Condoms and withdrawal

[az]

Hello!
My boyfriend and I are very cautious about having safe sex and preventing a possible pregnancy. We use condoms and he always pulls out before he cums. Is this a good way to make condom use even safer? We also check them with water after if there are any rips.

[Sam W]

Hi az,

Combining condom use with another method is a good way to increase your protection. You can read about the effectiveness of combining different methods in this article: The Buddy System: Effectiveness Rates for Backing Up Your Birth Control With a Second Method . Are you comfortable with the two methods you're using? Or would you be interested in adding in a method that's more effective than withdrawal?

So you know, there's no need to check the condoms with water afterwards. When condoms rip, they rip in a way that is going to be very noticeable. Too, filling them with water after sex can actually cause tears to appear, which can lead to unnecessary stress for you and your partner.