How Efficient Are the Various Birth Control Methods
Birth control helps couples prevent unwanted pregnancies, and some methods also provide protection against sexually transmitted diseases. Presently, there are solutions not only for women but also for men. The condom is definitely the most common form of birth control, particularly when you are not involved in a stable relationship. The birth control options vary depending on a number of elements that you can determine from the questions below.
Are you involved in a stable relationship?
How frequently do you change partners?
When do you plan to have a baby?
Have you run any medical tests to assess the health condition?
How often do you have sex?
How efficient are the various birth control methods? Are there side effects?
Condoms should be the only form of birth control for people who have occasional sex, because this is the only way to stop the infection with sexually transmitted diseases. If you have been in a long-term relationship and you think you can trust your partner, you can discuss other birth control methods such as hormonal pills, barriers, sterilization, intra-uterine devices (IUDs) and so on.
The pros and cons of a birth control options should be analyzed together with the health care provider. Some methods are totally safe and non-invasive while others pose some health hazards although minimal. The effectiveness of the method often comes into discussion. You should be aware of the fact that no birth control method other than abstinence (the choice of not having sex) has a 100% efficiency rate. Some people would even go to the length of combining several birth control methods to be certain that no unwanted pregnancy occurs.
The choice of a birth control method proves difficult difficult for women in more peculiar conditions. There are age problems when the female is too young or when she is too old reaching the perimenopause, health problems when some chronic disease prevents the use of regular birth control options or disabilities that make the challenges even more difficult to cope with.
Emergency contraception should also be mentioned as a form of birth control although it cannot be used on a regular basis. Two pills taken twelve hours apart can prevent unwanted pregnancies if used within maximum five days after the unprotected intercourse. The effect is similar with that of regular hormonal birth control, even if the efficiency rate is between 75% and 85%. There are limitations and a higher risk of side effects associated with emergency contraception.
