#contraceptives market share

[tbrcresearchreport]

The Business Research Company offers contraceptives market research report 2023 with industry size, share, segments and market growth

[honestsycrets]

mío | baby-fever!miguel o'hara x wifey!reader

❛ pairing | miguel o'hara x wifey!reader, starved prequel

❛ type | oneshot, explicit

❛ summary | after watching mayday, miguel develops a bad case of baby fever, longing for a family of his own.

❛ tags | explicit, miguel has baby fever, babysitting, talk of family planning and contraception, f!reader, breeding, pregnancy kink, much fluff, some angst, starved!reader, miguel being frustrated and cute, clean that kitchen, one stereotype of latina women, Spanish is not translated, best friend!peter, self edited.

❛ request fulfilled | could you possibly write an imagine in which Miguel and his wife take care of mayday? + multiple requests for more starved reader/miguel.

❛ sy's notes | written to fulfill some requests. i do have another daddy miguel blurb to fulfill, but my future works should be nice and angsty.

Peter has it out for him.

It’s the only logical reason why he’d do this shit to him.

Miguel stood in his dark room in a pair of scratchy jeans, dragging a belt loop to loop when he heard the door to his room draw open. A resonant schwap, schwap, schwap.

“Mi reina?” Miguel cocked his eyebrow up, extending his claws.

“¿Sí?” you called back from the bathroom, the distant scent of his favorite perfume wafting into the air. Miguel threw a look to the bathroom, reaching for the bedroom door. It burst open before he could open it. 

“Hi, Miguel! Where’s your wife?”

Peter dragged his feet into the room, whirling around with a sloppily put-together backpack that leaked diapers onto the floor. An exasperated breath left his lips, dripping in the way he looked at Peter.

Unfortunately, his little wife liked Peter a bit too much for his taste.

“I should have known.” Miguel ran his hand through his hair, strands of mocha brown flyaways wisping along his tawny forehead. “Why are you here?”

His normally disheveled appearance was a little more disheveled. It wasn’t his appearance that bothered him but how it reached his eyes. Shocked, confused, tired. Peter pat his deltoid, awkward laughter choking in his throat. It bubbled on the edge of an overwhelmed sob.

“Well, you see, your wife said she’d watch Mayday because I have a date, and I haven’t had a date in a really, really long time. Like, a really long time—”

“Is Peter here?”

His head snapped to your bathroom where you came out, threading a golden hoop earring. You probably already knew the fight that was heading your way-- but for your part, you couldn’t be bothered to care any less.

“Got it, you need this date.” Miguel cut Peter off, standing behind you with his massive arms crossed. “¿Por qué no me dijiste?”

“¡Mi nena! Muévete Miguel,” you giggled, shoving your way past Miguel to Peter’s child carrier, sneaking your hands underneath her little armpits and whirling her around. She cackled, a glittering warmth to her mischievous eyes. You came to a stop, settling Mayday against your chest, nuzzling your foreheads together in some secret pact that the two of you shared.

Oh no, no, no, no. Not this. It hits him at once.

The sight of his wife— beautiful and cuddly with a very young baby in her arms. The only sight more beautiful was at the altar on his wedding day, your shy smile behind a sheer veil. It had been a long time, too long, since he had someone to call him father. He can still picture her glimmering eyes, the way she looked at him in nothing short of admiration, looking past the things that he’d done to see him and only him. Glimpsing at Mayday, remembering Gabriella’s soft, small face, it took him a moment to snap free. 

He's so fucked.

“You would have said no, amado mío.” 

You’re a natural at this, scooting by both men to set Mayday on the bed. Your tiny fingers spiraled out from her belly to change her diaper. Peter jittered uncomfortably, looking as though he wanted to jump in himself. You cleaned her, replacing the dirty diaper with a clean one. “We’re going to a market with Tío Miguel--” 

“Don’t bring me into this.”

“Are you sure it's okay? I’ll be back at five, it's just a few hours, really--” 

“¡Vete! A ratty house robe and a dirty spider suit aren’t sexy. Look at mi Miggy,” now you’re just buttering him up. He shifts his weight from one leg to the other, inspecting the ground. “Wear something nice.” 

They’re sexy to her, he might have murmured. Not on a date, you bopped him. Mayday’s bright eyes tracked the space between you and Peter before you broke away to wash your hands. Peter’s clammy hands cupped Mayday’s sweet face, littering at least a dozen sickly daddy kisses over her tiny face. But Miguel what if--

“Adiós, Peter!” You returned to force Peter out of your room. Miguel peered at Mayday whose head snapped to the side, cheek against her fiery hair as the door clicked shut. He braced himself for the shrill that would inevitably come with her realization that her daddy was gone. She whined, grabbing her toes and tipping nearly off the side of the bed. Miguel begrudgingly hovered at her feet, blocking her from rolling off the bed. He could do this, he told himself, he could resist those giant baby eyes staring up at him.

He didn't need a baby, he didn't.

He blames Peter for having such a good baby.

She doesn’t ask for much other than requiring chest-to-chest contact with Miguel. It’s not that he doesn’t want to hold her, he finds himself aggravated by how much he likes to be around her. In a market full of things to look at food trinkets such as necklaces, body scrubs, and empanadas, it’s all her. Miguel props her up with an arm just under her bum, her tiny finger peeking curiously into his fangs. He snapped his teeth playfully at her, a nip, nip, nip, missing playfully every time. It rips ping a toothy grin across her face. 

“No biting Miguelito,” you called out, sliding your fingers in a teasing ring around his muscled back to chest. You leaned up on your tippy toes, placing a small little kiss on his lips. You ran off to go get her a pineapple whip after her tiny fist yanked your hair over and over again. You relented, staring at what she was cooing at. Sweets-- obviously, sweets. All the little ones loved sweets. 

“She likes it.” 

“Ya sé,” you said, “But we don’t need anyone noticing you’ve grown fangs.” 

“Tch,” he clicks his teeth in protest. She does too, throwing you a mean look for interrupting her fun. You plucked up a bit of the whip on your spoon, cutting through her displeasure through the power of sugar. 

"There's a lot of people here, Miggy, let's go to the park." You point toward the park, pointing away from the mounds of fresh produce and locally sourced goods toward a healthy patch of green grass. Miguel is glad-- he’s sick of being stared at for his huge frame. Despite the ring on his finger, people still seem to try their luck. He couldn't be more disinterested.

You lay a picnic blanket as Miguel holds Mayday's treat. Mayday sprawls across his chest, trying to take just one more bite-- then another-- Miguel looks down, chin level, eyebrow raised. She offers a bit on her tiny index finger to Miguel. A peace offering. “She’s not going to wait.” 

“Give her to me.” You kicked off your sandals on the edge of the blanket, dropping your things on another corner. You pluck Mayday from Miguel’s arms and set her down on the blanket in a way that is too easy. As though you wouldn’t have much of a learning curve in becoming a mother. No, no— you never mentioned anything about kids. Did you even want kids? He couldn't bring his heart to ask, to hope again.

“I didn’t know you were so experienced with kids.” 

“Mami had six,” you noted, plopping down with the whip by Mayday’s side. She sat with a small slant, reaching out toward the sweet treat again with those chunky, adorable hands. You brought her into your lap, at last relenting. “When you’re the oldest, you have to learn a little something to help out. Can you imagine-- being pregnant six times? Ay no.”

