In addition, a copper IUD can be used as emergency contraception. When you do take it out, you can get pregnant right away. There’s no taking a pill every day or interrupting sex to use a condom. Pros and Cons: Once you get a copper IUD, you likely don’t have to think about contraception again for years. Success Rate: Copper IUDs are more than 99 percent effective at preventing pregnancy for up to 12 years. Currently, the Paragard IUD is the only copper IUD available in the US. Copper IUDs also change the uterine lining, preventing implantation if sperm does in fact meet an egg. Since sperm doesn’t like copper, this non-hormonal IUD works as a natural spermicide, impairing the little swimmers before they can reach an egg. How it Works: Instead of calling on hormones, a small amount of copper is wrapped around this T-shaped device that is inserted into the uterus. Non-hormonal Birth Control Options The Copper IUD: Below is a list of your options, as well as the pros and cons of each. If you’re looking for an alternative, you might feel overwhelmed, but there are numerous options and methods to choose from. Maybe they’ve experienced side effects, are breastfeeding, or simply want to ditch hormonal methods to get back in touch with their menstrual cycles. While these forms of birth control are ideal for many women, others are looking for natural or hormone-free birth control methods. Other hormonal birth control options - like the patch, ring, or implant - work in similar ways. IUDs also change the uterine lining to make implantation difficult. Hormonal IUDs like Mirena contain just synthetic progesterone and thicken cervical mucus, while often preventing ovulation, too. The hormones also thicken cervical mucus, acting as a barrier for sperm to enter the vagina, and thin the uterine lining to make implantation difficult. In other words, there’s no egg for the sperm to meet up with each month. The birth control pill, which contains synthetic estrogen and progesterone, works by preventing ovulation. While hormonal birth control has proven effective and convenient, there are many reasons women might want to try non-hormonal birth control, too.īefore we get to non-hormonal birth control options, let’s understand how hormonal birth control changes our menstrual cycles. But that doesn’t mean it’s right for everyone.
We can celebrate this medical advancement that resulted in more personal and financial independence for women. Since the FDA approved it as contraception in 1960, the birth control pill has seen widespread adoption: four out of five sexually experienced women have used the pill. For the first time, we had a convenient way of preventing pregnancy that didn’t require any action on the part of our partners. Hormonal birth control-starting with the pill- transformed the power women have over our bodies.