What is Birth control?
[[File:SangerOnCourtSteps2.jpg|thumb|right|250px|[[Margaret Sanger]] and her sister [[Ethel Byrne]] on the courthouse steps in [[Brooklyn]], [[New York City]], January 8, 1917, during their trial for opening a birth control clinic. Both were found guilty]] [[File:Geburtenkontrollkette.jpg|thumb|[[CycleBeads]], a colour-code system for signalling [[fertility]] based on days since last [[menstruation]]|alt=a birth control chain calendar necklace]] '''Birth control''', also known as '''contraception''' or '''family planning''', is a way for a man and woman to have [[sexual intercourse]] without the woman getting [[pregnancy|pregnant]]. Some contraceptives, such as [[condom]]s, also protect a person from [[sexually transmitted disease]]s (STDs). When people use contraception to prevent STDs and pregnancy, it may be called ''safe sex''. Birth control is also sometimes called ''family planning''. It means people can have babies or not as they wish. That way, babies and families do not happen by [[accident]]. == The need for birth control == Birth control lets a man and woman have [[sexual intercourse]] but makes pregnancy less likely. During intercourse, a man places his penis in a woman's [[vagina]] and moves it in and out while the woman moves her hips. The vagina is warm and soft, and it places pressure on the man's penis. These sensations, combined with the in-and-out movements, stimulate the penis, which causes the man to have an [[orgasm]]. During orgasm, the man's penis spasms and experiences a series of rhythmic contractions during which he [[ejaculation|ejaculates]] (releases [[semen]] into the vagina). The semen can make the woman [[pregnancy|pregnant]]. Because intercourse is usually very enjoyable, men and women often want to have intercourse a lot more often than they want to have a baby. Birth control lets them have intercourse while greatly reducing the chances of the woman getting pregnant. People may use birth control for several reasons. Perhaps a man and woman wish to have only a few children