What Are My Best Family Planning Options?

Whether you want kids in the future, want to avoid pregnancy, or aren’t yet sure, you can avoid or delay getting pregnant until you’re ready with effective family planning. Birth control and other family planning options let you put pregnancy on hold (or avoid it altogether) while navigating life.

At Westmed Family Healthcare in Westminster, Colorado, board-certified family physicians Clifton Etienne, MD, and Michael Cavanagh, MD, simplify the process of choosing the best family planning option by recommending options that align with your needs and goals. 

Dr. Etienne and Dr. Cavanagh can answer all your questions about birth control so you feel confident when it’s time to make a decision. In this article, we reveal some of the most popular family planning options today and the benefits that keep people using them. 

Barrier methods

Barrier methods might be your best option for birth control if you want to get pregnant in the immediate future, or if you’re currently open to getting pregnant. They’re single-use, so you can decide when to use them to prevent pregnancy. 

As long as they don’t break during use, condoms and other barrier methods provide a shield between sperm and eggs during sex so they never meet to form an embryo.

Condoms may be 87% effective in preventing pregnancy, but pregnancy prevention isn’t their only function. Condoms also help prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). 

Even if you don’t choose barrier methods as your sole family planning option, you and your partner might decide to use them for this purpose. 

The birth control pill

Birth control pills, also called oral contraceptives, use hormones to reduce your chances of getting pregnant. While you must remember to take the pill every day at the same time, it’s about 93% effective in preventing pregnancy. 

The hormones in birth control pills stop you from ovulating every month. Ovulation is the time when your ovaries release an egg, which is ready to join with sperm. The hormones also thicken your cervical mucus, which makes it harder for sperm to swim toward the egg. 

This option is also easily reversible, as you can stop taking your birth control pills at any time if you decide you want to get pregnant. 

Intrauterine devices and rings

Intrauterine devices (IUDs) and vaginal rings use hormones to prevent pregnancy in the same way as birth control pills. The difference is that you don’t have to think about these or remember to use them every day. 

IUDs are inserted into your uterus during a simple outpatient procedure and can stay in for years at a time before they need to be replaced. Hormonal IUDs are about 99% effective in preventing pregnancy, and some last longer than a decade. 

There are also non-hormonal IUDs made of copper, a material that kills sperm to stop them from traveling further. Copper IUDs last for up to 10 years. 

Vaginal rings operate on a faster schedule. You swap out the vaginal ring once a month. When used properly and consistently, the vaginal ring is about 93% effective. 

IUDs aren’t easily reversible because they have to be removed by your doctor. You can remove the vaginal ring on your own. 

The implant

Another hormonal family planning option is an implant inserted under the skin on your upper arm. The implant can prevent pregnancy at a rate of 99% for up to five years before needing to be replaced. 

Like IUDs and vaginal rings, you don’t need to remember to use the implant daily, as it does its job automatically. It’s a small, rod‑shaped device that stays discreet under your skin until it’s removed. 

If you don’t plan on getting pregnant any time soon, an implant can reliably stay in place until you’re ready. 

Sterilization procedures

Sterilization procedures may be your best option if you’ve decided you don’t want to get pregnant in the future. Female sterilization procedures like tubal ligation and salpingectomy are permanent and over 99% effective. 

Male sterilization procedures are also available for men who don’t want to get their partners pregnant now or in the foreseeable future. A vasectomy is almost 100% effective and may be reversible if you change your mind in the future. 

Get in touch

Westmed Family Healthcare is here to help you choose the best option for your family planning. Schedule an appointment by calling our office today or booking online anytime.