Would you use bread as a contraceptive?

We may be living in the 21st century but health experts are warning that old wives tales and myths about modern contraception are alive and kicking.

An online survey of 1,000 women aged 18 to 50 carried out by pollster Opinion Health revealed that women in the UK believed that store cupboard staples such as Coca-Cola, crisp packets and chewing gum could be used as contraceptives.

In addition, one in five of women questioned mentioned eating garlic or using bread, cling film or even chicken skin as barrier contraceptive methods (They don't work!).

The survey also found that myths and misinformation about modern contraception among women were rife.

More than half ( 53%) of the women surveyed wrongly believed that using oral contraceptives for an extended period of time could lead to infertility. And almost 10% thought it would take years to regain your fertility when you stop using the Pill, when in fact you can fall pregnant straight away.

One in six (increasing to one in three in the 18-20 age group) believed that the contraceptive pill starts being effective as soon as you take it. While closer to the truth than some of the other misconceptions, the first pill must be taken on day one of the menstrual cycle to be effective.

Perhaps most worrying of all, some women thought that using the contraceptive pill could protect them against infection with HIV (using condoms is the only way to protect yourself).

Dr. Annie Evans, Women's Health Specialist at the Bristol Sexual Health Centre said: "It is not surprising that this survey has uncovered how widespread contraceptive myths still are in this country, given that Britain continues to have the highest unintended pregnancy rate in Europe with as many as 50% of births being unintended. It is vital that women are made aware of the facts, using credible sources of information available to them."

The survey was conducted online among a representative sample of 1,000 women aged 18 to 50 in the UK. It was carried out by Opinion Health, an independent market research company and sponsored by Bayer Schering Pharma.

This article was published on Sun 6 September 2009