“How many times do you want to be pregnant?” he blurts out. Usually timed and precise, the question causes him to pinch his brow as he sits beside you. “Si quieres,” 

Your other hand comes on top of his and shifts it away from his face. 

“As many as will make you happy.” 

Shock. He chews on that response, his eyes glued to Mayday lapping at the last spoon of sweets you are willing to give her. She falls into a fit of complaints, a conniving look at the sweets, just as you lift her onto your shoulder.

"I never thought about it."

"No more, your papa won't forgive me if I bring you home all sugared up," you tsked your tongue at her. You patted along her back in small, tight circles until her angry huffs faded away. He reaches for the baby bag, slipping free a soft yellow blanket with white spiders strewn across the front. Miguel slides the blanket on top of Mayday’s small body, her groggy eyes sliding closed.

The more he watches you with Mayday, holding her so close, swaying as you held her, the deeper this ache burrowed in his chest. You would look beautiful all swollen with his child. Never mind Mayday or Peter, he can nearly see it, feel it under his fingers, the feeling of your taut belly under his skin, or the kick of tiny feet against his palm.

“We’ll see, Miggy.” 

We’ll see-- the answer seems too noncommittal, too distant to be a satisfactory answer. With Mayday sound asleep, you settle her between your plush thighs. She expelled bursts of energy that milked her energy dry.

A little old woman passed by, her cane pierced soft grass as she moved closer with a bag of tomatoes and green beans. Her face, aged by time, pulls into a wide smile. He doesn't like her smile.

“You two are doing a great job. How old is she?” 

You blink, looking up into the woman’s cool blue eyes, her dark hair peppered with thick grey and white strands. You tuck Mayday in her soft blanket, sparing the woman a kind smile that Miguel doesn’t quite have the patience for. 

“Oh, oh. Thank you-- um, a couple of months,” you recount, perhaps thinking of Peter’s anxious pacing or his delighted shouts about becoming a father. 

“Adopting is a great option. Back in the day, my husband was a bodybuilder too. Had a low sperm count don’t you know. Steroids shrink things. Oh, but these days you can do all sorts of things like IV--”

A what-- Miguel’s eyes nearly popped out of his skull at the suggestion. Was this old bitch’s suggestion that he couldn’t do it-- couldn’t get you pregnant? He could easily do that. If he wanted you pregnant, you would be shocking pregnant. He’d be damned if some old woman put it in your mind that he couldn’t.

“We’re babysitting for a friend,” he blurts out. “I have--” had, “a daughter.” 

“Oh, do you? I’m sorry. I thought-- well, it doesn’t matter what I thought, have a good day."  

She’s saying that, but it comes out slanted. You don’t bother correcting Miguel, not on this. Rather, your hand inched toward his, picking up on the energy that was pluming from his body in waves. Irritation-- annoyance-- the little old lady hobbles off. You’re in your mind well enough to bid her goodbye. But you know better than to say anything more, slumping your cheek on Miguel’s firm chest. It makes the ache of Gabriella's memory a little more bearable. 

 Low sperm count his ass. 

It bothers him long after Mayday is gone. Peter, for his part, looks refreshed. He supposes that’s what happens with a full day of opportunity to empty your balls after weeks of no relief. It bothers him long after you come back from the kitchen, his favorite dark red slip plastered to your perfect body. It would look beautiful, full of his children— he just knows it. 

“I may have hijacked the kitchen a little bit,” you teased, the waft of warm chicken and brewed spices filled his nose. He had no appetite. “But I made you some pollo guisado.” 

“Hm,” he grunts into a pillow. “Later.”

Beside the bed, he has a bowl of brightly colored condoms. With your sensitivity to birth control, it is the best option available. It wasn’t, however, something he was ever happy about. He should be able to feel your body. Not once had he felt your body pure and unadulterated, warm and perfect for him. He was your husband. He wanted that moment— to fill you up just once, watch his cum dribble out of your cunt. It would be perfect. You set the food away, bowl and spoon clinking together.

“Miguel.” 

Forget your warm body. This room is too quiet. It is almost stifling in its silence. Mayday’s sweet huffs, the memory of Gabriella’s laughter. A proper home full of a child's giggles. He’s going crazy-- he has to be-- this isn’t normal. This isn’t Miguel. 

“Mi vida, don’t pout,” you reach out, rolling your fingers through his long brown hair. Your fingers tease along his scalp, turning around his ear. Your fingers tickle his lobe, your voice cemented in a concern that he wanted nothing more but to fix if it were anything other than this. “Miggy. Miggy, what is wrong? You look sad.”

“I’m not sad,” he says with a whine on his pillow. How silly he must look with his broad arms wound around the body pillow, squeezing its fluff for life. If he said the words well enough, you might believe them. 

“I know you are,” you nudge the pillow loose. He takes you instead, the air thickening with the closeness. You fed off the tension, sliding your leg over the sheet that covers his naked hip. “Tell me why.” 

He turns his hands over your thighs, traveling past your hips to ghost along your belly. 

“Sí, Miggy?” 

“I need…” he trailed off, finding the words nearly impossible to admit. They grow into a ball and cement in his throat, present but stubborn. Rather than break the words free, he swallows a bolus of desire and frustration. “It’s nothing. Let it go.”

The issue was— you loved him enough to let it do so. 

Miguel doesn’t want to press the issue. He knows you. All you want is Miguel’s happiness. Sometimes, he worries it is at the price of your own. The distance he places between you and him is intolerable. It bothers him every time he finds you babysitting Mayday.

Today, while Peter goes on a small date, you and Mayday make his favorite empanadas. She’s covered in a dusting of flour from head to toe. Peter would have fun with that. 

“Miggy you’re back?” you called as Mayday’s chubby hands shot out, nearly plopping off the counter if not for Miguel’s quick reflexes, setting her back in place. 

“Empanadas?” he settles the words in a small kiss to your lips. You glance at him over your shoulder. 

“It's... it's Gabi's birthday, isn't it?"

You’re too good for him. Despite the day coming and going, no one else notices his grief today. Not even Peter who came in alongside him, reading the room, and snatching up Mayday off the countertop. He’s babbling something, a thank you, see you later— you kiss Mayday with only the sweetness a mother could know.  

“Peter! Mayday made these for you,” you reach out to a box of uncooked empanadas. “Take them home!”

Her first empanadas— the delight is palpable. Peter may have snapped a photo, or ten, of his little flour girl on the way out, empanadas in hand. Then there’s silence. Miguel returns the nearly forgotten bundle of empanada dough and filling to the fridge in the space of unspoken tension. Miguel dips down to your neck, caramelized perfume warm on your neck. His lips trace the warm pulse of your neck. 

“Mami,” his voice mesmeric, warm like the filling you used to make him happy when no one else could. Your doting attention, even in the face of real issues like work and babies, was always on him.

"Sí, mi vida?"

His hands coast around your waist, using his strength to gently turn you around. It isn’t important right now. What is important is how he lifts you up onto the floury surface, purring his need into your slight ear. “I want a baby.”

“¿Qué?”

“Una niña,” Miguel leans his fingers along your collarbone. 

“Oh, Miggy.” You puff the words. They come out almost wounded. You know him so well, the vulnerability of the words causing him to look down. Your warm palms cradle his cheeks, forcing him to look into your eyes. “You miss being a father, don't you?”

