Description

This video by TV360 shows you how to choose a birth control method and the options available to you part 2/2.

Transcript

Choosing a Birth Control Method Stephanie’s story raises a number of issues. I think of the main things that many women have to figure out is what the best method is for them. So Stephanie mentioned the pills, the condoms and the diaphragm but there are other methods that are available but you do not have to remember to use every time. There are two methods that use the same contraception hormones as the pills, one is the patch and the patch—is a small patch that you apply to the skin and it is used once a week, use it for three weeks in a row and then take it off for one week and the other is a ring and that is placed in the vagina, it stays in for three weeks and then you take it out for one week and at which point you will have a period. Another thing that Stephanie thought about, were side effects. The side effects of the pill and other combined methods are actually relatively few once you have been on them for a while. When you first start the method people may have a little irregular bleeding, a little bit of nausea but most of those are temporary. The progestin only methods tend to have more bleeding associated with them and do not have the same bleeding control but one of the nice thing about these methods is that after you have been on them for a while they tend to have a decrease bleeding and eventually women have no periods at all. So one of the methods that Stephanie did try was the condom and that is again a very good method because it protects against pregnancy and also sexually transmitted infections but it is really important to know that sometimes condoms slip, sometimes they break or sometimes some of them uses no contraception at all and in that’s case you really need to know about emergency contraception. Emergency contraception is a combination of pills, there is a dedicated product now and you can take it immediately after unprotected intercourse and greatly reduce your risk of pregnancy. To get emergency contraception if you are 18 or older you can actually just go to the pharmacist and it is kept behind the counter and you do not need a prescription however if you are under the age of 18 you have to have a prescription. Emergency contraception works very well especially if it is taken as soon as possible after unprotected intercourse however it is important to know that you can go up to 120 hours or 5 days and still have effectiveness with emergency contraception. Stephanie began her story with a pregnancy scare and that is a very very common story but what she got out of that was the need to take responsibility for preventing unintended pregnancy. This is really important but what you also hear is that not only do you have to be on a method, you have to use it correctly and consistently, that is the best way to prevent pregnancy.