2003-11-30 03:07:55 ET
Always consult a physician before starting any recreational sex regimen
To me, this seems only natural.  If there are two things I'm afraid of, it's STDs and babies, which I sort of count as another form of an STD (a life-long one, at that).  
So here, for your benefit and mine, is my guide to condom use. 
If she's not on the pill, use a spermicidal latex condom.  While nothing is 100% effective, this is as damn near effective as you can possibly get without masturbating 40 feet from each other.  
If she is on the pill, a regular latex condom would suffice.  Spermicide is pretty stinky, and I try to avoid it if I can.  Some women are allergic to it (in some  cases the allergy may seem like a latex allergy, but it's really an allergy to spermicide).  
Another handy bit is the spermicidal strips.  They're small one-inch squares of a translucent fruit-roll up type film that inserted into the vagina a bit before sex.  They're not as stinky as spermicidal condoms, and they're supposedly very effective. 
If she's allergic to latex, a couple of companies now make non-latex polyurathane condoms.  They don't have the proven track record of latex condoms, but they're supposed to be just as effective for pregnancy and diseases.  They feel quite a bit different than latex condoms, as they aren't elastic.  They're also more expensive than regular latex condoms, but you know what's more expensive?  Diseases.  Also, babies.  
And finally, when using a condom, it's a good idea to not orgasm inside a condom while inside the girl.  This is a good idea for a number of reasons.  The condom could have broken, which would be bad.  Also, there are a lot more fun places to ejacul8 your ejacul@ (clever play on pronunciations) than inside of a stinky old condom, if you know what I mean (and I think that you do).