You’re not stupid. Neither is he. He thought he could wait— watch Mayday grow up and not feel this sundering longing. As though he could stomach never feeling a child in his arms again. The ghosts of the past that came with Mayday’s longing haunt him day by day. 

You devour his insecurity, winding your legs around his waist and forcing him forward. He stumbles into your embrace, as though he were not a man who could decimate villains and spiders alike. When he was here, in your arms, he barely felt like the weapon of a man that he is. 

“Miguel. Speak to me.”

“You’re right,” he can’t lie— can’t hide the longing that comes with the thought of his own child on his chest. Not Mayday, no matter how many times she cuddled up to his chest. At the end of the day, she would never be his. You drew your lip into your mouth, nipping it fat and red, a bob in your head. His heart beats faster, strumming as though it would break free from his chest. Whatever it is you’re thinking he’s not sure. Only that it’s been so long.

“I just want to make you happy, will this make you happy?” you nearly whisper, knowing that there’s no one but him to hear the words. It’s what he wants for you, too. As he stands there, coursing his fingers along your thighs and hiking your dress up your hips, he can’t help but feel the foggy discomfort of forcing you into parenthood before you were ready. 

“It will.”

As well as it could. It would never erase Gabriella-- and, in the vulnerability of begging his wife for another child, came the guilt. Not only the guilt of failing to be a proper father or to protect her but moving on without her in his life to a beautiful family she would have loved. The feelings surge in his chest, a well of uncomfortable emotions in his eyes, threatening to fall. 

“Miguel,” you’re whispering, your fingers cutting across his sharp cheekbones. You cup his face, drawing your lips together in a commanding kiss. You never liked being ignored or forgotten. He’s not sure how he could now, with your tongue flicking between his lips, begging him to come back with a sugary sweet whine. “Stay with me, Miguel.” 

“I am,” he says, gripping either side of the counter by your hips. He feels your eyes on him, soft and careful, pressuring him to meet your gaze. He searches for an inkling of an answer in your gaze. "¿Qué piensas?"

“We can try,” you bite your lip, sliding it free between your teeth. “If you don’t have a low sperm count,” you tease. “Maybe it’ll take.” 

“¡Por dios!” He throws a curse to the side as if he believed in such a being, throwing a look back at you. “You don’t actually believe that vieja.” 

“Ay Miggy, of course not.” His lips work into a budding smile. You leaned up against his stubbly jaw, setting soft kisses there. Your lipstick stains his neck, dragging down to his prominent adam’s apple. He looks down at you with heady eyes, tracing the way you suckled a mark on his throat. He’d be lying if he said he didn’t like them a little more when others noticed them, little marks of possession. Miguel’s fingers come up to the straps of your dress, easing them over and down your slight shoulders. You pull back, words forming puff against his neck. 

“Not right here,” you inhale a soft breath. “Someone could come in.” 

Miguel eases his finger over the small bud of your breast, rolling his thumb along the silken skin, His hand comes up, encompassing your neck and shoving you back into the cabinets. It isn’t comfortable, not by far. He works the nub to its peak before turning his attention to the other. His mouth covers your breast, fangs grazing your nub as he suckled and tugged gently. Miggy, you pull him back up, stripped of your touch. Your hand slide across Miguel’s chest, tracing the taut muscles of his chest. 

“Who would come in?” 

“Peter,” you answer. 

It’s always Peter. He supposes that you wouldn’t want your friend to see you here, cunt stuffed with Miguel on the very same counter you earlier made him empanadas on. Miguel snatched the dress that fell along your hips laxly, utilizing it to yank you off the counter. You fell forward into Miguel, a heavy wall of muscle, your lips failing to form anything of use. You looked at him, cheeks flush and eyes doting, he’s the only one you see. 

“The balcony, then.” 

“Dianche, Miguel! Do you want all of Nueva York to see me?” 

“Maybe.” 

No, but see Miguel breeding you? Undoubtedly yes.

He couldn’t simply choose the bed, that would be too easy. Miguel set a kiss on your forehead, soft and scratchy with his stubble. You return it by dragging him down for another kiss, a wave of warmth coming over him as you force your hips back onto him, rolling your hips against his, teasing him. Miguel doesn’t appreciate the tease and gently pushes on your hips, motioning you to face the counter. 

“Bend over.” 

"Can't we go to my room?" you complain but comply all the same. Miguel’s palm ghosts your spine, dragging his fingers smoothly over the middle of your back and past the dress that gathered around your hips, He strips you of the little cover the dress gave, eager to have you bare and rid of the thin clothing that served as a veil from prying eyes. Miguel can cover you from the prying eyes of others if necessary. Not that he cared if others saw him fucking-- he’s all the more eager to have you all to himself, here and now. 

“No panties,” he notes, his warm hands on your inner thighs. “It’s almost like you knew.” 

“I might have,” you return, spreading your legs obediently for him. He palms your vulva, your hips shifting down over his hand. Sticky and wet, he wonders if his need to breed you has rubbed off on you too. His fingers shift, sliding over your soft hole. “Apúrate Miguel, you’re so slow.”  

“Can’t you be be good for once.”

You were always bossy. He likes it, most the time, being led around by what his pretty little wife wants. Today he wants to take his time, curving his broad fingers into your glistening cunt. Your wetness drips over his knuckles, fingers teasing the velvety soft walls he has never felt without a condom. A pleasured cry wracks in your chest, turning your head over your shoulder to watch Miguel’s fingers stretching you out. No matter how much your walls gave under his fingers, you would still ache when he penetrated you. It was the favourite part, the rich pull of his dick into your hole, bottoming out as best he could in your stomach. He soothes your complaints by grazing his other hand against your perky clitoral hood, finding the soft nub there for relief. You settle your arms on the floured surface.

“I never-- ah-- am,” you threw back.

Miguel slipped his fingers free, cupping your cunt with his palm for a teasing slap. You want to be good-- it’s just so hard, your cunt pulsing in the abswnce of his touch. He drags his sodden fingers to your lips, glazing them in taste of your lubricant. You suckle your tongue around his thick digits, savoring your own taste, his soft grunt of approval spurring you on. You feel like such a good girl with his fingers crooked in your mouth. 

“Are you ready?” Miguel stands fully upright, dragging your hips to his. He’s hard as the counter you were pathetically clinging onto. His hipbones ground into your plush ass, dick pulsing in his immediate ache to feel your cunt. He backs up, fiddling with something at the waist. You don’t need to ask to know that it was his big cock grinding between your cheeks, smearing fluid over your slit.

“No condom?” 

“No condom,” he affirms. You bow your head, nodding gently over the countertop. The head of his cock drove into your wetness, pushing past bundles of nerves. It’s impossibly different without the bag over his dick. It’s been so long. His world blinks out, savoring the feeling like he was an inexperienced teenager again. 

“Carajo, you’re so good,” he finds himself cursing, leaning over your back. 

“Now he says I’m good."

“Shh,” Miguel clips with a mean nip at your nape, lining it with soft kisses, encouraging you on to take him. Warm and wet, Miguel can only describe the slide into your cunt as untethered delight. Released from the bondage of his usual condom, he’s a mess against your soaked cunt, gripping you for a semblance of stability. 

I just want to make you happy. For all your needy complaints and little quips, he knows you do. Otherwise he wouldn’t be here, with your hands cupped on top of his, squeezing for more closeness. Miguel laces your fingers together in a needy weave, drawing back to stroke his cock right back into your wet body. You lead one of his hands between your legs, urging him on to stroke your clit. Your walls clamp down on him, teasing out bursts of pleasure with how deeply he was buried. Miguel’s lips part into a whine of his name, skin slapping against skin. He sets a kiss in the crook of your neck, breath nearly unbearable. 

