Female contraceptives

It is very important to know the female contraceptives which are available to women in order to who which is the most adequate for each one, since the majority of the devices which there are on the market for controlling birth rate are only available to them.

Female contraceptives: which contraceptive to choose?

The choice of female contraceptive depends on different circumstances which can be:

- The age of the person that is going to use the contraceptive.

- The frequency of sexual relations or even the preferences of each person, etc.

The use of contraceptives is also for preventing sexually transmitted diseases, therefore depending on what type of sexual relations you are going to have you will have to choose one type or another.

If we have one stable partner we can choose whichever contraceptive, but if the sex is with unknown people we will always have to choose those contraceptives that protect us against sexually transmitted diseases.

In the following we group together the female contraceptives according to the frequency of use that they require:

Immediate use contraceptives

In this group we put together the contraceptives which need to be used in the moment of having sexual relations.

- Female condom: this should be positioned immediately before the sexual act.

- Diaphragm: this female contraceptive can be positioned from 10 minutes to 4 hours before the intercourse but should stay positioned for 8 hours after having the sexual relations.

- Contraceptive sponge: can be introduced hours before having sexual relations.

- Cervical cap: can be introduced into the vagina up to 24 hours before maintaining sexual relations.

Daily use contraceptives

The daily use contraceptives for women are hormonal and are taken orally.

- Contraceptive pills: they normally come in packs of 28 pills, but only 21 of these pills contain hormones, the other 7 are placebos. This is done to accustom the woman to taking her contraceptive pill every day and that way she won’t forget any.

Weekly use contraceptives

The weekly use contraceptives come in the form of a patch.

- Contraceptive patch: this female contraceptive is changed each week (for three weeks) and it is recommended that it be on the same day, and on the fourth week it is not applied because menstruation starts.

Monthly, two-monthly and three-monthly contraceptives

In this group we group together the contraceptives that are administered monthly, two- monthly and three-monthly.

- Vaginal ring: this contraceptive is used monthly and for three weeks it releases two female hormones whose function is to prevent ovulation.

- Contraceptive injections: these female contraceptives in the form of an intramuscular injection are hormonal and can be administered monthly, two-monthly or three-monthly.

Long term contraceptives

- IUD: the intrauterine device can remain in the uterus of the woman for 5 years.

- Contraceptive implant: it lasts for 3 to 5 years, but can be removed before.

Surgical or permanent contraceptives

-Female sterilization: this female contraceptive is permanent and its reversibility is very complicated , but is possible.

- Essure: this contraceptive is also permanent and its reversibility is fairly more complicated than that of the tube ligation.