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5 myths about the IUD, busted
After years in unofficial exile, the IUD is finally making a much-deserved comeback in the U.S. The device got a bad reputation mostly due to health problems women experienced using the creepy-looking Dalkon Shield , a poorly designed model of the IUD that’s been off the market for decades. Fortunately, medical providers and researchers , […]
What’s in a birth control label?
Any prescription birth control method you buy in the United States comes with a square of delicately thin paper, folded until it won’t fold any more, covered in teeny-tiny print. It’s called a “package insert” or a “label”—and it may be telling you lies. First, some history… It wasn’t so long ago that there was […]
Starting the pill: How about now?
Sometimes old ideas die hard. One good example is the old idea that you have to start taking the pill on a Sunday, or start it five days after your period begins. Research has shown that this is just plain wrong. Out with the old… In the old days, health care providers often advised women […]
Getting pregnant: Yes you can!
As a doctor, one of the things that most surprises me is the number of women who don’t use birth control because they think they can’t get pregnant. Risk can be tricky to understand and we all want to believe that things like car wrecks and debilitating diseases never happen to us or to the […]
Earth Day Reminder: Birth Control is Green!
Kirsten Moore is a consultant for the Reproductive Health Technologies Project (RHTP). It’s almost Earth Day and you’re thinking about what you can do to help the planet. An article blaming your birth control pill for a plethora of environmental woes, from intersex fish to male prostate cancer, shows up in your twitter feed. So, […]
IUDs are A-OK: Doctors say the best new birth control has been here all along
UPDATE: Since this article went live, several more IUDs have hit the market. Learn all about the IUDs available in the U.S. as of 2017 . — If you’ve been skipping right over the IUD when exploring your birth control options , you aren’t alone. The mere sight of that homely acronym (an umbrella term […]
The emergency contraceptive that keeps going… and going…
I’ve written before about our best-laid plans for having protected sex gone awry … It’s pretty common. For anyone who finds herself worried about becoming pregnant the morning after, there are multiple options . The one I want to tell you about today is perhaps the best-kept secret of emergency contraception: the non-hormonal copper intrauterine […]
Pulling out: The kung fu of contraception
At some point, just about every couple will probably use withdrawal, aka “pulling out” or “coitus interruptus,” as a birth control method. It’s free and it doesn’t require a trip to the clinic or pharmacy. But withdrawal is birth control kung fu—it requires self-knowledge, serious discipline, and lots of practice. The Basics To use withdrawal, […]
Whoops! Birth control you can use after sex
There are lots of reasons the best laid plans for using birth control don’t work out: I completely forgot to take my pill (!)… I just didn’t have enough money to pay for the ring this month… The condom broke… We’d had some drinks and got carried away… Something like this happens to most of […]
All about prescription birth control
The IUD , the implant , and sterilization . To get the most effective birth control methods—an IUD, the implant, or, if you’re looking for something permanent, sterilization—you have to visit a health care provider. (BTW, we can help you find one here .) Visiting a provider might seem like a pain, but for women […]