“Mami,” he gasps, the word coming out between his unstable thrusts. Your eyes shut hard, sparks of pleasure winding and building in your core. “Give me a baby.”

“Sí papi,” you heave, “I”m trying to.”

Miguel knows what you like-- and you like him desperate. His voice so low and rich that you gush around his swollen length, falling apart below him. He catches your body from dropping in an instant, his thighs shaking as he works you through the fibers of gentle pleasure. Hot pressure builds low in his stomach. 

“Qué bella eres. I’m going to finish, fill you and knock you up,” he whispers, drawing himself free and admiring the hazy space of pleasure and reality. Miguel turns you back to face him. You think you may complain-- you didn’t cum, or something of the sort. He shifts you to sit on the counter, spreading your vulva for inspection. Miguel spat on your cunt, rolling his fingers over the swollen folds to spread you apart. He slipped into the space between your shaking legs. You felt him thrust into your body hard and sharp. Your hands reached out, dragging Miguel’s shoulders forward, clinging onto his body. 

It comes all at once, Miguel’s stuttering thrust forward, a deep groan filling the kitchen, his hand clasped onto your thigh so hard you know he’ll bruise it. You catch his moan in a kiss he doesn’t reciprocate, buried so deep in your body that all he can think to do is to force you to take all of it. He shakes himself free of the web of pleasure that he’s enveloped in, looking at you past the thin rivulets of sweat you wiped away with your loving thumbs. 

“I think there are better positions for baby making,” you lean in, kissing him gently. He returns the kiss this time, eyes light of the strain and stress of the last few days.  “Like… not this.” 

Miguel pulls back, his soft cock slipping free from your warm entrance. Miguel watches as his seed dribbles from your hole, grunting in acknowledgement. He swipes your mixed fluids and rolls it between his fingers. 

“I’m open to suggestions.” 

He loves his wife. More than anything. What he doesn’t love is how Peter seems to know that you’re trying for a baby.

The thing about having a woman from his same cultura was this: you loved to talk with your best friend. Who, just so happened to be Peter. He doesn’t even have to say anything, just staring at him with a quirk on his lip and a terrible glitter in his eye after he’s resolved another meeting.

“Hey, Miguel.” 

“Don’t start.” 

He’s crowded with work at his desk-- he has no time for Mayday’s curious little eyes to glitter at him, Peter to be doing that shit he did when he wanted to be helpful. He offered his hands up, shrugging. 

“I’m just saying! I’m a man, you’re a man,” he mumbles, inching a little closer and closer. “If you want a baby--” 

“Let me guess. She told you.” 

“Mayday could use a spider buddy,” he held Mayday up, out of her carrier. Miguel glanced down at her wild hair, exhaling air out of his nose with a little huff. “Sooner than later?” 

“I’ve done it before,” Miguel throws back. “I know how to knock up my own wife, Peter. I don’t need help.”  

Peter is offering help as if Miguel hadn’t tasted the changes in your body when he ate you out. Never mind that he saw you nauseated this morning, too sick to handle a call that Miguel promptly answered. He knew his seed had stuck-- you wouldn’t feel so miserable otherwise. It doesn’t matter, he’d answer them all if it meant another little one in his arms at the end of it all. Just so long as you and the baby were safe. 

“Are you sure? I know--” 

“I’m damn sure.” Miguel turned around, his head in his hand. “I’ve had enough of you. Why don’t you do something useful? Bring her something for her morning sickness.” 

“Oh,” realization fell over Peter like a hammer, looking down to Mayday who looked right back up to her father. For all that Peter knew about his love life, he was shocked that you hadn’t told him how awful the smell of breakfast meat made you feel. His hand fell away, a film of pride slipping from his practiced features when Peter spoke. “But... She’s already pregnant?” 

He leers. Peter scuttles away. 

Privacy is important to Miguel. You knew the damn rule. No telling Peter about the inner workings of your bedroom. For that, you were going to fucking get it. You likely knew you were going to get it-- even if you were likely already pregnant.

He can’t wait.

[roseaa11]

Data Bridge Market Research analyses a growth rate in the hormonal contraceptive market in the forecast period 2023-2030. The expected CAGR of the hormonal contraceptive market tends to be around 4.60% in the mentioned forecast period. The market was valued at USD 16.6 billion in 2022 and would grow to USD 23.79 billion by 2030. In addition to the market insights such as market value, growth rate, market segments, geographical coverage, market players, and market scenario, the market report curated by the Data Bridge Market Research team also includes in-depth expert analysis, patient epidemiology, pipeline analysis, pricing analysis, and regulatory framework.

[market-insider]

U.S. Contraceptive Market Showing Rapid Growth In Subdermal Implants Segments

The U.S. contraceptive market size is expected to reach USD 12.0 billion by 2030 registering a CAGR of 4.70%, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. Improving access and awareness regarding Long-Acting Reversible Contraceptives (LARCs) and the effectiveness and convenience of using these products are expected to drive the growth of the industry. The Guttmacher Institute reported that 60% of women belonging to the reproductive age use contraception in the U.S. Use of hormonal contraceptives other than the birth control pill has significantly increased in married women.

Gain deeper insights on the market and receive your free copy with TOC now @: U.S. Contraceptive Market Report

The increasing availability of contraceptives in the U.S. has improved several aspects of society such as education, career opportunities, and poverty for women. Access to modern methods of contraception has significantly improved career opportunities and allowed women to earn wages at par with men. Moreover, it has also reduced the number of women living in poverty due to unintended pregnancies and the high costs associated with raising a child. The legalization of family planning in the majority of the states has reduced the economic burden for the next generation as there has been a substantial reduction in the number of citizens living in poverty as adults.

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has showcased a negative impact on the market partially offsetting the initiatives by manufacturers. Short-term contraceptives such as birth control pills and condoms require re-prescription filling and frequent purchase, which may increase the risk of exposure to the virus. Thus, usage of these products has been limited during the pandemic. Moreover, the availability and distribution of contraceptives at public healthcare centers have been impacted in the U.S. Unemployment and loss of insurance that covers expenses of contraceptives in the U.S. are also anticipated to limit usage during the COVID-19 pandemic.

[imr-riya]

Emergency Contraceptive Pills Market Study for 2022 to 2028 Providing Information on Growth Drivers, and Industry Analysis

Global Emergency Contraceptive Pills Market was valued at USD 1.00 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach USD 1.14 billion by the year 2028, at a CAGR of 1.8%.

Emergency contraception may be a method of preventing pregnancy following unprotected sex. Emergency contraceptive pills (ECPs), also referred to as the contraceptive, are pills that must be taken before 120 hours (5 days) after having unprotected sex. The prescription Preven Emergency Contraception Kit was developed in the late 1990s. it had been modeled after the Yuzpe method and included four combination pills, alongside instructions and a urine bioassay. Some sorts of emergency contraception are best when used within 72 hours (3 days) of intercourse. The emergency pill works by postponing ovulation (the release of an egg during the monthly cycle). ECPs won't terminate a pregnancy if fertilization and implantation have already occurred.

