The diversity of birth control methods is sometimes overwhelming, although we need to admit that it helps immensely; due to the large offer of types of birth control, everybody can find something suitable. The anatomical factors, the health condition and the age become decisive factors for the choice of the right birth control method. Normally, you should consult a specialist before taking a decision. Yet, there are limited types of birth control for people who have occasional sex with different partners, because most of them do not protect against STD. You can stay health only by using condoms correctly. The other types of birth control cannot keep STD away.

Besides condoms, birth control patches, pills, rings, shots, spermicides and IUD, natural family planning methods and sperm barriers represent the main types of birth control available at the moment. Normally, they are all easy to use and have a high efficiency rate, nevertheless, there are factors that limit their range of action or cause incompatibilities. So as to identify the birth control option that best suits your love life, you should first analyze options with a specialist.

Consider hormonal pills for instance. Such contraceptives have been refined over the years and there safety is undoubtedly higher at the moment. The number of side effects is consistently lower, yet they remain out of many women’s reach. You will have to be straightforward with the gynecologist about your love life and your medical history.

Health risks are associated with all the main types of birth control. Plus, the efficiency of the methods drops significantly if not used correctly. Once you identify what types of birth control you can use, you should move on to narrowing down your search and deciding for one or two methods to use in parallel. For example, you can try condoms and natural family planning or condoms and spermicides. Another possibility is sperm barriers combined with spermicides.

Lots of responsibility is required to actually build fertility awareness. Only when you learn how each method works, what risks it involves, what efficiency rate it has and how much it costs, can you move on and determine whether it is the right choice for you or not. On the average, sexual education can be improved at any age, particularly since there is a multitude of facilities that provide assistance with this.

The American affiliate of the International Planned Parenthood Federation is usually known by the shorter title of Planned Parenthood. It provides assistance to singles, teens, couples and children, for sexual education, and various health care problems related to reproduction. Planned Parenthood supports sexual education, pro-choice policies and insists on more government coverage in health programs. The organization is considered very controversial because they provide surgical abortion on request.

The history of Planned Parenthood began in 1916 when Margaret Sanger founded the first American birth control center in Brooklyn, NY. Gradually, the organization became actively involved in supporting women’s sexual rights and choices. At present, Planned Parenthood has over 850 offices all over the US, providing a wide number of services and facilities such as:

-abortion;
-pregnancy counseling;
-birth control solutions;
-emergency contraception;
-medical tests and screening for breast, testicular and ovary cancer;
-pregnancy consultations;
-treatment for STD;
-hormonal treatments for menopause and andropause;
-sexual education and more.

Most of the funds used by Planned Parenthood come from the government in the form of contracts and grants, but there is  very intense sponsorship from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which increases the annual budget considerably. Nevertheless, there are many non-profit for-life organizations that lobby the government to stop funding Planned Parenthood. The right to abortion that the Planned Parenthood supports is considered very controversial and there is a number of laws that the organization fights against.

Planned Parenthood is for total sexual freedom and the possibility to make choices, and therefore opposes all forms of restrictions. Whether it be right or wrong, that is for everyone to tell for his/her part. Yet, the open access to sexual education and birth control methods, decreases the number of unplanned pregnancies. If Planned Parenthood succeeds in reducing the number of abortions and inherent emotional traumas that derive from such interventions, it means that their efforts in favor of efficient birth control are worthy of appreciation.

Moreover, Planned Parenthood presently provides support for the testing of new contraceptives, but lots of reasons still make the organization controversial. Lots of them have been brought to the attention of the public, yet, many others remained undisclosed. The White House’s policy towards abortion may tip the scales to one side or another. We’ll see to which…

Sexual awareness, good knowledge of how the body works and plenty of involvement in the family life are necessary for a couple to successfully practice natural family planning. This kind of birth control is not easy, and both partners share the duty of getting information. The same methods used for the prevention of pregnancy can also be applied the other way round, when the couple is trying to conceive. Among the most common options here we can mention tests for ovulation, the monitoring of the cervical mucus, the basal temperature method, the standard days method, and even computer fertility tests and charts.

Natural family planning comes cheap and it is not difficult to understand and put into practice. Yet, it requires good communication with the life partner as well as willingness to accept the eventual limitations of the method. From the entire month, only ten days can be fertile, you just have to approximate which ones. Two choices are possible: not to have sex or use some other birth control method. Condoms will prevent both pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, while natural family planning only works for pregnancy prevention.

