On the surface, choosing your birth control seems like an easy enough decision. However, with all the options available, it can quickly become overwhelming.
At Holistic OB/GYN & Midwifery in Passaic Park, New Jersey, our experienced team can help you select the best birth control based on your personal needs and childbearing goals. We recommend asking yourself these questions to help get you started.
When it comes to picking your birth control, it’s essential to recognize that contraceptives can have more than one purpose. If your main priority is pregnancy prevention, you might look at highly effective methods like patches, pills, IUDs, or implants. It’s crucial to note, however, that none of these pregnancy preventives protect against sexually-transmitted diseases (STDs).
The only birth control methods available with STD protection are male and female condoms made from latex or plastic. Condoms prevent pregnancy by creating a barrier to keep sperm from entering your vagina. At the same time, they also reduce your risk of contracting or spreading STDs by limiting skin-to-skin contact and exposure to semen and vaginal fluids.
Male and female condoms are available without a prescription. If you use this form of birth control, however, it’s wise to use an additional method to prevent pregnancy. While condoms are highly effective against STDs, they’re not 100% effective at preventing pregnancies. For that purpose, testing has shown them to be 98% reliable, although they’re sometimes not used correctly, and 15 out of 100 people get pregnant each year despite using them.
No matter which birth control method you select, it can only prevent pregnancy if you use it correctly. For example:
We also offer birth control options that require no maintenance after insertion. These popular options include intrauterine devices (IUDs) or Nexplanon® implants.
An IUD is a tiny birth control device placed in your uterus, while Nexplanon goes in your arm. It’s easy to implant these contraceptives during a simple office visit, and they remain in place from 3-12 years, depending on your specific type.
If you’re looking for a permanent form of birth control, we recommend surgical sterilization. This type of pregnancy prevention is available for men (vasectomy) and women (tubal ligation). Still, we only recommend it if you’re certain you don’t want to have children in the future.
When you choose birth control options like IUDs, implants, and sterilization, you can expect 99% pregnancy prevention because they have no risk of human error interfering with their effectiveness.
Just because you don’t want kids now doesn’t mean you won’t change your mind at some point. Because of that, it’s important to consider the reversibility of your birth control method.
Certain forms of birth control are easier to reverse than others, especially condoms. When you stop using condoms, you can become pregnant immediately because you remove the barrier keeping sperm from fertilizing your egg.
Birth control methods like the pill, patch, and vaginal ring use hormones to prevent pregnancy. When you stop using these options, it can take at least six months or more for you to become pregnant. That’s how long it can take for your hormone levels to normalize again.
If you’re looking for easy-to-reverse birth control that’s also highly effective, nothing compares with IUDs and implants. After we remove your device during a routine office visit, you can usually become pregnant within a month.
You should consider both male and female sterilization as permanent forms of birth control. Because of this, you shouldn’t select this option if you might want children in the future. While sterilization procedures can sometimes get reversed, it may not restore your fertility.
For more information on choosing the right birth control, call us at Holistic OB/GYN & Midwifery at 973-352-7783. You can also send our team a message here on the website.