To recap, the report's writers examined the Emergency Contraceptive Pills market through several segmentations, followed by an in-depth study of the industry supply and sales channel, including upstream and downstream fundamentals, to help firms efficiently roll out their goods and solutions to the market. This in-depth market analysis employs a variety of technologies to examine data from numerous primary and secondary sources. It can assist investors to find scope and possibilities by providing insight into the market's development potential. The report also goes over each section of the global Emergency Contraceptive Pills market in detail. The analysts thoroughly researched the market and created key segmentation such as product type, application, and geography. The market share, growth potential, and CAGR of each segment and its sub-segments are also examined. Each market category provides in-depth quantitative and qualitative market perspective information.

[insightslicelive]

Hormonal Contraceptives Market Sales Statistics, Key Players, Growth Projection Outlook to 2032 | Ansell LTD., Bayer AG, BioSante Pharmaceuticals Inc., Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH

Hormonal Contraceptives Market Sales Statistics, Key Players, Growth Projection Outlook to 2032 | Ansell LTD., Bayer AG, BioSante Pharmaceuticals Inc., Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH

insightSLICE has compiled key insights and presented a research report on market titled “Global Hormonal Contraceptives Market 2023”: The report begins with an overview of the industrial environment, analysis of market size, by-products, regions, application, industry competition within active companies. The research analyzes market share, demand, trends and forecast in the coming years. The…

[kwanisms]

Birthday Gifts — h.jisung

» stray kids masterlist «

➮ idol!Jisung × f!reader (feat. one kiss between the reader & Felix) wc: 1.5k summary: Meeting Felix really changed your whole world but with Felix came Jisung who could potentially ruin everything or make it better. It's a 50/50 chance you haven't been willing to take before. But maybe, just maybe, you can make an exception at their shared birthday party. genres/themes/au: fluff, smut; party themes?? It's a house birthday party lol; idol au warnings: adult language, female reader, party setting, reader & Felix share a kiss one time but there's nothing going on between them, sexual content (18+ mdni), see smut warnings under the cut! special tags: @anyamaris & @mint-yooxgi cause of told them about the dream that inspired this. also tagging @yoonguurt cause she's the bestie and always gets a tag 🍄꒰｡•◡•｡꒱🍄 join my taglists: permanent | group Strikethrough means I cannot tag you.  MINORS WILL BE BLACKLISTED & BLOCKED. 

a/n: this is based off a dream I had last night so Happy Birthday to Felix and Han. Yes, I'm posting this even tho I'm officially on hiatus so if you see this, shhh no you didn't. 🤫 thank you for reading and as always, this is a work of fiction and all characters are not reflective of their respective irl counterparts. for entertainment purposes only.

smut warnings: unprotected sex (use condoms and other contraceptives pls), quickie (like it's super fast lmao sorry Ji), use of a singular pet name (baby), he cums inside her and that's about it. Very short and sweet lol

═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════

[21:04]

You knew it was wrong and that you should have told him to stop a long time ago but you just couldn’t bring yourself to say no to Jisung. Not at his birthday party. Granted, he was sharing the day with Felix but it was still his day, too.

“Fuck,” Jisung grunted from behind you as he buried his face in the crook of your neck. “C’mere,” he gasped, turning you back around to face him, taking your lips in a searing kiss.

That was how it had started. With a kiss.

“I want my birthday present,” Felix announced suddenly, causing you and everyone else to turn and look at him. The others were baffled but you knew exactly what he meant. He’d come up to you at the start of the party, one you had planned so meticulously, and pulled you aside.

You apologized for not getting him a present but he assured you that the party was more than enough but you were adamant. You still wanted to give him a gift. You promised anything he wanted within reason and a cheeky smile had spread across his face.

“Anything I want?” he asked in that deep voice. You nodded firmly.

Meeting Felix had been a happy accident with him running, quite literally, into you at an aquarium in the states when he was touring. He’d tripped over a bump in the carpet and went down, unfortunately taking you with him.

If he hadn’t been so engrossed in the conversation with Changbin and Hyunjin, he might not have tripped at all. A visit to the first aid station and several hundred apologies later, the two of you were thick as thieves, even combining groups to finish walking through the aquarium.

After exchanging contact details, Felix promised to keep in contact as often as he could while you learned everything you could about kpop and a group called Stray Kids.

As fate would have it, the company you worked for had an opportunity to expand its market into South Korea and you jumped at the chance to move to Seoul for the job. You settled into your apartment and job and called Felix as soon as you were able to spare some time and it was like you hadn’t been thousands of miles apart.

You met the rest of his members, befriending them all quite quickly. Through Felix, your friend group exploded and you were soon a regular member of the group. Felix had begged you to plan this party, enlisting the help of Jisung with whom you remained friendly with.

You always kept your distance from Jisung who attributed this to you being shy but in reality, you were so insanely attracted to him that you couldn’t trust yourself to be alone with him. You knew if he made even the slightest move on you, you wouldn’t be able to control yourself and would take whatever he offered you.

“Anything you want,” you promised, smiling as Felix leaned in to whisper in your ear. So when he announced he wanted his gift, looking right at you as everyone turned to face him, you already knew what he wanted.

At the mention of a gift, Jisung had perked up. It was his party too after all. “I want a present, too!” he pouted as a few heads turned in his direction, a couple guests snickering as you glanced at Felix. Your best friend smiled calmly. “You can ask her for one,” he replied. “But you can’t ask for the same gift.”

Jisung rolled his eyes at that but after you crossed the distance and grabbed Felix by the face, pulling him into a kiss, Jisung backpedaled so fast. “Wait, no. I changed my mind,” he croaked as you and Felix parted. “I want the same present.”

His comment earned him a soft smack upside the head from Chris while the rest of the guests chuckled lightheartedly, even Felix joining in. You laughed along with them but you knew deep down if Jisung really wanted something, he went for it.

Felix you could trust yourself to stop kissing. But Jisung? You knew if he kissed you, it would end the same way. With your pants around your ankles and his cock buried in you from behind.

So when he cornered you later after the cake had already been cut and served, pulling you out of the main room into one of the unoccupied bathrooms of the apartment, you knew you were doomed. Any sense you had, left the moment he shut the door, turning the lock.

“Jisung,” you said softly as he moved to stand in front of you. It was meant to be a warning but your voice was too shaky. Luckily, he didn’t notice. “Why can’t I have the same present as Felix?” he demanded. You shut your eyes tightly trying to push him out of your mind.

Just standing so close, he was invading your senses from the heat radiating from his body to the sound of his voice in your ears, drowning out every other sound to the smell of his cologne. You needed to leave this room and fast if you wanted any chance to salvage your strained relationship with him.

“Can we talk about this later?” you asked, trying to push past him for the door but he wasn’t having it. Instead he pinned you against the door. Your breath caught in your throat.

‘One.’

You looked up to meet his heated gaze.

“Why do you always avoid me?” ‘Two.’

“Can we not do this right now? This party is for both you and Felix,” you replied. “Let’s just enjoy the party, please.” Jisung shook his head. “No,” he answered. “Not until you answer me.”

“Okay, fine,” you said, placing your hand on his chest and pushing him away. Jisung accepted this and took a step back. “It’s because I know myself,” you started. “With Felix, I can control myself. I can kiss him easily and then stop.” Jisung said nothing as you continued.

“But with you…” you trailed off. “With you I know I wouldn’t be able to stop.”

Realization dawned on Jisung’s face as you spoke.

