Your Birth Control Options

There are a lot of options for birth control and you may feel overwhelmed or confused trying to decide what's best for you. At Northwest Associates for Women's Healthcare in Hoffman Estates, IL, our qualified OBGYNs can recommend what birth control would be right for you.

The two main types of birth control are hormonal and non-hormonal. Hormonal birth control can take a lot of different forms and prevents pregnancy by changing your body's chemistry. They release estrogen or progestin to prevent ovulation. These are different kinds of hormonal birth control:

• Oral medication. The pill should be taken at the same time every day to be most effective. The pill often helps with regulating and lessening periods in women with irregular and heavy periods.
• Vaginal ring. The Nuvaring is inserted into the vagina every month and releases hormones.
• Hormone injections are done once every few months to prevent pregnancy.
• An IUD, or intrauterine device, is implanted in the uterus. These can be used for up to seven years, but can also be removed at any time.
• Dermal implants usually go in the arm and release hormones.
• Birth control patches can be worn almost anywhere on the body and are replaced every month to release hormones.

Some women experience unpleasant side effects of hormonal birth control. You still have options for birth control if hormonal birth control isn't right for you. Condoms should be used even when you are on hormonal birth control because birth control does not protect you from sexually transmitted infections. Some other forms of non-hormonal birth control offered in Hoffman Estates, IL, are:

• Spermicides work by blocking the cervix and by preventing sperm from moving well enough to find an egg.
• A copper IUD releases no hormones but prevents pregnancy by making the uterus difficult for an egg to attach to.
• Diaphragms are a barrier method worn by women high in the vagina to cover and block the cervix.

You have many birth control options and should always be using condoms in conjunction with another hormonal or non-hormonal method to prevent STIs. Northwest Associates for Women's Healthcare in Hoffman Estates, IL, is here for you if you're considering birth control and don't know which option is right for you. Call us for an appointment at (847) 884-1800.