Brought to you by ellaOne.
Have you ever jumped out of a plane?
How about gone bungie jumping? Swam with sharks? Eaten raw chicken?.
The risk of dying if you swim in shark-infested waters is one in every 8 million, but would you do it? How about skydiving? The chances of dying in a skydiving accident are a bit higher at 21 in every 3 million jumps. Or have you ever eaten raw chicken? In Ireland, one in every 10,000 people get salmonella each year.
Now, in a study conducted by ellaOne, the majority of 18 to 24-year-olds think that having unprotected sex and not taking the morning after pill is riskier than all of those. And they’d be right.
The chances of getting pregnant after unprotected sex is over one in 20 (5.5 percent). And yet six in ten of 18 to 24-year-olds have had unprotected sex.
We were curious as to what risks people would be willing to take so we popped over to Galway city to see what you guys had to say.
Everyone seemed quite on board with the whole skydiving idea. Even one guy who was afraid of heights still said he’d take the risk. For swimming with sharks, people weren’t quite as enthusiastic, but the majority still claimed they’d give it a go.
When it came to eating gone-off chicken, there was a change of tone. The majority of you wouldn’t go near a chicken once that sell-by date has ticked by.
“Not a hope,” one person said.
However, when asked if they would risk having unprotected sex and then NOT taking the morning after pill, a lot of you were willing to take the chance.
One young woman said;
“It’s kind of an in-the-moment thing, isn’t it?”
With the risks as high as they are, why is anyone taking the chance? And that’s not even factoring in the risk of STIs. It’s time to stop taking chances with our sexual health. If we are old enough to do the deed then we are old enough to look after ourselves properly. If you wouldn’t risk swimming with sharks or risk eating gone-off chicken, why would you risk an unplanned pregnancy?
Sex shouldn’t be viewed as something wrong or shameful and, equally, contraception and emergency contraception shouldn’t be treated flippantly.. It’s only when we start talking about the deed that we can start talking about the risks that come with it… including the risks.
To hear more discussion on the above and to hear more insights into the sex lives of young Irish people, tune into Girls with Goals, with host Niamh Maher. She’ll be joined by blogger Louise Cooney and actress Toni O’Rourke. You can listen to the full episode here.
Brought to you by ellaOne.
ellaOne is an emergency contraceptive pill that’s available from pharmacies without a prescription. No other morning after pill is more effective at preventing pregnancy after unprotected sex. ellaOne consists of one tablet which should be taken as soon as possible, but no later than five days (120 hours) after unprotected sex or contraceptive failure. Each tablet of ellaOne contains 30mg ulipristal acetate. Always read the label.