“If I kissed you,” you added, meeting his gaze once more. “It would only end one way.”

Jisung closed the distance between you with one step. “And what way is that?” he asked, his voice barely above a whisper. Your words failed you as you looked into his eyes, a gaze so intense that it made heat rush to your core looking back at you.

You swallowed the lump in your throat.

“With our pants around our ankles, me bent over that counter, and your cock buried inside me.” ‘Three.’

No sooner than the words had been said did Jisung have you pinned against the door, lips against yours in a rushed and messy kiss. It was soon after he had you pinned against the sink counter, your hands gripping the sides of the vanity as he rutted against you, allowing you to feel his hardening cock through your pants.

Which led to where you were currently.

He’d turned you to face him, lips moving against yours as his hands fumbled with your jeans, unbuttoning and unzipping them before pushing them down along with your panties as you did the same, hurriedly undressing his lower body.

“Up,” he commanded, helping you up onto the counter as he lowered his fingers to your waiting cunt, rubbing through your folds to find you were already pretty wet. Almost pathetically so. It was stupid the effect he had on you. Jisung wasted no time, spitting into his hand and rubbing it along his length before taking himself in his hand to line up with your aching core.

Without another word, he pushed into you, gliding much easier than you expected until he was bottomed out. You whined into his shoulder, clawing at his shirt to hold on for dear life as he started to pound into you mercilessly, hips rocking against yours. You had to bite your bottom lip to keep from making too much noise as the party continued on outside the bathroom.

“Ah shit, baby,” Jisung rasped in your ear as your walls clenched around him. “You gonna cum already?” he whispered, his breath hot against your cheek. You nodded, holding back whimpers and moans as you buried your face in his neck.

It was embarrassing how fast he was able to pull an orgasm out of you, your thighs squeezing around his waist as he helped you ride it out before chasing his own high and emptying his load into you with a shudder and a low groan which he muffled in your shoulder.

It was so quick it made your head spin and as you both came down from your highs and came back to the reality of the situation, Jisung couldn’t help but chuckle, prompting you to pull back and look at him.

“What’s so funny?” you huffed. Jisung shook his head before meeting your gaze.

“You were wrong,” he said simply. You stared at him incredulously.

‘Wrong?’

“How am I wrong?” you asked as he shook his hair out of his eyes.

“Well,” he started. “I didn’t bend you over the counter.”

ⓘ Graphics made by me. Content and support banners made using a template by cafekitsune. I do not allow reposts, translations, or continuations of my works. All writing and graphics are ©️ kwanisms.

[mariacallous]

Spread of Catholic hospitals limits reproductive care across the U.S.

Religious doctrine restricts access to abortion and birth control and limits treatment options for miscarriages and ectopic pregnancies

The Supreme Court decision overturning the constitutional right to abortion is revealing the growing influence of Catholic health systems and their restrictions on reproductive services including birth control and abortion— even in the diminishing number of states where the procedure remains legal.

Catholic systems now control about 1 in 7 U.S. hospital beds, requiring religious doctrine to guide treatment, often to the surprise of patients. Their ascendancy has broad implications for the evolving national battle over reproductive rights beyond abortion, as bans against it take hold in more than a dozen Republican-led states.

The Catholic health-care facilities follow directives from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops that prohibit treatment it deems “immoral”: sterilization including vasectomies, postpartum tubal ligations and contraception,as well as abortion. Those policies can limit treatment options for obstetric care during miscarriages and ectopic pregnancies, particularly in the presence of a fetal heartbeat.

“The directives are not just a collection of dos and don’ts,” said John F. Brehany, executive vice president of the National Catholic Bioethics Center and a longtime consultant to the conference of bishops. “They are a distillation of the moral teachings of the Catholic church as they apply to modern health care.” As such, he said, any facility that identifies as Catholic must abide by them.

The role of Catholic doctrine in U.S. health care has expanded during a years-long push to acquire smaller institutions — a reflection of consolidation in the hospital industry, as financially challenged community hospitals and independent physicians join bigger systems to gain access to electronic health records and other economies of scale. Acquisition by a Catholic health system has, at times, kept a town’s only hospital from closing.

Four of the nation’s 10 largest health systems are now Catholic, according to a 2020 report by the liberal health advocacy organization Community Catalyst. The 10 largest Catholic health systems control 394 short-term, acute-care hospitals, a 50 percent increase over the past two decades. In Alaska, Iowa, South Dakota, Washington and Wisconsin, 40 percent or more of hospital beds are in Catholic facilities.

“It’s all about market share,” said Lois Uttley, a senior adviser to the hospital equity and accountability project at Community Catalyst. Uttley, who has been tracking hospital mergers and acquisitions since the 1990s, said that with fewer choices, patients today face more difficulty obtaining reproductive services.

In Schenectady, N.Y., Ellis Medicine is in talks with the multistate Catholic giant Trinity Health. Last month, in Quad Cities, Iowa, Genesis Health System signed a letter of intent to enter a partnership with MercyOne, also part of Trinity Health. And this semester, Oberlin College had to find a new provider to prescribe contraceptives after outsourcing student health services to a Catholic system that would not provide them.

In rural northeast Connecticut, residents are protesting the prospect of their 128-year-old hospital becoming part of a Catholic system and thepotential impact on reproductive services.

“It would be very troubling to see cutbacks in a state like Connecticut,” said Ian McDonald, a stonemason who opposes the proposed deal between Day Kimball Healthcare in Putnam and Massachusetts-based Covenant Health.

Kyle Kramer, chief executive of Day Kimball Healthcare, said the proposed affiliation with Covenant Health wouldrescue the financially challenged 104-bed hospital.

“Obviously it has connotations,” Kramer said of the proposed move to faith-based ownership. The Catholic directives would “provide guidance,” he said in an interview, while insisting that “theservices that we have provided in the past are the same services that we will continue to provide in the future.”

Kramer did not answer questions in a follow-up email about how contraception and elective sterilizations could continue to be provided under Catholic doctrine if their primary purpose is for birth control. Nor did he specify how emergency obstetric care that could result in terminating a pregnancy might be affected.

Covenant Health spokeswoman Karen Sullivan said in an email that as part of the regulatory process, the Catholic health system is drafting a public response to questions by the state’s Oct. 23 deadline. The system, she said, is committed to “ensuring that the Ethical and Religious Directives are applied thoughtfully and with empathy, compassion and respect for every person we serve.”

Catholic hospitals and providers are accredited and held to the same standards as their secular equivalents, according to the Catholic Health Association of the United States, which lobbies on behalf of Catholic hospitals.

But reproductive rights advocates say there has been a steady erosion of services in both Republican- and Democratic-led states because of the growing dominance of Catholic hospitals.

Many patients are unaware of the restrictions because hospital administrators typically don’toutline the services they do not offer, saidSister Simone Campbell, a lawyer who until recently led the liberal-leaning NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice.

“Many hospitals have dealt with this by being pretty quiet. Dobbs has made it more of a question,” Campbell said, referring to the case that led to the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade.

Catholic facilities may not “promote or condone” contraception, according to the directives — a stance that is not widely shared by the public. Just 4 percent of U.S. adults think contraception is immoral, according to a 2016 Pew Research Center poll. Among Catholics who attend weekly Mass, only 13 percent say contraception is morally wrong, and 45 percent find it acceptable.

