Hormonal Methods of Birth Control
Medical Author: Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD
Medical Editor: William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR
Introduction to birth control
If a woman is sexually active and she is fertile, meaning that she is physically able to become
pregnant, she needs to ask herself, "Do I want to become pregnant
now?" If her answer is "No," she must use some method of birth
control (contraception).
Terminology for "birth control" includes contraception, pregnancy prevention, fertility control, and family planning. But no matter what the process is called, sexually active people can choose from a plethora of methods to reduce the possibility of their becoming pregnant. Nevertheless, no method of birth control available today offers perfect protection against sexually transmitted infections (sexually transmitted diseases, or STDs), except abstinence.
In simple terms, all methods of birth control are based on either preventing a man's sperm from reaching and entering a woman's egg (fertilization) or preventing the fertilized egg from implanting in the woman's uterus (her womb) and starting to grow. New methods of birth control are being developed and tested all the time. And what is appropriate for a couple at one point may change with time and circumstances.
Unfortunately, no birth-control method, except abstinence, is considered to
be 100% effective.
Hormonal methods of contraception
There are several different hormonal methods of birth control. The differences
among them involve
- the type of hormone,
- the amount of hormone, and
- the way the hormone enters a woman's body.
The hormones can be estrogen and/or progesterone. These hormones may be taken orally
(taken by mouth), implanted into body tissue, injected under the skin, absorbed
from a patch on the skin, or placed in the vagina. The mode of delivery
determines whether the hormonal exposure is continuous or intermittent.
The different hormonal types of birth control are comparable in that they are
all highly effective and all are reversible. However, none of the hormonal
methods of birth control protect a woman against sexually transmitted
infections.
Next: Oral hormones: the pill »
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