Scarleteen

Hi! I've been reading your blog posts for ages and love what you're doing! Most of my sex ed knowledge comes from reading you guys and for that I'm so thankful
I was wondering: currently I'm only using condoms as birth control, because I am scared of using hormone pills bc I have a few issues with my breasts (benign tumors that are potentially susceptible to hormones. I really don't want to trigger something there and I've been told hormonal pills can do that).

So my question is on correct condom usage. My boyfriend and I always follow the instructions given here: we use it from start to finish, roll it all the way down, check the expiration date, leave room at the tip, and he even withdraws before ejaculating as an extra precaution, so he always ejaculates outside, condom still on.
However, I noticed that even if the condom fits him perfectly when we put it on, it tends to slightly roll away from the base of the shaft during intercourse. It does NOT ever slip off, but it moves a little bit away from the base (like 1/2 inches). Nothing seems to "escape" the condom because of that, and the semen seems to stay on the reservoir tip (sometimes there's liquid at the base of his shaft, but we think it's me+the lubricant, because as I already mentioned he always ejaculates outside). The condoms always look like they fit fine, so we just adjust them when we switch positions, but this happens almost all the time and I can't understand if it's normal or if it constitutes a user error that makes the condoms not effective
If this is wrong, what could it be? Did we get the wrong size or applied it in the wrong way?
Thank you so so much in advance for your reply!

Hey there, happy to help. I'm so glad you've found so much you needed here. Hooray!

Just FYI, hormonal methods aren't your only options in the event you'd really rather not only use condoms. If you want to check out what other options you've got, here's a place to start for options that do not involve hormonal methods: http://www.scarleteen.com/birth_control ... hod_for_me

But either way, let's take care of your condom use question!

It's pretty common for the base of the condom to love around some like you're describing. That's not something that changes the effectiveness of condoms or makes them more likely to slip off or break. If they're not sliding up any more than that, and they feel to your partner like a good fit, then you're probably all good.

In the event that still makes you nervous, though, you might want to check out inside (or "female") condoms, where that isn't a thing at all, because the condom is tethered to your body, not your partner's.

Amazing! Thank you so so much!