The directives,developed in the late 1940s by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, were updated in 2018, largely to ensure that Catholic doctrine prevails after mergers and acquisitions, according to Amy Chen, a lawyer with the National Health Law Program. They limit options for referring patients to secular facilities, saying employees must not “manage, carry out, assist in carrying out, make its facilities available for, make referrals for, or benefit from the revenue generated by immoral procedures.”

Interpretation of the directives varies among hospital ethics committees. But decisions ultimately rest with the local bishop, who is to be kept informed, the directives say, if “a Catholic health care institution might be wrongly cooperating with immoral procedures.”

“Bishops have a great deal of authority in their dioceses,” Brehany said. “A bishop should ensure that a Catholic organization is abiding by the directives.”

A 2018 survey published in the journal Contraception found that more than one-third of women who go to Catholic hospitals for reproductive care are not aware of the facilities’ religious affiliation. The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Chicago and the University of California at San Francisco, called for increased transparency among hospitals to raise awareness that patients’ options may be limited at institutions with religious ties.

“Even people who had a very wanted pregnancy are at the mercy of policies not driven by their personal values or by the best interests of their health,” said Debra Stulberg, the chair of family medicine at the University of Chicago and one of the researchers in the 2018 survey.

April King, 40, said she wanted to have her tubes tied immediately after giving birth to her second child in December 2020. The Los Angeles talent agent had suffered three miscarriages and knew her family was complete.

Then she learned she could not get a tubal ligationat Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, where she planned to deliver.

“I was just surprised that [the hospital] could decide that for us,” said King, who ultimately elected to go ahead with her delivery at Providence Saint John’s because of the care she had received there in the past.

Doctors,too, face surprises — and can even be reported to hospital ethics committees for following standards of care.

In Washington state, where 41 percent of beds are Catholic-run, legislators passed a law last year to prevent hospitals from interfering with a doctor’s ability to provide medically necessary care to a pregnant patient whose health or life is at risk.

Annie Iriye, a retired OB/GYN who used to work for a Catholic hospital in Olympia, Wash., testified in support of the bill. In a recent interview, Iriye described wanting to administer medication to hasten a woman’s delivery to stave off infection after her water broke at 18 weeks, before fetal viability. Even though the woman was in active labor, Iriye said other staffers refused to follow her direction as the attending physician because a heartbeat had been detected.

By the time the woman delivered, she had a fever and needed antibiotics. Staffers reported Iriye to the hospital ethics committee.

“I was flabbergasted,” Iriye said. “It’s like, ‘Oh, come on guys. Can’t we just practice medicine and give good care?’ ”

Patients say there appears to be little consistency in how hospital staffers interpret religious directives, with doctors sometimes having to make decisions on the fly.

Whitney Marshall, 29, learned only after waking up from exploratory surgery for endometriosis in 2019 at Ascension Crittenton in Rochester Hills, Mich., that her IUD had not been replaced. Marshall, who uses the device to reduce the pain associated with the condition, had to undergo a second procedure in her gynecologist’s office to have the IUD reinserted.The spokesman for Ascension Crittenton did not respond to requests for comment about the case.

“Some women cannot afford surgeries” to treat endometriosis, Marshall said. “So their only form of recourse is to try to regulate their hormones by using contraceptives.”

Catholic hospitals’ tradition of serving women and children in the neediest neighborhoods is “rooted in our reverence for life,” said Brian Reardon, spokesman for the Catholic Health Association. But the lack of choice has been felt keenly in rural and low-income communities where patients cannot easily transfer to secular institutions, reproductive rights advocates say.

Hospitals operating under Catholic restrictions are “the sole community providers of short-term acute hospital care” in more than 52 communities across the country — up from 30 in 2013,according to Community Catalyst.

In Putnam, Connecticut, residents have relied on Day Kimball Healthcare, the town’s only hospital, for more than a century.

Kramer, the chief executive, said the hospital has been exploring partnerships with larger systems over the past decade to ensure its long-term survival.

The proposed arrangement with Covenant Health requires the approval of Connecticut’s Office of Health Strategy, which has been examining how services might be affected.

The need to preserve access to reproductive health services can bring an end to negotiations. In 2012, the investor in a proposed joint venture with two hospitals in Waterbury, Conn., one of which was Catholic, pulled out after reproductive health advocates and the local archbishop raised opposing concerns about creating a “hospital within a hospital” to provide reproductive services — a workaround that had been successful elsewhere.

Access to reproductive services has shrunk recently around Day Kimball after the 2020 closure of Planned Parenthood in nearby Danielson.

Like many hospitals, Day Kimball does not provide elective abortions, according to documents filed with the state. But it has provided other care prohibited by Catholic directives, including elective sterilizations.

Those services are key to preventing unwanted pregnancies, said Lee Wesler, an internist who has been affiliated with Day Kimball for a decade.

“Any unwanted pregnancy is a potential abortion,” Weslersaid.

Members of the group Save Day Kimball Healthcare said that in conversations, Kramer and other representatives of the hospital have sought to be reassuring. “They say, ‘Everything will be fine,’ ” said Margaret Martin, a retired social worker and member of the group.

Kramer, who said he intends to stay on if the Covenant deal goes through, repeated those assurances to The Washington Post. “What we have been we will still be,” he said, while declining to describe how contraceptives could be offered for the sole purpose ofbirth control.

In a Q&A posted in September on the Day Kimball website, Kramer suggeststhat other justifications could be found for using “tools” suchas oral contraceptives, including “to maintain health and wellness, to address a medical condition, prevent disease, and mitigate cancer risk.”

Bruce Shay, a member of the Save Day Kimball Healthcare steering committee, says he worries doctors may leave if they have to abide by the directives — or might evade them by making “a sketchy diagnosis.”

Nandini Seshadri has seen that happen.

The 40-year-old Latham, N.Y. resident received a copper IUD after delivering her first child at a secular hospital that Trinity is in the process of acquiring. She was denied the device after giving birth to her second child at a Catholic hospital now affiliated with Trinity.

“I remember laughing and saying, ‘What? Seriously?’ ” Seshadri recalled. “I didn’t know that Catholic hospitals still did that.”

She was even more surprised when her nurse-midwife offered her a hormonal IUD instead, on the grounds that she needed it to stabilize her menstrual cycle.

“I didn’t have that problem,” Seshadri said. To give her the contraception, she said, the nurse “was essentially falsifying my medical record.”

