Birth Control Barrier Methods (cont.)
IN THIS ARTICLE
The cervical cap is a soft cup-shaped latex device that fits over a womans cervix. It is smaller than a diaphragm and may be harder to insert. It too must be fitted by your doctor because it comes in different sizes. Its use is derived from the eighteenth- to twentieth-century European practice of placing the rind of a lemon or small orange against the cervix prior to intercourse. A groove along the inner circumference of the rim improves the seal between the inner rim of the cap and the base of the cervix. Spermicide is needed to fill the cap one third full prior to its insertion. It is inserted as long as 8 hours before sexual activity and can be left in place for as long as 48 hours. A cervical cap acts as both a mechanical barrier to sperm migration into the cervical canal and as a chemical agent with the use of spermicide.
Medically Reviewed by a Doctor on 8/28/2014
Omnia M Samra, MD
Bryan D Cowan, MD
Francisco Talavera, PharmD, PhD
Lee P Shulman, MD
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