Certain hormones can help prevent pregnancy. Hormones like the ones used in birth control pills can be taken in other forms. These must be prescribed by your healthcare provider. Because there's very little for you to do, you may find one of these methods easier to stick to than pills. Side effects for this method will vary depending on the type of time-release hormone you use. Talk to your healthcare provider for more information.
Talk to your healthcare provider about the effectiveness of this birth control method.
Methods to deliver hormones include:
A skin patch placed on your stomach, buttocks, arm, or shoulder. You replace the patch weekly.
A ring that you insert in your vagina, leave in for 3 weeks, and remove for 1 week.
Injections given in your arm or buttocks once every 3 months by your healthcare provider.
An implant placed under the skin in the upper arm by your healthcare provider.
Lowest pregnancy rate of the birth control methods that can be reversed.
No interruption to sex.
Easy to use.
Don't require taking a pill each day.
May decrease menstrual cramps, menstrual flow, and acne.
Do not protect against sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).
May cause irregular periods.
May cause side effects such as nausea, weight gain, breast tenderness, fatigue, or mood changes. (These often go away within 3 months.)
May take up to a year for you to become fertile (able to get pregnant) after stopping injections.
May increase the risk of blood clots, heart attack, and stroke.
You are a smoker and over age 35.
You have hypertension or gallbladder, liver, or heart disease.
You have diabetes, migraines, bleeding, or vein problems. (In these cases, discuss the risks with your doctor.)
Date Last Reviewed:
Date Last Modified: 2009-03-25T00:00:00-06:00
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