Your Freedom, Your Choice, Long Acting Reversible Contraceptives
Most women use a form of birth control for many years within their lifetime. Finding the best birth control method involves thinking about several things, such as:
- Ease of use
- Success rate preventing pregnancy
- Ability to prevent infection of sexually transmitted diseases
- Existing health conditions
At Northwestern Women’s Health Associates, our compassionate team can help you find contraceptive solutions that fit your life, such as birth control after childbirth options. We believe in building relationships with our patients to help them attain their goals better.
Hormonal Birth Control Options: Pills, Injections, Implants, Patches, and Rings
Here are a few long-term birth control options patients can choose from.
The Pill –Recognized as highly effective, the pill is one of the most popular forms of hormonal birth control. Containing synthetic hormones, these oral contraceptives offer a 97-99 percent success rate when used correctly. Each pill gives a woman a precise dose of hormones that prevent pregnancy. At the end of the cycle, menstruation occurs. Women can select from the combination pill with estrogen and progestin or the mini-pill with progestin only. However, if not used as directed, the failure rate increases.
Injections – We can provide a long-term birth control option through injections. Every three months, you will be given an injection of long-acting synthetic progesterone by your physician or assistant. Just like the mini-pill, injections contain no estrogen. Injections are proven to be 99 percent effective in preventing pregnancy by preventing the release of eggs from the ovary and thickening the cervical mucus, which blocks sperm.
Patches – Hormone patches provide the same effect as oral contraceptives, with the added convenience of not needing to remember to take a pill every day. Through the skin transdermally, the adhesive patch delivers hormones discreetly and continuously, needing to be replaced weekly.
Rings – The vaginal ring releases low levels of progesterone and estradiol into your bloodstream. You’ll keep it in your vagina for three weeks, then remove it for one week to allow for your normal menstrual cycle.
Implants – Our Chicago office provides the insertion of contraceptive implants with local anesthesia, which can remain for up to three years and release progestin etonogestrel into the bloodstream. Upon insertion, you can be confident that you are protected from pregnancy within 24 hours. Following removal, your fertility should quickly resume.
Intrauterine Device (IUD)- Our office in the Chicago area offers IUD insertion, a reliable and long-lasting form of contraception. The T-shaped device is inserted into the uterus, with the arms of the T resting in the upper uterus. A string is attached to the tail of the T, providing a way to verify the device is in its place.
Sterilization by Laparoscopy – Sterilization is a form of permanent birth control. Tubal sterilization, as it is known, blocks the passage of eggs to the uterus via the fallopian tubes, providing a reliable method of pregnancy prevention. Some women opt to have their “tubes tied” after their last child via a minor surgical procedure.
Laparoscopic sterilization is a surgical procedure in which the fallopian tubes are closed off using a laparoscope through a small incision near the navel. Under general anesthesia, the procedure is typically performed on an outpatient basis in the hospital, allowing patients to go home on the same day. Immediate results can be expected. Recently, many women are choosing to have their tubes completely removed and this has been shown to lower the risk of ovarian cancer
Your Body, Your Options
Here at Northwestern Women’s Health Associates, we believe in providing the best choices for women seeking to control their sexual freedom without judgment. That’s why so many women trust us with their healthcare needs. For more information, please call us at 312-440-9400. Our office is 680 N. Lake Shore Drive #1200, Chicago.
