{"id":1330,"date":"2021-12-03T08:08:36","date_gmt":"2021-12-03T08:08:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/obgyn-specialists-of-south-miami\/?p=1330"},"modified":"2022-01-25T08:13:43","modified_gmt":"2022-01-25T08:13:43","slug":"birth-control-options-which-one-to-choose","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/obgyn-specialists-of-south-miami\/birth-control-options-which-one-to-choose\/","title":{"rendered":"Birth Control Options: Which One To Choose?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Currently, 65.3% of women in the United States use some form of contraception.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">But what is the best birth control? Well, some women claim it\u2019s the pill, but this is up to debate. All in all, these statistics are understandable &#8211; at the end of the day, contraception is one of the simplest ways to take your life into your own hands and live it according to your rules.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">However, there are a lot of birth control options women can choose from, making it tricky to pick the most suitable one for you. Your first step will be to consult a reliable <\/span><a href=\"\/obgyn-specialists-of-south-miami\/contraception\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>birth control specialist<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> for the most accurate recommendations according to your specific requirements.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">That being said, it&#8217;s also helpful to educate yourself on the different birth control options available to you. So, we&#8217;ve rounded up the most popular ones for you in this article. Below, you&#8217;ll get to read about non-hormonal birth control, the best contraceptive for long-term results, and much more.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Let&#8217;s jump right into it.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>What Does \u201cBirth Control\u201d Refer To?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1332 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/obgyn-specialists-of-south-miami\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/202\/2022\/01\/What-Does-Birth-Control-Refer-To.jpg\" alt=\"Contraceptive Pills and Condoms on Colored Background. \" width=\"1000\" height=\"667\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/obgyn-specialists-of-south-miami\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/202\/2022\/01\/What-Does-Birth-Control-Refer-To-200x133.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/obgyn-specialists-of-south-miami\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/202\/2022\/01\/What-Does-Birth-Control-Refer-To-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/obgyn-specialists-of-south-miami\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/202\/2022\/01\/What-Does-Birth-Control-Refer-To-400x267.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/obgyn-specialists-of-south-miami\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/202\/2022\/01\/What-Does-Birth-Control-Refer-To-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/obgyn-specialists-of-south-miami\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/202\/2022\/01\/What-Does-Birth-Control-Refer-To-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/obgyn-specialists-of-south-miami\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/202\/2022\/01\/What-Does-Birth-Control-Refer-To-800x534.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/obgyn-specialists-of-south-miami\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/202\/2022\/01\/What-Does-Birth-Control-Refer-To.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Before looking at the top five most popular forms of birth control, let&#8217;s quickly go through the term &#8220;birth control.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In the simplest terms, birth control helps prevent an undesired pregnancy. There are two key types of contraception: hormonal and non-hormonal birth control. Here are some examples from both of these categories.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Hormonal methods of birth control:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Intrauterine devices (IUD)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Implants<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Injections<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Vaginal rings<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Skin patches<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Pills<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Non-hormonal birth control methods:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Diaphragm<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Cervical cap<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Spermicide<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Female and male condoms<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sponges<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">ParaGard<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sterilization<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The withdrawal method<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Whether you\u2019ll choose to use hormonal or non-hormonal contraception depends on you and your specific situation. Most importantly, it\u2019s best you consult with a trained professional for expert advice on which contraceptive method is the most suitable for you.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>How to Figure Out the Best Birth Control for Me?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Besides listing contraception as hormonal and non-hormonal, there are a few different categories of birth control out there. These include short-acting hormonal contraception, long-term birth control, permanent contraception, emergency contraception, and one-time &#8220;barrier&#8221; contraception. Here are some critical facts you&#8217;ll need to know about each of these categories.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Short-Acting Hormonal Birth Control<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">This is the best birth control category for many women because you can get pregnant again once you stop using these. For example, one of the most popular forms of contraception, the birth control pill or &#8220;the Pill,&#8221; is around 91% effective at preventing unwanted pregnancy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Still, once you stop using it and your menstrual cycle regulates, you&#8217;ll likely be able to have a baby. Many women love this pill because it offers a highly effective, short-term solution.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">However, when you&#8217;re just starting to use short-acting hormonal contraception, you may experience mild to more severe side effects. For example, some women notice bleeding or spotting between periods, nausea, sore breasts, headaches, and mood swings when it comes to the contraceptive pill. Luckily, these adverse effects usually go away after around 2 to 3 months.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">On the positive side, short-acting hormonal contraception also has plenty of benefits. Namely, women claim to feel less period pain, flow, and frequency. Moreover, the pill helps some women clean up their acne and regulate their mood.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">That being said, you&#8217;ll need to consult a professional like <\/span><a href=\"\/obgyn-specialists-of-south-miami\/konstantin-v-nikitin-md-facog\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Konstantin Nikitin<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> for the best type of short-acting hormonal birth control. This way, you&#8217;ll get expert advice and guidance.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Long-Term Birth Control<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">This type of contraception is excellent if you want a highly effective, lasting contraceptive method with minimal maintenance. You can choose between implants (typically inserted in the arm) and IUDs or intrauterine devices (inserted in the uterus).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Not only is long-term birth control 99% effective at unwanted pregnancy prevention, but it&#8217;ll work for up to 10 years. Of course, the exact year will depend on the specific method of contraception.