I'm Not Ready to Start a Family, Yet — Which Birth Control Is Best for Me?

World health organizations, including our own Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), have hailed family planning as one of the top 10 achievements of the 20th century. This ability to, “achieve desired birth spacing and family size,” includes timing your parenthood to your goals.

If now is not the time for you to start building a family, the good news is that you have plenty of options when it comes to birth control. The bad news is that the sheer number of choices can make choosing the best one challenging.

To help you sift through the wide range of family planning options, Dr. Jack Tubbs and the team of women’s health specialists here at Associates in Obstetrics & Gynecology, present a few points to consider.

Questions to ask yourself

The first thing you should do when considering the different birth control options is to figure out which attributes you’re looking for, such as:

• Will it help regulate my periods?
• How effective is it?
• Will it prevent sexually transmitted infections (STIs)?
• Is it easy to use?
• Do I want to use hormones?

As you’ll see in a moment, prioritizing these concerns is important in helping you choose a birth control option.

Some answers to those questions

Now we’re going to circle back to those questions so that we can provide some brief answers.

Period regulation

If you want to prevent an unplanned pregnancy and better regulate your periods in terms of timing and duration, you can kill two birds with one birth-control stone. Hormonal contraception controls your ovulation and your menstrual cycles at the same time.

Efficacy ratings

If you’re looking for the birth control option that works best at preventing pregnancy, know that the only family method that offers 100% protection is abstinence from intercourse. That said, several options are 99% effective, such as birth control implants and intrauterine devices (IUDs). And still others are above 90%, including birth control injections, vaginal rings, and birth control patches and pills.

Protection against STIs

The only birth control option that protects against sexually transmitted infections are condoms, both male and female.

Ease of use

If a hassle-free birth control option is a priority, you may want to avoid daily contraception or on-the-spot methods like diaphragms and sponges. Many women find IUDs to be one of the easiest methods — we simply insert the device into your uterus and you’re protected for 3-10 years depending on the type of IUD. 

Hormonal control

Many birth control methods use hormonal control to prevent pregnancy. If you’re not keen on the idea of interfering with your reproductive hormones, you may want to turn to barrier methods, such as IUDs, diaphragms, caps, condoms, and sponges.

Or, you can opt for a more natural approach altogether, such as tracking your fertility and using the pull-out method.

As you can see, there are plenty of points to consider when choosing a birth control option that’s right for you, and we’re here to help you make the right choice. For expert family planning guidance, please contact our office in Colorado Springs, Colorado, to schedule a consultation.