Choosing the best birth control method for your lifestyle can be a daunting task. Pearl Women’s Center practitioners are experts in all methods of birth control and consider helping you navigate this often confusing area of medicine a top priority. Some important considerations for most women include safety, convenience, affordability, effectiveness and future pregnancy plans.
While your practitioner can help you understand the pros and cons to all methods of contraception, knowing your options in advance will make it easier for you to ask the right questions.
Birth Control Pills are a safe, convenient and effective form of birth control. Most must be taken daily. Many brands offer added benefits like reducing menstrual cramps, lightening periods and even reducing acne. Most oral contraceptive pills contain a combination of estrogen and progesterone, two hormones used to prevent ovulation and regulate menstrual cycles.
Depo-Provera is an injection of a hormone that prevents pregnancy for up to 3 months. It is safe, effective and particularly convenient for women who do not want to take a daily pill. The medication used is progesterone only, and can be administered to women who cannot take estrogen.
Implanon is a thin, flexible implant inserted under the skin of the upper arm that protects against pregnancy for up to three years. It is safe, effective and convenient. This device is a progesterone containing method of hormonal contraception.
NuvaRing is the brand name for a small, flexible ring that is inserted into the vagina once a month to prevent pregnancy. It is left in place for three weeks and taken out for the remaining week of the month. A new ring is then inserted. Like the pill, it works by steadily releasing estrogen and progesterone hormones to prevent pregnancy.
Ortho Evra is a thin, plastic patch that sticks to the skin. A new patch is applied once a week for three weeks, followed by a patch-free week. It is safe and effective though there are indications the patch may be less effective in women weighing over 198 pounds. The patch contains both estrogen and progesterone.
IUD, short for Intrauterine Device, is a small T-shaped device inserted into the uterus to prevent pregnancies. Unlike the IUD’s used in the 1970’s, today’s new generation of IUD’s are small, safe and highly effective devices. Pearl Women’s Center offers the ParaGard IUD , a hormone free device which is effective for 12 years and the Mirena IUD which is effective for 5 years and contains hormones (progesterone). Both Paraguard and Mirena are two of the least expensive and longest lasting forms of birth control available today.
A Diaphragm is a latex cup with a flexible ring that covers the cervix and acts as a barrier to prevent sperm from entering and fertilizing the egg. While it is not as convenient as some of the other birth control methods discussed, it has no effect on a woman’s natural hormones and can be a good lifestyle choice for less sexually active women.
Permanent Sterilization is currently the second most prevalent form of birth control used by American women. The most common method of permanent sterilization is tubal ligation, a surgical procedure that closes the fallopian tubes preventing sperm from being able to fertilize the egg.
An exciting new choice for permanent birth control is the Essure sterilization system approved by the FDA in 2002. It is a safe, simple and effective procedure without the risks of general anesthesia or the inconvenience of a lengthy recovery period. Soft flexible coils called micro-inserts are passed through the body’s natural pathways into each fallopian tube. The micro-inserts work with the body to form a tissue barrier that blocks sperm from reaching the egg.
Pearl Women’s Center’s medical director, Dr. Richard Rosenfield, joins many of the country’s leading gynecologists in the belief that Essure will soon become the new standard of care for permanent birth control in women.