Andrey Nailor, M.D.·Published 2 February 2012·7 min read
Key points
If you're considering using birth control, you have many options - from natural family planning and over-the-counter birth control products to prescription contraceptives or sterilization.
• Your health. • How often you have sex. • How many sexual partners you have. • If you want to have children in the future. • If you will need a prescription or if you can buy the method over-the-counter. • The number of pregnancies expected per 100 women who use a method for one year.
• Smoke • Have liver disease • Have blood clots • Have family members who have had blood clots • Are taking any other medicines • Are taking any herbal products, like St.
• No matter which method you choose, it is important to follow all of the directions carefully.
If you're considering using birth control, you have many options - from natural family planning and over-the-counter birth control products to prescription contraceptives or sterilization.
To help determine which birth control method would be best for you, consider your lifestyle, personal preferences and health status. How do you feel about planning for sex? Inserting birth control devices into your body? Taking a pill at the same time every day or tracking your fertile days? Permanently ending the ability to conceive or father a child?
It's also important to make an honest assessment of yourself, your partner and your relationship. You may have different birth control needs if you have sex often or you're not in a monogamous relationship. Ideally, you and your partner will discuss the options and reach a mutually beneficial decision.
If you do not want to get pregnant, do not have sex. If you do have sex, there are many birth control options to choose from. No one product is best for everyone. This guide lists all FDA-approved products for birth control. Talk to your doctor, nurse, or pharmacist about the best method for you.
Some things to think about:
• Your health. • How often you have sex. • How many sexual partners you have. • If you want to have children in the future. • If you will need a prescription or if you can buy the method over-the-counter. • The number of pregnancies expected per 100 women who use a method for one year. For comparison, about 85 out of 100 sexually active women who do not use any birth control can expect to become pregnant in a year.
Tell your doctor, nurse, or pharmacist if you:
• Smoke • Have liver disease • Have blood clots • Have family members who have had blood clots • Are taking any other medicines • Are taking any herbal products, like St. Johns Wort
To avoid pregnancy:
• No matter which method you choose, it is important to follow all of the directions carefully. If you don’t, you raise your chance of getting pregnant. • The best way to avoid pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is to practice total abstinence (do not have any sexual contact)
Birth control pills
Birth control pills are a common type of contraception. If you're considering taking birth control pills, you may have more choices than you'd think.
You'll start by choosing either combination birth control pills or minipills. If you choose combination birth control pills, you'll have another choice — conventional packs or continuous dosing. With conventional birth control pills, you'll have a period every month. With continuous dosing birth control pills, you may have a period only four times a year or eliminate your period entirely.
Written and revised by
Andrey Nailor, M.D.
Our doctors write and review articles for accuracy and keep them up to date.
health.am provides general information, not medical advice. Always consult a qualified health professional about your own health.
Of course, each type of birth control pill has its own risks and benefits. Understand the basics, then work with your health care provider to determine the best birth control pill for you.
Other birth control options
When you think of birth control options, what comes to mind? Birth control pills are a popular choice, but don't stop there. Other birth control options abound — and the choice is up to you.
If you need birth control only occasionally, over-the-counter male or female condoms might be appropriate birth control options. Condoms also provide protection against sexually transmitted infections. The contraceptive sponge is another option that's available without a prescription. If you're most concerned about effectiveness, prescription contraceptives - such as contraceptive injections, a vaginal ring or an intrauterine device — might be better birth control options.
As you consider your birth control options, be open to all the possibilities. Get familiar with how different types of birth control work, as well as the risks and benefits of specific birth control options.
FDA advisers stand behind Ortho Evra patch Drug advisers recommended that the label for Johnson and Johnson's Ortho Evra birth control patch should be simplified to better explain the risk of blood clots.
Advisers to the Food and Drug Administration, in a sweeping 20 to three vote with one abstention on Friday, found the current label for Ortho Evra, the only contraceptive patch sold in the country, inadequately reflects the risks women face by using it.
