Your Birth Control Options Explained

Some women choose to let their partners handle the birth control. But if you have sex with men, relying on options such as condoms or the pull-out method puts you at risk. He won’t get pregnant — you will. That’s why we help women find reliable birth control that works for them.

Here at Prestige Healthcare OBGYN in Atlanta, Georgia, Charis Trench-Simmons, MD, Lorenza Simmons, MD, and our team are happy to explore the wide range of available options with you. 

With so many contraceptives to choose from, most women find a convenient, comfortable option that works for their bodies. To help you here, we break birth control into its two major camps: hormonal and non-hormonal. 

Hormonal birth control

Hormonal birth control has long been the front-runner for women, and for good reason. These options interfere with core processes, preventing you from getting pregnant.

The pill stops you from ovulating, for example, while also thickening the mucus in your cervix. That creates a barrier that sperm struggle to get past. Together, that helps the pill be 99% effective — when taken properly. 

For the pill to work its best, you need to take it at the same time every day. If that sounds like a hassle to you, we can explore other hormonal birth control options that work the same way as the pill but give you different paths to prevent pregnancy. 

For example, we offer the vaginal ring, which you wear for three weeks, then remove for a week. Or we can insert Nexplanon®, a tiny implant , into your arm. It lasts for three years, releasing a steady stream of hormones. 

If you want longer-lasting contraception, we also offer hormonal intrauterine devices (IUDs). These can be effective for up to seven years. 

Because we implant it in your uterus, the IUD offers the added benefit of only applying the hormone locally. If you don’t want the potential drawbacks of systemic hormones, talk with us about IUDs. 

Non-hormonal birth control

If you don’t like the idea of using hormones to prevent pregnancy, we also offer hormone-free options. Many women choose Paragard®, a copper IUD. The copper makes your uterus inhospitable to sperm. It can last up to a decade. 

Alternatively, if you know you never want to get pregnant, we can explore tubal ligation. That means we cut or tie your fallopian tubes. This procedure is difficult to reverse, so it’s only a good option if you’re certain you never want to have a biological child. 

Finding the right option for you

With so many birth control options on the table, most women can find an option that works for their lifestyle and their body. 

Our team can help you make the right choice for you. Talk to us about your family planning goals, your experiences with birth control you’ve tried in the past, and your preferences. This way, we can work with you to find your ideal contraception.

To get started, call our office or book your visit online today.