Birth Control…of course???
With so many choices, are you getting what you really want?
Using contraception is a personal decision. You can choose permanent, semi-permanent, barrier, hormonal or even “emergency” options. Although using birth control may help you avoid unintended pregnancy, there’s more to consider.
Are you getting what you really want? What you really need?
The choice to be sexually active can impact your physical health, your self-esteem, other relationships, and your future. This is true whether or not you become pregnant. Any birth control choice should include considerations of health, desire to have children in the future, frequency of sexual activity, number of partners, and (for some) spiritual concerns. Some STIs can cause infertility.
GOOD NEWS:
- For women who never miss a pill, take it at the same time every day, and abstain from sex while on certain other medications, oral contraceptives are very effective in preventing pregnancy.
- Condoms are the only birth control method which reduces the spread of some STDs. Barrier methods, while not as effective in preventing pregnancy, do not destroy embryonic human life. CDC Condom Fact Sheet in Brief.
BAD NEWS:
- No birth control can protect your emotional well-being.
- Hormonal contraception provides no protection from STI/STDs.
- Hormonal contraception like birth control pills and emergency contraception–especially frequent use of emergency contraception–may cause serious side effects, including high blood pressure, blood clots, heart attack and stroke.
- Often, the back up plan for failed contraception is abortion.
