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Hello, Skyla! Getting to know the newest IUD
Update: Skyla is no longer the new kid on the block. Two more hormonal IUDs, LILETTA and Kyleena , are now available as well. Let’s hear it for choices! — Birth control has many wonderful qualities—but being one-size-fits-all isn’t one of them. So when a new birth control option becomes available—especially one that’s long-acting and […]
Birth control for breastfeeding moms
Now that your bundle of joy has come, it’s time to snuggle up with that new-baby smell and settle into being a mom. Between that and dealing with the effects of sleep deprivation— going to the grocery store in pajamas, falling into bed right after dinner, and drooling in public —you’ve got enough to worry […]
Abuse by birth control sabotage
By Dr. Liz Miller, MD, PhD, the Chief of Adolescent Medicine at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC. About twelve years ago, I was working as a doctor in a clinic in California. A young woman came in and requested a pregnancy test. Her test was negative. I asked her if she wanted to be […]
Stress, depression, and birth control…
Feeling stressed or depressed can make it harder to do all kinds of basic things —like get to work or school, sleep well, and make decisions. Turns out it can also make it harder to stay on top of your birth control. The study Almost 700 women in Michigan, ages 18-19, took part in a […]
Birth control bullies: When your partner wants your method to fail
When I was training to become a doctor, one of my patients was a 25-year-old woman. She already had one child and didn’t want to get pregnant again. She’d been using the birth control patch , but came to me because the patch wasn’t working for her. When I asked her “why not?” she said, […]
No controversy: 5 fantastic arguments for better birth control access
UPDATE: President Biden has opened the enrollment period for the Affordable Care Act health insurance plans for 2022. You can now enroll in one of these plans until January 15, 2022, at healthcare.gov . Some states have their own open enrollment periods and websites for signing up. Check to see if your state does . […]
The power of free birth control
UPDATE: President Biden has opened the enrollment period for the Affordable Care Act health insurance plans for 2022. You can now enroll in one of these plans until January 15, 2022, at healthcare.gov . Some states have their own open enrollment periods and websites for signing up. Check to see if your state does . […]
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 , […]
Something for the (IUD insertion) pain…
As the comments on some of our articles will testify, IUD insertion is more painful for some women than for others. As more and more U.S. women are deciding that the gain is worth the pain , researchers and health care providers are looking for ways to make the insertion process more comfortable for all. […]
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 […]
