There is no "best" method of birth control for every woman. The birth control method that is right for you and your partner depends on many things, and may change over time. Before choosing a birth control method, talk to your doctor or nurse about:
Learn about types of birth control that you or your partner can use to prevent pregnancy. Keep in mind that even the most effective birth control methods can fail. But your chances of getting pregnant are lower if you use a more effective method.
Women can choose from many different types of birth control methods. These include, in order of most effective to least effective at preventing pregnancy:
Types of birth control
Only two types can protect you from STIs, including HIV: male condoms and female condoms.4 While condoms are the best way to prevent STIs if you have sex, they are not the most effective type of birth control. If you have sex, the best way to prevent both STIs and pregnancy is to use what is called "dual protection." Dual protection means you use a condom to prevent STIs each time you have sex, and at the same time, you use a more effective form of birth control, such as an IUD, implant, or shot.
You can buy these types of birth control over the counter at a drugstore or supermarket:
You need a prescription for these types of birth control:
You will need surgery or a medical procedure for:
Please note that Essure® will not be sold or distributed in the United States after December 31, 2018.
Birth control works to prevent pregnancy in different ways, depending upon the type of birth control you choose:
Yes, hormonal birth control methods, such as the pill, are safe for most women. Today's birth control pills have lower doses of hormones than in the past. This has lowered the risk of side effects and serious health problems. Today's birth control pills can have health benefits for some women, such as a lower risk of some kinds of cancer.5 Also, different brands and types of birth control pills (and other forms of hormonal birth control) can increase your risk for some health problems and side effects. Side effects can include weight gain, headaches, irregular bleeding, breast tenderness, and mood changes. Talk to your doctor about whether hormonal birth control is right for you.
It can, depending on your health and the type of birth control you use. Talk to your doctor to find the birth control method that is right for you. Different forms of birth control have different health risks and side effects. Some birth control methods that increase your risk for health problems include:
If you smoke and are 35 or older, you should not use hormonal birth control. Smoking tobacco and using hormonal birth control raises your risk for blood clots and high blood pressure. Smoking and high blood pressure are risk factors for a heart attack or stroke. The risk for a heart attack or stroke also goes up as you age.
Maybe. Research shows that hormonal birth control, such as the pill, patch, shot, ring, implantable rod, and hormonal IUD, may help with heavy, painful, or long-term bleeding. These methods can also help you have lighter, shorter periods.6
Follow the instructions that came with your birth control about using back-up birth control (such as a condom and spermicide). You also can follow these recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.1 If you are late or miss a day taking your pill:
If you miss two or more days in a row:
Talk to your doctor if you continue to miss taking your birth control pill or find it hard to take the pill at the same time each day. You may want to consider a different type of birth control, such as an IUD, an implant, shot, ring, or patch that you don't have to remember to take every day.
Not very! About 22 out of 100 women who use withdrawal as their only form of birth control for a year will get pregnant. See the chart above for how this number compares to other methods of birth control. Withdrawal is when a man takes his penis out of a woman's vagina ("pulls out") before he ejaculates or "comes" (has an orgasm). This lowers the chance of sperm from going to the egg. "Pulling out" can be hard for a man to do. It takes a lot of self-control. Even if you use withdrawal, sperm can be released before the man pulls out. When a man's penis first becomes erect, some fluid may be on the tip of the penis. This fluid has sperm in it, so you could still get pregnant. Withdrawal also does not protect you from STIs, including HIV.
Breastfeeding can be a short-term method of birth control in very specific situations. The risk of pregnancy is less than 2 in 100 if all three of these describe you:1
and
and
Talk to your doctor about birth control if you do not want to get pregnant while nursing.
Under the Affordable Care Act (the health care law), most insurance plans cover FDA-approved prescription birth control for women, such as the pill, IUDs, and female sterilization, at no additional cost to you. This also includes birth control counseling.
For information about other services covered by the Affordable Care Act, visit HealthCare.gov.
The Office on Women's Health is grateful for the medical review by:
All material contained on these pages are free of copyright restrictions and maybe copied, reproduced, or duplicated without permission of the Office on Women’s Health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Citation of the source is appreciated. Page last updated: November 24, 2021 |