It is important for the woman to interpret her fertility daily, so that natural family planning be effective. Keep in mind that there are chances of getting pregnant even if you calculate your fertile and infertile days; consequently, consider alternative birth control if a pregnancy could be devastating for you. Therefore, you can take natural family planning less seriously if a pregnancy is acceptable at some point. The effectiveness of the method can only be appreciated depending on how accurate the woman is with her interpretation.

In the case of perfect usage, natural family planning is more effective than oral contraceptives. Yet, if we are to discuss not the perfect user but the average user, the efficiency rate drops somewhere between 75% and 88%. These data are closer to reality because few people who use natural family planning, actually follow all the rules correctly.

Who uses natural family planning? Such birth control options are very popular with people who do not use other contraceptive methods because of some cultural or religious beliefs. There are families that won’t mind conceiving and therefore take little care of birth control. In fact, for most couples who try natural family planning, a baby would not be a mistake or a problem.

Fertility awareness inevitably leads to natural birth control. There are many couples out there who for one reason or another cannot use hormonal contraceptives, and prefer to combine natural family planning with some non-traditional birth control method. The sympto-thermal method, the ovulation method, the standard days method or the rhythm method are just a few of the natural birth control options people rely on. Here is how each of these works.

The standard days method

The menstrual cycle is divided into three main periods according to the standard days method. Day number 1 is the first day of the period. There are very reduced chances of getting pregnant if you have sex between day 1 and day 8. Ovulation occurs between day 9 and day 18, and this is the most fertile interval. Use another birth control method or abstain. Natural birth control is once again possible between day 20 and day 32.

The ovulation method

A woman can recognize when ovulation is about to begin by the changes in the cervical mucus, yet, it is often hard to tell. Ovulation usually takes place between the 9th and the 18th day of the menstrual cycle, but variations are possible from woman to woman. If you prefer natural birth control, you can use the fertility tests available in drug stores to learn when you are most fertile, and use extra birth control during that period or abstain from sex.

The sympto-thermal method

The sympto-thermal method is both a natural birth control solution as well as an option for couples trying to conceive. It requires a careful monitoring of the changes in the body and it needs several months to reach a conclusion for the observation.

The big disadvantage of natural birth control is that it cannot offer any guarantees. There is a lot of unpredictable in the way a woman’s body behaves during the menstrual cycle, and in many cases unplanned pregnancies have appeared like this. If the menstrual pattern is regular, then the efficiency of natural birth control methods is very high, just like that of hormonal birth control. Talk to your physician about the options you have, and see what he/she advises for. Professional advice could simplify your choices a lot, and good information could save you from an unwanted pregnancy!

The morning after pill is also known under the name of emergency contraception, because women use it after unprotected intercourse or when another birth control method fails. There are many resemblances between the morning after pill and the regular hormonal pill since the ingredients are the same. Nevertheless, the concentrations are different, which makes the regular use of the morning after pill a potential health threat.

The morning after pill should be used as soon as possible after you have unprotected sex. Yet, you have a three or five day interval to administer it and still prevent a pregnancy. The efficiency is higher when you use the pill earlier. Do not mistake this birth control method for the abortion pill, because this is not the effect it produces. Emergency contraception simply prevents ovulation, and changes the lining of the uterus so that it cannot allow the egg to nest.

The efficiency rate is high and the chances of side effects are pretty reduced. You could experience spotting, breast tenderness, headaches and nausea. Read the list of instructions carefully and check the side effects in detail for your birth control purpose. Do not take the morning after pill if you suffer from porphyria or some liver disease. There are also drugs and herbal supplements that interact with the morning after pill decreasing its efficiency.

Contact the general practitioner right away to have a drug prescription. Do specify that you need the morning after pill urgently, in order not to be appointed for some later date. The sooner you act, the higher the risk of unwanted pregnancy. In some states, you can also buy the morning after pill without prescription. The only downside is the cost, as the prices are a lot higher in pharmacies. Emergency contraception can be accessed freely with certain organizations, but you need to know where to call.

Be aware of the fact that the morning after pill does not offer protection for the rest of the menstrual cycle, and you still have to use some birth control method. Do not take more emergency contraceptives during the same menstrual cycle because of the serious adverse reactions. Rely on some serious birth control method or abstain from sex.