The use of basal body temperature is the most effective type of periodic abstinence birth control.
Estrogen in the birth control pill increases triglycerides as well as HDL cholesterol and lowers LDL cholesterol. The progestin in the birth control pill lowers HDL (good) and raises LDL (bad) cholesterol.
There is no significant increased risk of breast cancer in birth control pill users, even 10 years after stopping OCs.
After stopping the birth control pill you will have a slight delay before you return to fertility and pregnancy.
Women who get pregnant while using the birth control pill have no greater incidence of any type of birth defect.
All birth control pills with estrogen increase your risk of blood clots fourfold.
The risk of heart attack occurs only in current birth control users that are over the age of 35 who smoke.
The adverse effects produced by the estrogenic component of the birth control pill includes nausea, breast tenderness, fluid retention, temporary increase in blood pressure, thrombosis, changes in mood, and chloasma. The second component of the birth control pill, progestin, causes weight gain, nervousness, depression, tiredness, and acne.
“The birth control pill will decrease the amount of blood you lose during your menstruation. Normally you lose 35 cc of blood with each menses, but with the pill you will only lose 20cc.”
“Women who use the birth control pill are about half as likely to develop iron deficiency anemia as women who do not use the pill.”
“Women who use the birth control pill are significantly less likely to develop heavy periods, irregular cycles and bleeding between their periods.”
“The use of birth control pills decreases your risk of developing uterine cancer, as well as ovarian cancer by 50%. Women who use the birth control pill also have a 50% reduction in the incidence of benign breast disease.”
“The use of birth control pills in women will decrease the pain associated with your menses by 50% and 39% less premenstrual tension than women that do not use the pill.”
Simple ovarian cysts occur less frequently in birth control pill users when they use monophonic OCs.
Prior use with the birth control pill does not affect your mortality rate.
All of the injectable forms of contraception are very effective. The three types include depo-medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA), norethindrone enan-thate, and several progestin-estrogen combinations.
DMPA or Depo-Provera 150mg every 3 months has a first-year failure rate of 0.1%.
Bone density is decreased with DMPA. After stopping DMPA injections the bone denisty returns to normal.
Women that use the inject able forms of birth control have a complete disruption of the normal menstrual cycle and can develop iregular bleeding that may lead to the absence of menstruation.
Norplant releases sufficient amounts of progesterone for 5 years to prevent pregnancy. The pregnancy rate with Norplant is less than 0.2% and its major side effect is abnormal uterine bleeding.
The use of Plan B emergency contraception is the most effective form of emergency contraception with a failure rate of 1%. Plan B requires you take two tables of progesterone only pills 12 hours apart. Despite Plan B being the most effective it is not the most widely used form of emergency contraception. The most widely used form of emergency contraception is the Yuzpe regimen, which has a failure rate of 2% to 3%. The Yuzpe regimen requires you to take four birth control pills each with 50 micrograms of ethinyl estuarial and 0.5 mg of noregestrel in doses of two tablets 12 hours apart.
The pregnancy rate with the use of an IUD is 1.6% after 7 years and 1.7% after 12 years.
The incidence of problems cause by the IUD steadily decreases with increasing age.
The main mechanism of contraceptive action of the copper IUD is production of a local sterile inflammatory reaction of leukocytes, which destroys sperm and prevents fertilization.
If you want to become pregnant after the removal of your IUD your resumption of fertility is not delayed.
Your Copper or Progesterone-releasing IUD can be removed and a new one immediately reinserted with out consequence. You can insert an IUD on any day of the cycle.
With a copper IUD the pregnancy rate in the first year is 0.5% and the expulsion of the IUD is 10%. IUD is removed for medical reasons in 15% of women during the first year.
The amount of blood loss each cycle in women wearing a copper IUD is 50cc compared to 25cc with the progesterone-releasing IUD.
Mefenamic acid (Brand Name: Ponstel), 500 mg twice a day during menses, significantly reduces menstrual flow and pain in IUD users. Mefenamic acid is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug.
The IUD can perforate the uterus. This happens in about 1 of every 3000 insertions.
There is not an increase in incidence of congenital anomalies in infants born with any type of IUD.
If you become pregnant with an IUD in place and the IUD is not removed, the chances of miscarriage are about 55%. If the IUD is removed after conception the incidence of miscarriage is reduced to about 20%.
If you get pregnant with an IUD in place your chances of having an entopic pregnancy (pregnancy in the fallopian tube) is about 5% which is about 10 times greater than seen in pregnancies without an IUD.
Pregnant women with an IUD in place have an increased chances of premature delivery, about 2 to 4 times.
The risk of PID or Pelvic inflammatory disease of IUD users is only increased for the first 3 weeks after insertion of the IUD.
Pregnancy rates after having a vasectomy reversed is about 45% to 60% and the pregnancy rate after having a tubal legation reversed is from 50% to 80%.
In the United States 1% of women who have a tubal legation request a reversal, approximately 7000 women each year.
After having a vasectomy it usually takes about 15 to 20 ejaculations before a man is sterile.
After your partner has a vasectomy, two ejaculates without sperm are required before the man is considered sterile.
After having a tubal ligation your chances of becoming pregnant after 1-year is 0.55 per 100 women, after 5-years 1.31 women per 100 and after 10-years the failure rate is 1.85 women per 100. About one third of the pregnancies after a tubal ligation are ectopic pregnancies (a pregnancy in the fallopian tube).