reproductive health
It’s Your
Choice
is your birth control right for your age and lifestyle? by anna zernone giorgi
D
espite the availability, convenience and effectiveness of women’s birth control options, almost half of U.S. pregnancies are unplanned, according to the American Congress of Obstetrics and Gynecologists. Surprisingly, half of these pregnancies occurred in women who were using birth control at the time of conception, though probably inconsistently or incorrectly. If you are a woman who wants to avoid an unintended pregnancy, it’s likely that you will have to use birth control for about three decades of your life, ACOG reports. However, only con-
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healthylife
sistent and correct usage will give you optimum effectiveness. “A patient needs to discuss with her health care provider her lifestyle and how good she is with being compliant with medication, and try to discuss those options, because with any medication or any birth control, number one, you need to be compliant. If you’re not compliant, the efficacy of that particular product is going to go down significantly,” says Dr. Robert Goldberg, an obstetrician/gynecologist with the Avery Center for Obstetrics and Gynecology in Westport, Norwalk, Fairfield and New Canaan.
In addition, to help maintain effectiveness it’s important for patients to contact their health care provider about issues related to side effects or interruptions in usage, such as a missed birth control pill, Goldberg says. “They really should call their health care provider immediately to discuss what’s normal, what’s not normal, or how they should proceed for different scenarios.” Understanding the available options and how they work can help you team with your health care provider to find the best option for each stage of your life. Here’s a breakdown on different types.