Pregnancy is one of the crucial stages of human life. The success of this period usually ushers in new life and responsibilities. However, unplanned pregnancies can affect the plans of individuals. For example, getting pregnant while you still pursue your education and career can make it challenging to realize your goals. The good news is that you can postpone your childbearing capacity through birth control methods. Sometimes, many family planning methods can overwhelm you when choosing the right technique. That is why Mina K. Sinacori, MD, MPH, FACOG, shares the following factors you should consider when choosing the birth control method.
The Reversibility
What are your long-term reproductive goals? If you plan to give birth shortly, use reversible techniques like oral contraceptives and condoms. Besides, if you have a complete family and do not intend to have children, you should pick permanent birth control methods such as sterilization.
Table of Contents
The Potential Side Effects
Some family planning methods, especially the hormone-based method, have side effects. For example, after applying them, you can start experiencing weight gain, breast tenderness, and heavy periods. Therefore, discussing the side effects with your healthcare provider is good when choosing these methods. Through this exercise, you will learn about the tolerable side effects.
Â
The Nature of Your Relationship
Certain birth control methods can help you avoid pregnancy while protecting you from sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Therefore, you should consider the type of relationship that you have before choosing the family planning method. Choose the barrier methods like condoms if you have a multiple-partner relationship to prevent pregnancy and safeguard you from STDs.
If you have one partner who is not infected with the STDs, you can use non-barrier methods like patches or pills.
Consider Your Health
Your health is a practical matter when choosing the family planning method. Some techniques can worsen your underlying health condition, thus threatening survival. For example, hormone-based methods should not be a good option if you have heart disease.
Essentially, these birth control techniques can interfere with the blood clot, thus worsening your cardiovascular conditions. Before applying the family planning method, inform your provider about your underlying medical conditions.
Affordability of the Birth Control Method
The cost usually varies from one family planning technique to another. Therefore, before selecting the contraception method, it is good to consider the expenses of those methods. It would help if you remembered that certain techniques like tubal ligation are expensive initially but become more affordable with time.
Moreover, it would be best to consider the ease of getting birth control methods since most require regular checkups.
Are you looking for birth control methods to delay your childbearing capacity? If yes, I can attest that you have multiple questions about which technique suits you. You do not have to worry anymore since the above tips can help narrow your options list. For example, if you intend to expand the family in the future, you should eliminate the permanent techniques in your list and focus on reversible methods. Also, you should choose the barrier methods if you have multiple relationships.