[ifacotarwasgood]

CHAPTER 3 - page 16/?

original word count: 3840

revised word count: 2195

click for ch 3's full comparison document.

original:

main road together one afternoon. We’d only talked about the eggs he was bringing to market—and I’d admired the variation in colors within the basket he bore—browns and tans and the palest blues and greens. Simple, easy, perhaps a bit awkward, but he’d left me at my cottage feeling not quite so … alone. A week later, I pulled him into that decrepit barn. He’d been my first and only lover in the two years since. Sometimes we’d meet every night for a week, others we’d go a month without setting eyes on each other. But every time was the same: a rush of shedding clothes and shared breaths and tongues and teeth. Occasionally we’d talk—or rather, he’d talk about the pressures and burdens his father placed on him. Often, we wouldn’t say a word the entire time. I couldn’t say our lovemaking was particularly skilled, but it was still a release, a reprieve, a bit of selfishness. There was no love between us, and never had been—at least what I assumed people meant when they talked about love—yet part of me had sunk when he’d said he would soon be married. I wasn’t yet desperate enough to ask him to see me after he was wed. Isaac inclined his head in a familiar gesture and then ambled off down the street—out of town and to the ancient barn, where he would be waiting. We were never

revised:

breaths and warm mouths. I couldn’t say what we did was particularly skilled, but it was still a release. Isaac inclined his head and turned to stroll down the street—to the barn, where I knew he’d be waiting. We weren’t inconspicuous about our dealings, but we did try to keep from being too obvious. Nesta clicked her tongue. “I hope you two are taking precautions.” “It’s a bit late for the warning.” But we were careful. Since I couldn’t afford it, Isaac took a contraceptive brew. I wouldn’t have touched him otherwise. I reached into my pocket and drew out a twenty-mark copper. Elain sucked in a breath. I pushed it into her palm, saying, “I’ll see you at home.” Later, after another dinner of venison, we gathered around the fire for a quiet hour before bed, and I watched my sisters whispering and laughing together. They’d spent every copper I’d given them—on what, I wasn’t sure, although Elain had bought our father a new chisel. The cloak and boots they’d whined about the night before had ended up being too expensive. My father dozed in his chair, his cane across his knees. It seemed as good a time as any to broach the subject of Tomas Mandray with Nesta.

[vertuphone1998]

Oura Ring vs. VERTU AI Diamond Ring: Which Smart Ring Offers Better Fertility and Health Management?

The Oura Ring has already made a significant name for itself in the smart ring market. It not only tracks sleep, temperature, and heart rate but also predicts menstrual cycles and integrates with Natural Cycles to become an FDA-certified "wearable contraceptive." However, VERTU's new AI Diamond Ring introduces fresh competition with its integrated features like blood glucose monitoring and stress assessment. Can it capture a share of the fertility management market traditionally dominated by established jewelry brands?

Oura Ring and Natural Cycles: A New Era in Smart Contraception

The partnership between Oura Ring and Natural Cycles ushers in a new era of smart contraception. Oura Ring provides accurate ovulation predictions through nighttime temperature monitoring, while Natural Cycles uses this data to help women plan or prevent pregnancy. This blend of technology and natural methods makes contraception more flexible, convenient, and aligned with modern women's needs for health and freedom.

VERTU AI Diamond Ring: The Perfect Fusion of Smart Technology and Luxury Jewelry

The VERTU AI Diamond Ring represents a perfect fusion of smart technology and luxury jewelry. It offers sleep and stress monitoring similar to Oura Ring but also includes blood glucose monitoring, providing a more comprehensive view of health. This diamond ring is not only a revolution in fertility management but also a disruption in the jewelry world, breaking away from traditional single-function jewelry to offer practical and technological advancements.

Which Product Is Right for You?

Oura Ring: Focuses on fertility management with its integration with Natural Cycles, providing a safe and effective contraception option. It is relatively affordable but has a narrower range of functions.

VERTU AI Diamond Ring: Emphasizes comprehensive health monitoring with added features like blood glucose tracking, in addition to sleep and stress monitoring. It is more expensive but offers luxurious materials and design, making it ideal for those who seek a blend of fashion and technology.

The VERTU AI Diamond Ring fills a market gap by combining smart technology with traditional jewelry, offering a more comprehensive solution for health monitoring and fertility management. With growing emphasis on health and technology, the VERTU AI Diamond Ring has significant market potential.

[tamanna31]

Condom 2024 Industry – Challenges, Drivers, Outlook, Segmentation - Analysis to 2030

Condom Industry Overview

The global condom market size was estimated at USD 11.59 billion in 2023 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 8.72% from 2024 to 2030. The increase in awareness regarding the use of condoms, measures to reduce the spread of HIV & other Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs), and the availability of different types of products to suit consumer needs are likely to drive market growth during the forecast period.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2023, approximately 374 million new cases of syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, and trichomoniasis were reported annually. In the same year, WHO reported that 39.0 million people were living with HIV globally, with two-thirds of them residing in the African countries. This can lead to serious complications beyond the immediate effect of the infection itself. If left untreated, STDs can lead to complications such as impotence and infertility. According to a study published on Factors associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes of maternal syphilis in Henan, China, 2016-2022, in 2016, around 1 million pregnant women were detected with active syphilis, which resulted in 200,000 stillbirths and 350,000 adverse birth outcomes. This is expected to boost demand for the use of condoms during the forecast period.

Gather more insights about the market drivers, restrains and growth of the Condom Market

The male condom segment dominated the market with a revenue share of 98.74% in 2023. The growth can be attributed to factors such as manufacturers' focus on the production of male condoms, open-mindedness regarding their use as compared to female condoms, and diverse portfolios. Underdeveloped countries in Africa have a high unmet demand for male condoms due to the increasing prevalence of HIV/AIDS. These are mostly the preferred option among couples, resulting in higher demand.

Moreover, male condoms have a variety of options in terms of materials, thickness, designs, and colors, which promotes their use. They are commonly used methods of contraception. According to the U.S. Census data and Simmons National Consumer Survey data, around 33.44 million Americans used condoms in 2020. This is anticipated to drive the segment growth during the forecast period.

The female condom segment is estimated to witness the fastest CAGR during the forecast period. These are being increasingly accepted for reducing the risk of STIs and unplanned pregnancies. Despite female condoms being a lifesaving product and easy availability, their distribution & use are quite low as most of the family planning and HIV prevention programs have not embraced female condoms. However, female condoms are gaining immense popularity of late, especially among single women.

Browse through Grand View Research's Medical Devices Industry Research Reports.

• The global intrauterine devices market size was estimated at USD 6.25 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 3.66% from 2024 to 2030.

• The global dual chamber prefilled syringes market size was valued at USD 167.3 million in 2023 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 5.8% from 2024 to 2030.

Key Condom Company Insights

The market is highly competitive, with the presence of multiple major players. The market is witnessing the presence of numerous country-level players, alongside the introduction of smaller competitors poised to gain a substantial market share. This trend is reflective of the competitive landscape in the industry. Some emerging players in the market are, Jems and Slipp in Canada, Bleu in India, Get Down and Jonny in Australia, and Hanx in the UK.

Key Condom Companies:

The following are the leading companies in the condom market. These companies collectively hold the largest market share and dictate industry trends.

FUJILATEX CO.,LTD

Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC

Church & Dwight Co., Inc.

Karex Berhad

LELO iAB

Lifestyles

Veru Inc.

Okamoto Industries, Inc

MAYER LABORATORIES, INC.

Cupid Limited

RITEX GMBH

Pasante Healthcare Ltd.

CPR GmbH

Mankind Pharma

Sagami Rubber Industries Co., Ltd.

rrtMedcon

Recent Developments

In April 2023, Veru Inc. has entered into a Purchasing Agreement with Afaxys Group Services, LLC (AGS) to offer Veru’s FC2 Female Condom (internal condom) through the AGS Group Purchasing Organization (GPO). This agreement will benefit up to 31 million women and men who depend on community & public health centers for essential healthcare.

In May 2021, SKYN, the leading sexual wellness brand and maker of the nonlatex condom, has launched SKYN Excitation, a new condom with a unique wave design featuring raised dots on the most sensitive areas. This new product is set to enhance the sexual experience for those who use it.

Order a free sample PDF of the Condom Market Intelligence Study, published by Grand View Research.

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Hormonal Contraceptive Market Trends Analysis Report By Method, Hormone, Region And Forecast 2030: Grand View Research Inc.

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