly. The cost will depend on where you are and whether you need to use a spermicide with it. (If you don't know if you and your partner have a reaction to spermicide, find out now - quite a few people are because the main one was created as an industrial cleaner rather than anything for people's sensitive bits. Just rubbing some on your inner arm should work. If you get a rash, it's not for you.)

How bad would an unplanned pregnancy be for you?

Everyone has their own range of acceptable risks, but personally I would not want to rely on the diaphragm alone or with spermicide (which I am sensitive to). Have you considered the IUD, or things like monitoring your fertility?
(edited 9 years ago)
Oh, I have had a partner who used one, in combination with condoms, and one of the reasons we stopped was that it was possible to feel it in a distracting way, even when the nurse confirmed it was being fitted properly. Your experience may differ.
If you don't want hormones I would suggest a copper coil over a diaphragm. You have to use spermicide with a diaphragm which can cause some people problems with sensitivity and its still not the most reliable forms of contraception. The copper coil on the other hand is one of the most reliable forms of contraception available, they last for 5 or 10 years and you don't have to think about it. They can make your periods longer, heavier or more painful so if you're prone to bad periods they're not the best option, and the fitting is quite uncomfortable (but worth it for 5-10 years of reliable contraception.

My advice to you would be to find and go to a walk in sexual health clinic near you and talk through your options with one of the nurses there. Its their job and they do this every day so they will be able to advise you and if you do choose the diaphragm, they will be able to sort it for you.

Edit, I've seen you're not from the UK so I don't know what sexual health services are like where you live. Best thing to do would be to do some research online about whats available the costs and how to get what you need as most people here are in the UK and you haven't said where you're based so we can't really advise you on where/how to get anything.
(edited 9 years ago)
Reply 4
I will look into it.

Do they sell "the sponge" in the UK? From what I've heard, it's sold over the counter in the US.
Reply 5
Original post by Poiuytre
I will look into it.

Do they sell "the sponge" in the UK? From what I've heard, it's sold over the counter in the US.


No they don't sell the sponge over here anymore, although you might be able to order it online. Are you from another country and living in the UK currently or living in your country?

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Reply 6
Original post by gemmam
No they don't sell the sponge over here anymore, although you might be able to order it online. Are you from another country and living in the UK currently or living in your country?

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I'm from another country living in London.

Are you sure it is gone still? Because I googled and it says that it disappeared years ago and then came back.
Reply 7
Original post by Poiuytre
I'm from another country living in London.

Are you sure it is gone still? Because I googled and it says that it disappeared years ago and then came back.


I've never seen it in any shops and it isn't on the NHS list of contraception, although it was when I had sex education in school back in the early 2000s. You can still get diaphragms here but not many places offer them, asked about one myself before.

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Personally, I wouldn't want to rely on the diaphragm or sponge as my sole form if contraception. Their effectiveness is far lower than condoms, hormonal contraceptives and coils (used properly of course) the difference is 80-95% for sponges and diaphragms compared to 98-99.8% for other methods. You might as well use the natural family planning method as the effectiveness is about the same as the diaphragm and sponge. the sponge, like tampons also carries a small risk if TSS as it is absorbant.

My advice to you is to do plenty of research about all your options, go to a sexual health clinic and talk to a contraception nurse about your options and what might be best for you to help you decide. The beat option in my opinion for effectiveness without hormones is the copper coil, but it depends on you and your body and also the reasons you don't want hormones.
I'd be a bit surprised if anywhere recommended the sponge. I've never used it, but that's because it was quite expensive and spermicidal from memory. Anything spermicide is going to affect your taste, and not in a good way.

If money is no object, and you are ok with less than IUD reliability, you could consider Persona - it tracks your fertility by a combination of testing your pee several times a month (this uses special sticks, hence the costs are ongoing) and the experience of previous cycles. As cycles can change, it's not as reliable as some people want, but...
Reply 10
We considered the diaphram but it seems pretty unpopular. Main issues seem to be difficult to insert and lower reliability. It seems that on average it has little to offer, if anything, over a condom. It's a shame. Might be worth taking some advice from FP clinic though.
Reply 11
Pity so many non-hormonal contraceptives are unavailable or unpopular. I understand that they are not as secure as hormonal ones, but it should be an option as it can be combined with other things if people want extra safety. From what I've read, a lot of the unplanned pregnancies happening with the diaphragm is often because it is not used correctly, more so than the diaphragm itself being unreliable.

I am not intolerant towards hormones or anything, I just don't want to fill my body with them unless I have absolutely have to. Also my boyfriend doesn't live where I live and is here once in a while - which means I would be on hormones full time for those short periods of time he's here.
We're both tested for all STDs (am vaccinated against HPV as well) so that's not an issue.
Not being used correctly is the usually the reason for failure with most methods.

How often is "once in a while", and how much can the pair of you arrange when those times are?

You could keep track of your fertility (for example by a combination of taking your temperature every morning, monitoring your cervical mucus, and awareness of your cycle) and only schedule times when you know it is highly unlikely that you could become pregnant.

For times when you are fertile and together, the cap is easier to fit and less obtrusive than the diaphragm, but depending on your attitude to risking pregnancy, you may want to use condoms as well or go for alternatives to 'penis in vagina' sex then.
Original post by Poiuytre
Pity so many non-hormonal contraceptives are unavailable or unpopular. I understand that they are not as secure as hormonal ones, but it should be an option as it can be combined with other things if people want extra safety. From what I've read, a lot of the unplanned pregnancies happening with the diaphragm is often because it is not used correctly, more so than the diaphragm itself being unreliable.

I am not intolerant towards hormones or anything, I just don't want to fill my body with them unless I have absolutely have to. Also my boyfriend doesn't live where I live and is here once in a while - which means I would be on hormones full time for those short periods of time he's here.
We're both tested for all STDs (am vaccinated against HPV as well) so that's not an issue.


This is exactly why I went for a copper coil. I didn't like the idea of putting artificial hormones in my body unneccesarily. The coil is as reliable as hormonal contraceptives (more so than some) and once its there you don't have to think about it.If your period are bad then it might not be the best thing to go for, and I understand that some might feel squeamish about the fitting, but for hormone free, long term reliable contraception, it really is the best option. It has had a bad reputation for the models in the past weren't great, but these days, the fitting and the devices are much safer. The coil is actualy the most popular form of contraception in China. I've had a good experience and no bad side effects, my period are just a bit longer. Once its there, you don't really have to think about it.

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