Thanks to the advancement of medicine there are many different birth control methods available today, including: condoms, spermicides, diaphragms, intra-uterine devices, the birth control pill or patch and other hormonal contraceptives.
Barrier methods
Barrier methods include all devices that mechanically prohibit the sperm from reaching the female ovum. People can choose from condoms, diaphragms, cervical caps or sponges.
There are no medical conditions that prohibit the use of these devices and, especially when used in combination with a spermicidal preparation, they are very reliable in prevent fertilisation. As these methods are only necessary at the very moment of sexual intercourse, it makes them suitable for people who do not want to take hormonal medication to prevent pregnancy.
Nevertheless, many people object to the fact that these methods of birth control have to be inserted/used just before or during sexual intercourse because they consider it as an interruption.
Intra-uterine device
An intrauterine device - or IUD as it is commonly called - is a small device placed in the uterus by a doctor. The popular term for an IUD - ‘coil’ - is based on the coil-shaped design of early IUDs. The effectiveness of IUDs is comparable to other long-term methods; they are more than 99% effective. Some IUDs contain hormones, while others do not. Different IUDs have different lengths of use - some are effective for one year, while others are effective for five to ten years.
Some women report heavy or irregular periods and discomfort, although these side-effects usually disappear during the first weeks after insertion.
Hormonal methods
Hormonal methods generally work by either prevention of ripening and release of eggs from the ovaries, or by causing the mucus plug at the entrance of the womb to become too thick for sperm to enter. How these hormones are administered varies substantially, so a suitable delivery form can be choosen for almost every single woman.
Birth control pill
This pill is a small tablet taken orally for either 21 days, followed by a pill-free period of a week, or continuously. The pill releases hormones from the gastro-intestinal tract into the bloodstream. The pill is available in varying doses and types of hormones.
Injections
Instead of taking a daily pill, you are injected in the buttocks or arms periodically with a low dose of hormones that is released into the system, suppressing ovulation (the ripening and release of an egg cell) over time.
Implant
mplants are hormone-filled capsules inserted just under the skin of the upper arm. They contain a hormone that prevents pregnancy for up to five years.
Vaginal ring
The vaginal ring is a doughnut-shaped drug-delivery system that can be folded and inserted high into the vagina for three weeks out of the month, where it slowly releases hormones. These hormones are than absorbed into the blood stream.
Patch
This is a transdermal patch applied to the skin that delivers a continuous flow of hormones through the skin into the blood stream. Each patch is worn for one week and a total of three patches are worn for three consecutive weeks. No patch is worn during the fourth week.
Surgical methods
These surgical procedures can be used in men and women and are intended to result in permanent infertility. After achieving the number of children you wish to rear or if you do not wish to have children, there may be various reasons why you or your partner may decide to undergo surgical sterilisation:
- intolerance of other birth control methods
- refusal to apply other contraception techniques in the long term
- risk for hereditary disorders
In men, the ‘vas deferens’ or ‘ductus deferens’, the tube which connects the testicles to the prostate, is cut and closed on both sides. This procedure is called a ‘vasectomy’ and prevents the sperm produced in the testicles from being ejaculated via the semen.
In women, the ‘Fallopian tubes’ are closed by a procedure called ‘tubal ligation’. The Fallopian tubes allow the sperm to fertilise the female ovum and release the - eventually fertilised - ovum into the uterus.
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