Family Planning: What should be at your fingertips

Family planning is a birth control method and enables couples to create a family fitting their personal, financial, cultural, goals and needs. Family planning services enable parents to achieve their desired family size. This improves children, infants, and family’s health. Suncoast women’s care is dedicated to advising women about their choices of birth control methods.

What Are The Birth Control Methods?

There are two categories of birth control: barrier methods and hormonal methods.

Barrier methods control the movement of the sperms to the vagina. The standard barrier methods are diaphragm, condoms, internal condoms, cervical caps, and birth control sponge.

Condoms protect you from unexpected pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

What Are Hormonal Contraceptives?

Hormonal contraceptives are contraceptives that, with the help of hormones, thicken your cervical mucus and prevent ovulation. Hormonal contraceptives include birth control injections, birth control pills, implants, and intrauterine devices.

Birth control pills are also known as oral contraceptives. They are taken orally to prevent pregnancy. Their effectiveness is up to 99.9%. However, the medication doesn’t prevent STIs and STDs, including HIV. It is advised to take the pills at the same time every day.

Birth control pills have side effects, although they are not severe. They include mood changes, lighter periods, spotting between periods, and nausea.

Birth control injections also called Depo Provera injection. The contraceptive is injected after three months. It consists of progesterone hormone. If used correctly, it’s 99% effective and safe.

Depo Provera injection is recommended to women who find it challenging to take a pill simultaneously or forget to take medicine each time they have intercourse. Women who experience some side effects from using contraceptives containing estrogen can use this injection.

Side effects of birth control injection include weight gain, headaches, and irregular bleeding. To regain fertility, you have to wait for one year until the injection wears off. It’s not the best method for couples wishing to bear children soon.

Implants contraceptives are used as long-term birth control methods for women. A contraceptive implant is placed under the skin of the upper arm. It produces a progesterone hormone which thins the uterus walls and thickens cervical mucus. A contraceptive implant can be useful for up to three years. The implant’s side effects include decreased sex drive, abdominal pain, dizziness, and vaginal bleeding changes.

Intrauterine device (IUD) is a T-shaped copper device placed in the uterus to prevent pregnancy. It’s 99% effective and lasts up to ten years. It can be inserted anytime during your periods and can be removed at any time, and you can get pregnant immediately.

The IUD produces copper into the womb, which modifies the cervical mucus and makes it more difficult for sperms to reach an egg. It also stops a fertilized egg from implanting itself. Contraceptives are very useful in preventing unwanted pregnancies. If you don’t want to abstain and you’re not planning on having children use a contraceptive of your choice and enjoy the progress. You can schedule a private consultation with Suncoast women’s care to learn more about birth control methods.