Birth Control

The Healthy Woman

OB/Gyns & OB/GYNs located in Snellville, GA & Lawrenceville, GA

When considering methods to prevent pregnancy, it’s important to be aware of all your options. The Healthy Woman team in Snellville and Lawrenceville, Georgia, knows how to help women decide on the option that best suits their personal health needs. If you’re looking for guidance on birth control, call the office nearest you today to schedule an appointment or book your appointment online.

Birth Control Q & A

What options are available for birth control?

Women have several options when it comes to birth control, including:

Barrier methods: condoms, diaphragm, or cervical cap
Hormonal: pills, shots, IUD, patch, vaginal ring
Sterilization: female tubal ligation, male vasectomy

Barrier methods work by physically blocking sperm from the egg. To be effective, you must use these methods each time you have sex. Besides preventing pregnancy, condoms also help protect against sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

What about birth control pills?

Also referred to as oral contraceptives, birth control pills contain hormones, progestin, and estrogen, that prevent the release of an egg. There are several different types of birth control pills, all with varying amounts of hormones. Your specialist at The Healthy Woman will work with you to help determine the pill that best fits your specific health needs. To be effective at preventing pregnancy, you have to take birth control pills daily.

What about shots for birth control?

Birth control shots -- also referred to as depo provera -- contain the hormone progestin and prevent pregnancy for up to three months. A trained member of The Healthy Woman team provides the shot.

What are birth control patches?

A patch is a hormonal method of birth control that is placed directly on your skin. The patch -- which contains progestin and estrogen -- can be placed on your arm, buttocks, stomach, or upper torso. For birth control, a new patch is placed on your skin every seven days for three straight weeks. During the fourth week, you don’t use a patch to trigger your period.

How does a vaginal contraceptive ring work?

The vaginal contraceptive ring is also a hormonal method of birth control. You insert a ring into your vagina and leave it there for three weeks. The ring doesn’t have to be in any specific spot to be effective. The ring is then removed during the fourth week for menstruation.

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