How Long Can You Keep an IUD In?
You’re looking at your options in birth control, and you like the idea of an intrauterine device (IUD). Not only is this approach hassle-free, it’s long-lasting, though how long depends on the IUD.
How Your OB/GYN Can Help With Family Planning
Family planning is referred to as one of the top-10 health achievements of the 20th century, as it allows people to determine family size and spacing of children. While many people assume that family planning is solely about birth control, this branch of our practice goes far beyond contraception.
At Associates in Obstetrics & Gynecology, our highly qualified and experienced team helps our patients build their family from start to finish.
To give you an idea of how we can help with your family planning, here’s a look at a few of the services we provide that fall under this important area of our practice.
Planning your family
As we mentioned, birth control is just one aspect of family planning, but it’s an important one. Through contraception, you can control the number of children you have, as well as the spacing between children.
To accomplish this, there’s no shortage of birth control options, which can be broken down into three categories:
1. Barrier
To prevent sperm from reaching and fertilizing your eggs, you can rely on barrier birth control methods, such as condoms, cervical caps, intrauterine devices (IUDs), tubal ligation, spermicides, sponges, and diaphragms.
2. Hormonal
Another approach to birth control is to control your ovulation through hormonal methods, such as birth control pills, patches, implants, injections, and IUDs.
3. Natural
If you’d prefer a more natural approach to birth control, you can try fertility awareness, the withdrawal method, and/or outercourse.
We understand that the number of choices may leave you confused, so we sit down with you to review your health, your medical history, your lifestyle, and your goals to help you choose a birth control method that’s right for you.
Pregnancy planning
Another important aspect of family planning is helping you plan for pregnancy. As an example, we offer comprehensive sexually transmitted disease (STD) testing, which can affect fertility and pregnancy.
Outside of checking for STDs, we also work with you in preparing your body through our preconception services to recommend supplements or lifestyle changes that will help you conceive and carry when the time is right.
Fertility issues
If you run into fertility issues, we’re here to help. Infertility is both common and complicated, and about 10% of women between the ages of 15 and 44 in the United States struggle to get, or stay, pregnant. According to the Office on Women's Health, one-third of fertility issues stem from the woman, one-third from the man, and the remaining third from reasons unknown.
If you’re having trouble with fertility, we work with you to identify the cause and get you pointed in the right direction for solutions.
If you have more questions about building the family of your dreams, we invite you to contact our office in Colorado Springs, Colorado, to schedule a consultation with one of our family planning specialists.
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