Common Birth Control for Women and How It Affects Them
Let’s face it — sex is great. From inexperienced horny teens to mature and elderly couples, everyone does it. However, there’s one problem. If you’re not careful, you might get pregnant, which isn’t something everyone wants.
The regular alternative to this is to use contraceptives (typically condoms). However, they’re not 100% efficient, and some of us simply don’t like how they feel. This leads us to another alternative — women’s birth control. In the following, we’ll discuss the most popular ways females can avoid getting pregnant.
Abstinence
The first and obvious choice you can make to prevent unwanted pregnancy is simply not to have sex. Sure, it defeats the purpose of having a good time, but it’s not really like that. Abstinence doesn’t mean that you should stop sexual intercourse forever and after — it just means you lay off it for a while.
Just like anything else, sexual Abstinence has its benefits. Namely, it helps couples concentrate on other aspects of their lives, whether it’s your education, work, or family life.
Not being sexually active isn’t all that bad. It helps both of you to become focused and improve your life before you engage in sex once again.
But what about the negatives? Well, laying off sex can pave the way for infidelity. Due to a lack of action in the sack, your partner might be tempted to cheat on you with others. But many couples solve this with sex toys. With consent, you can lock up your man’s penis in a cock cage and keep the key safe in your hands.
Permanent Sterilization Surgery for Women
Female sterilization is a permanent procedure,so you shouldn’t take it lightly. It prevents pregnancy by blocking fallopian tubes. Additionally, this surgery is more expensive than male sterilization that we know by the name of vasectomy.
When it comes to the benefits of this procedure, they’re pretty clear. Female sterilization is almost 100% effective, meaning there’s little to no chance of you getting knocked up. The failure rate is also pretty low, and there is no serious cause for concern. Your periods, hormone levels, and libido will stay the same.
On the other hand, the only real negative to this option is that it’s irreversible. If you change your mind in a couple of years, well, it won’t be possible to have kids anymore. If you are worried about that, some other birth control methods might be more suited for you.
Copper Intrauterine Device (IUD)
In essence, a copper intrauterine device is a long-term form of contraception that a doctor inserts into your body. It has a shape that resembles the letter “T” and is small, somewhat like a quarter. Unlike other IUDs, the copper one doesn’t use any hormones for its outer layer, just copper wires that prevent pregnancy. The copper creates a toxic environment for semen, preventing them from surviving enough to fertilize the female egg cell.
The major pro of using a copper IUD is that it has a near 100% efficiency rate. Furthermore, the lack of hormones means that you won’t experience nausea, headaches, and mood swings.
However, there are cons. In case you are allergic to copper, or you have Wilson’s disease, you can’t use it. Additionally, the common side effect of using an IUD is a longer and more painful menstrual cycle.
Shots or Injection
In case you don’t fear needles, you can opt for a progestin birth control shot. The effect lasts for three months. Similar to pills, these birth control injections will prevent ovulation and are 99% effective. And if you want to keep up with your shots, you should do it every three months without skipping a day between.
However, the birth control shot has its downsides too. These include irregular periods, increased bleeding, weight problems, nausea, tender breasts, headaches, and even frequent mood changes. Furthermore, these can occur throughout the three months the shot is inside you, making this option a bit too much for some women.
Oral Contraceptives
The most common birth control option is pills, or as some call them — oral contraceptives. You take them by mouth to eliminate the risk of getting pregnant. You can separate them into two main groups: combination and progestin-only pills.
The first ones combine estrogen and progestin and there are numerous types of it: monophasic, multiphasic, extended-cycle, etc. The progestin-only pills are great for women who can’t consume estrogen due to various reasons, and they often go by the name minipills.
Both pills have a similar efficiency rate of around 90%, which isn’t as high as the previously mentioned options. The major pros, however, are 24/7 protection, a normal menstrual cycle, and they’re fully reversible once you stop taking them.
Nevertheless, the cons do exist too. Namely, the pills don’t protect against STIs, meaning you’ll need to use condoms again. Additionally, you need to take it every day, which can be easy to forget if you have a hectic schedule, or you don’t take them with you while traveling.
Vaginal Ring
Another common birth control option is to use vaginal rings. These prescription-only rings go inside your vagina and release estrogen and progestin into your bloodstream. As such, your body stops producing egg cells for semen to fertilize. These rings are usually 2-inches in size (around) and will fit any woman fine.
The efficiency rate is similar to that of pills, meaning somewhere around 90%. But there are some safety concerns to have. Although they’re pretty safe to use, some women might experience a higher blood clot risk. This is especially true for the ones who smoke and are in their 40s. Therefore, we recommend talking to your doctor before you begin using them.
Female Condom
Lastly, we should mention female condoms. In essence, they’re pretty much the same thing as male rubbers. The way they work is by stopping semen from entering your vagina while you have sex. Furthermore, they work fine in preventing STIs. They’re also made from latex, and you simply insert them into your vagina.
The benefit of using these contraceptives is that they’re cheaper than other alternatives. Furthermore, there are no side effects, and they can increase arousal. Statistics suggest that around 18 out of 100 women that use female condoms end up getting pregnant. This isn’t the best efficiency rate, but it sure isn’t as risky as having sex without a rubber and having your partner pulling out moments before he orgasms.