However, the panel voted 19-5 that the patch's risks were nonetheless outweighed by its benefits, such as pregnancy prevention through a once-weekly application.
All commonly-used birth control pills increase women's chances of getting blood clots. The patch, approved in 2001, has been linked to an even higher risk as it contains a much greater amount of hormone estrogen than a pill.
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Natural family planning
Natural family planning may be an appealing birth control option if you can't or choose not to use other contraceptives.
Popular types of natural family planning include the rhythm method, the cervical mucus method and the basal body temperature method. You can use these types of natural family planning to predict when you'll ovulate — and when you need to avoid unprotected sex, if you don't want to conceive. Another type of natural family planning is withdrawal, in which the man withdraws his penis from the vagina before ejaculation to prevent pregnancy.
Natural family planning requires motivation, diligence and self-control. Natural family planning isn't as effective as other types of birth control, but it's inexpensive and doesn't have any side effects.
Spermicide AloneWhat is it? • A foam, cream, jelly, film, or tablet that kills sperm.
How do I use it? • Instructions can be different for each type of spermicide. Read the label before you use it. • You need to put spermicide into the vagina between 5 and 90 minutes before you have sex. • You usually need to leave it in place at least 6 to 8 hours after; do not douche or rinse the vagina for at least 6 hours after sex.
How do I get it? • You do not need a prescription. • You can buy it over-the-counter.
Possibility of getting pregnant (Number of pregnancies expected per 100 women who use this method for one year) • Out of 100 women who use this method, about 30 may get pregnant. • Different studies show different rates of effectiveness.
Some Risks • Irritation. • Allergic reactions. • Urinary tract infection. • If you are also using a medicine for a vaginal yeast infection, the spermicide might not work as well. ###
Does it protect me from sexually transmitted infections (STIs)? - No
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Sterilization
If you're sure that you don't want to be pregnant — or father a child — at any point in the future, you may consider sterilization.
For men, vasectomy is the only option for sterilization. During this straightforward surgery, the tubes that carry sperm into the semen are cut and sealed. After a successful vasectomy, a man isn't able to father a child.
Women may be able to choose from several sterilization options, including tubal ligation — a surgical procedure — and the Essure and Adiana systems, both of which permanently block the fallopian tubes.
Sterilization is an effective method of birth control. The decision to pursue sterilization must be taken seriously, however. Although reversal is sometimes possible after vasectomy or tubal ligation, sterilization of any type is considered permanent.
Vaginal Contraceptive Ring
What is it? • It is a flexible ring that is about 2 inches around. • You put it into the vagina and it releases hormones (progestin and estrogen) to stop the ovaries from releasing eggs in most women. • It also thickens the cervical mucus, which keeps the sperm from joining with the egg.
How do I use it? • You put the ring into the vagina yourself. • You need to keep the ring in your vagina for 3 weeks, then take it out for 1 week. • If the ring falls out and stays out for more than 3 hours, you need to use another kind of birth control method until the ring has been used for 7 days in a row.
How do I get it? • You need a prescription.
Possibility of getting pregnant (Number of pregnancies expected per 100 women who use this method for one year) • Out of 100 women who use this method, about 5 may get pregnant.
Some Risks • Vaginal discharge, swelling of the vagina, and irritation. • Other risks are similar to oral contraceptives (combined pill).
Does it protect me from sexually transmitted infections (STIs)?No.
Emergency contraception Emergency contraception helps prevent pregnancy after unprotected sex. Emergency contraception isn't meant to be used in place of routine birth control — but it's an option if you've had unprotected sex, your method of birth control failed or you missed a birth control pill.
To be effective, emergency contraception must be used as soon as possible after unprotected sex. You may be able to choose from several types of emergency contraception. Many women opt for Next Choice, Plan B One-Step or Ella, also known as the morning-after pill. It's also possible to use combination birth control pills or ParaGard — an intrauterine device — for emergency contraception. Depending on where you are in your menstrual cycle, emergency contraception can prevent or delay ovulation, block fertilization or keep a fertilized egg from implanting in the uterus.
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