What Kind Of Birth Control Do You Most Recommend To Women In College And Why?
I don’t mean to sound like a wise ass, but my standard answer to this question is “whatever someone is going to use consistently and correctly.”
I can recommend a lot of different methods, but if someone tells that they don’t like the idea of a method (some people are freaked out about the idea of having things inserted in their body), or using a specific method goes against their religious/cultural beliefs, or they tell me that they won’t remember to use it the way they’re supposed to, then my recommendations are useless.
Because here’s the thing - a method can be super effective in the perfect world, but the effectiveness rate drops dramatically when we look at real people actually using it in the real world.
Take external condoms for example. Perfect world – 98% effective.
Once we add in humans who are, well, humans who make mistakes, that number drops to 82%. That’s 18 women getting pregnant in a year using condoms as their method of contraception.
Now if you ask me what are the most effective methods for preventing an unintended pregnancy, I have to go with one of the LARCS.
A LARC is a Long Acting Reversible Contraceptive. LARCs include the contraceptive implant and IUDs.
The contraceptive implant Nexplanon is inserted into the upper arm and can stay there for up to three years, and its 99% effective at preventing unintended pregnancy.
The IUD comes in two different types, hormonal and non-hormonal. The non-hormonal Copper T can be left in for up to 10 years. There are several hormonal IUDs on the market, like Mirena, Liletta and Skyla. These hormonal ones can be left in for 3 - 6 years depending on which one you get.
Not only are they long lasting, but both the hormonal and non-hormonal IUDs are 99% effective at preventing unintended pregnancy.
But there’s one major drawback, none of the LARCs provide any protection against STIs.
None.
So if you need to protect against both unintended pregnancy and STIs than I would recommend a LARC combined with either an internal or external condom.
That way you’re meeting all your needs.
Until next time, be safe and have fun!
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