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Permanent Birth Control Methods<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">If you want a more permanent solution (because maybe you&#8217;ve decided to stay childless), you can get a vasectomy (for men) or a tubal ligation (for women). These are usually simple surgical procedures that are 100% effective. You can expect it to take a few days when it comes to recovery.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Permanent birth control won&#8217;t affect sexual function. Also, if you decide to do tubal ligation, you&#8217;ll still have your menstrual cycle. In a nutshell, nothing will change in your everyday life, except the chance of getting pregnant will be zero.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">It&#8217;s also important to mention that you can get the procedure reversed (if you change your mind about having children). However, you might not be able to return your fertility.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">So, is permanent birth control a good idea? Well, the answer depends on you. If you\u2019ve 100% made up your mind about staying child-free, it\u2019s a good solution for contraception. However, you\u2019ll need to take the fertility risks in mind if you ever want to reverse it.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Emergency Contraception Methods<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">If you had sexual intercourse without using contraception or an accident (for instance, the condom breaks), you might want to consider emergency birth control. You can solve the problem by choosing between two pill types or a copper IUD.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Usually, most pharmacies won&#8217;t need a prescription from you, but this varies from one country to the next. One of the pills is &#8220;Plan B,&#8221; while the other is &#8220;Ella.&#8221; &#8220;Ella&#8221; is a better option if you want to prevent unwanted pregnancy up to five days post sexual intercourse.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">As for Copper IUDs, they&#8217;re nearly 100% effective at preventing pregnancy when inserted within five days after sex, but you&#8217;ll need to see your healthcare professional.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>One-Time Barrier Contraception<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Overall, the most popular non-hormonal birth control is the condom. When you use it properly, it will have a 98% effectiveness rate. Moreover, one of the most significant perks of using a good quality condom is protecting you from sexually-transmitted diseases such as chlamydia, trichomoniasis, and gonorrhea.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">On the downside, condoms are ineffective against genital warts, herpes, and syphilis.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Popular Birth Control Alternatives<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1333 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/obgyn-specialists-of-south-miami\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/202\/2022\/01\/Popular-Birth-Control-Alternatives.jpg\" alt=\"Beautiful Hispanic Woman Holding Birth Control Pills Clueless and Confused Expression.\" width=\"1000\" height=\"667\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/obgyn-specialists-of-south-miami\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/202\/2022\/01\/Popular-Birth-Control-Alternatives-200x133.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/obgyn-specialists-of-south-miami\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/202\/2022\/01\/Popular-Birth-Control-Alternatives-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/obgyn-specialists-of-south-miami\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/202\/2022\/01\/Popular-Birth-Control-Alternatives-400x267.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/obgyn-specialists-of-south-miami\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/202\/2022\/01\/Popular-Birth-Control-Alternatives-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/obgyn-specialists-of-south-miami\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/202\/2022\/01\/Popular-Birth-Control-Alternatives-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/obgyn-specialists-of-south-miami\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/202\/2022\/01\/Popular-Birth-Control-Alternatives-800x534.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/obgyn-specialists-of-south-miami\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/202\/2022\/01\/Popular-Birth-Control-Alternatives.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The &#8220;pull out method&#8221; or &#8220;withdrawal&#8221; is a popular alternative to birth control and possibly the riskiest one we&#8217;ve mentioned. Essentially, the &#8220;pull out method&#8221; involves the man taking his penis out of the woman&#8217;s vagina before ejaculation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">This way, there&#8217;s a decent chance of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Unintended_pregnancy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">unwanted pregnancy<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. According to the numbers, four end up pregnant in every 100 individuals who use birth control alternatives like withdrawal. In percentages, this method works around 78% of the time.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Another popular birth control alternative is menstrual cycle tracking. This is a very unreliable form of natural contraception because menstrual cycles are not always accurate. You can use this method by tracking your ovulation and checking your fertile window to decrease the chance of pregnancy every month.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">All in all, if you\u2019re interested in any birth control alternatives, consult a specialist first.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Conclusion<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">As you can see, there are many birth control options you can choose from, depending on your preferences and your needs. No matter which one you choose, make sure to get tested regularly to ensure you and your partner are STD-free and safe. Above all, enjoy.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Book Your Appointment Now<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">As we&#8217;ve mentioned, you&#8217;ll want to consult with a trusted healthcare professional for the most expert advice on which birth control is the best choice for you. Don&#8217;t hesitate; book your appointment today and feel safe every time with your loved one.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Currently, 65.3% of women in the United States use some form of contraception.\u00a0 But what is the best birth control? Well, some women claim it\u2019s the pill, but this is up to debate. All in all, these statistics are understandable &#8211; at the end of the day, contraception is one of the simplest ways to  [&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1331,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[65,67,68,64,66],"class_list":["post-1330","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-birth-control","tag-best-birth-control-3","tag-birth-control-alternatives-3","tag-long-term-birth-control-3","tag-non-hormonal-birth-control-4","tag-permanent-birth-control-3"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/obgyn-specialists-of-south-miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1330","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/obgyn-specialists-of-south-miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/obgyn-specialists-of-south-miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/obgyn-specialists-of-south-miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/obgyn-specialists-of-south-miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1330"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/obgyn-specialists-of-south-miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1330\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/obgyn-specialists-of-south-miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1331"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/obgyn-specialists-of-south-miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1330"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/obgyn-specialists-of-south-miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1330"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/obgyn-specialists-of-south-miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1330"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}