Choosing the Right Birth Control

Birth control (also known as contraception) is an age-old concern. Long before the introduction of “The Pill” in the 1960s, men and women were using condoms and other forms of birth control to avoid pregnancy. Today, there are more methods of safe and effective birth control than ever—from pills and patches to condoms and diaphragms. Choosing the right birth control method for you is a personal decision based on your lifestyle, budget, and needs.

Understanding Pregnancy

The first step in preventing pregnancy is to understand exactly how it happens. Very simply, pregnancy occurs when a fertilized egg is implanted onto the uterus. However, there are many factors that go into fertilization and implantation that can affect a woman’s ability and likelihood to get pregnant.

First, ovulation must occur. Ovulation is when an egg is released from the ovary into the fallopian tubes. During sexual intercourse with a man, ejaculated sperm enters the vagina and travels through the cervix and into the fallopian tubes to fertilize the egg. The fertilized egg then moves down the fallopian tubes into the uterus and implants itself onto the uterus lining. Almost half of fertilized eggs do not implant in the uterus and are flushed out of the system during menstruation.  

How Birth Control Works

Birth control prevents pregnancy by stopping different parts of the pregnancy process. Barrier methods of birth control—like condoms and diaphragms—physically block sperm from entering the cervix to fertilize the egg. Hormonal methods—like birth control pills, the patch or injections—release synthetic hormones into the body to prevent the release of eggs during ovulation, thicken the cervical mucus to keep sperm from breaking through, and also cause the uterus lining to thin so implantation of the egg is less likely. Other methods of birth control include sterilization surgery and fertility awareness, which involves only having intercourse during the portions of the menstrual cycle when the woman is least fertile and less likely to get pregnant (when compared to more fertile portions of the monthly menstrual cycle).

Using Birth Control

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than half of pregnancies in the U.S. are unplanned. Despite the fact that 62 percent of women ages 15 to 44 are using birth control and more than 99 percent of women report that they have used at least one form of birth control at some point, millions of unintended pregnancies still occur every year. The likely reason for this is that many men and women don’t always use birth control consistently and correctly. In order to effectively prevent pregnancy, you must always use one or more method of birth control exactly as directed. Even if you do this, no method of birth control is completely effective. The only sure way to prevent pregnancy is to abstain from sexual intercourse.

While abstaining from sex altogether is a guaranteed way to avoid getting pregnant, making a commitment to a birth control method that fits your lifestyle is also a responsible and effective way to prevent unwanted pregnancy.