Consideration women: Has it been some time because you talked to your physician about one of the best contraception possibility for you?
It may be time to alter that.
A lady’s contraception wants change all through her life, and there are all the time new choices out there, together with a number of within the final 5 years.
“We’ve got a lot of contraception choices which might be protected and efficient,” mentioned Suzanne West, MD, a Spectrum Well being obstetrics and gynecology specialist.
It’s necessary to start out any dialog about contraception with huge questions first, Dr. West mentioned.
“We are able to begin by speaking about your interval,” she mentioned. “Is it painful or heavy? Would you prefer to make your durations higher and likewise forestall being pregnant? That may lead us down a path of choices.”
Different issues to contemplate:
- Do you will have a desire for hormonal or non-hormonal contraception?
- Are you good about remembering to take a capsule on daily basis?
- How incessantly do you want contraception?
- Do you will have medical insurance or funds constraints to contemplate?
- What well being situations do you will have?
The listing of contraception choices is lengthy, however there are 4 new strategies—out there within the final 5 years—so as to add to the chances, Dr. West mentioned.
1. Phexxi contraceptive gel
This can be a new non-hormonal contraception methodology, authorised by the Meals and Drug Administration in Could 2020. Since then, although, Dr. West mentioned she has not had any sufferers instantly ask for it.
It’s a prescription vaginal gel that forestalls being pregnant. You place it in your vagina inside an hour earlier than intercourse. It lowers the pH in your vagina, thus lowering sperm mobility and serving to to cease the sperm from attending to an egg.
Earlier than Phexxi, there was additionally an identical over-the-counter possibility out there, Dr. West mentioned. In comparison with that, Phexxi is much less irritating and it additionally carries the good thing about lowering the chance of contracting the sexually transmitted infections chlamydia and gonorrhea.
2. Annovera contraceptive vaginal ring
Launched in 2018, this vaginal ring has benefits over comparable merchandise as a result of the identical ring can be utilized for a full 12 months—or 13 menstrual cycles—and it doesn’t should be refrigerated when not in use.
The affected person inserts the tender, silicone ring into the vagina and leaves it for 21 days, then removes it for seven days.
3. Slynd progestin-only capsule
Slynd got here on the contraception scene in 2019, providing one other progestin-only contraception capsule, Dr. West mentioned. (Previous to that, there was just one possibility.) Whereas most contraception capsules are mixture capsules containing estrogen and progestin, not all girls can take estrogen, she mentioned.
Dr. West mentioned this capsule can be advantageous as a result of it has an extended “missed-pill” window than different choices—as much as 24 hours. She additionally mentioned it’s the solely oral progesterone that reliably suppresses ovulation.
4. Twirla contraceptive patch
Accredited in 2020, Twirla is a weekly contraception patch that incorporates a barely totally different hormone mixture than different patches, thus making it an incredible possibility for individuals who haven’t tolerated earlier patch formulations properly, Dr. West mentioned.
It isn’t an possibility for ladies with a physique mass index larger than 30, and might be much less efficient in girls with a BMI between 25 and 30.
With new choices and ever-changing circumstances in a lady’s life, Dr. West recommends discussing contraception at each annual examination.
“Once I see individuals for his or her yearly bodily, I all the time ask if they’re sexually energetic, and do they want contraception,” she mentioned. “In the event that they do, what are they utilizing and are they pleased with that methodology?”
By far the most well-liked methodology amongst her sufferers is the leave-in progesterone intrauterine units, or IUDs. Relying on which one you select, they’re FDA-approved to stay within the physique for as much as seven years, Dr. West mentioned.
Prior to now, IUDs had been linked to growing charges of pelvic inflammatory illness, as a result of braided IUD string, she mentioned.
However the IUDs used at this time have a monofilament string—and most really lower an individual’s danger of creating pelvic inflammatory illness as soon as the IUD has been in for at the least two weeks.
Present IUDs additionally haven’t been linked to infertility and are provided to girls who’ve by no means been pregnant, in addition to younger teenagers.
The Liletta IUD, one of many progesterone-containing IUDs, is essentially the most generally used IUD at Spectrum Well being, Dr. West mentioned.
Sufferers prefer it not solely as a result of it’s FDA-approved to stop being pregnant for as much as six years, nevertheless it additionally helps girls management or get rid of their interval. Additionally, fertility returns instantly at time of elimination, Dr. West mentioned.
Dr. West inserts the IUD within the affected person in her workplace. It’s a versatile, plastic, T-shaped system that when inserted within the uterus releases a progestin hormone that forestalls being pregnant by inhibiting sperm motion, lowering sperm survival and thinning the liner of the uterus.
“It’s very well-tolerated,” she mentioned.
No matter possibility is best for you, don’t be afraid to ask questions and discover alternate options together with your physician at any stage.
