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Long Term Birth Control Options

Considerations for long-term birth control include birth control implants, such as Essure, Implanon and Mirena, the vaginal ring (Nuva Ring), or the patch (Ortho Evra), which supply contraceptives that lasts for weeks, months or years or permanently, notes De. Celia Dominguez, M.D., of WebMD. Some women cannot remember to take daily birth control pills, nor do they want to have to remember. A long-term solution may be right for you.

  1. Patch

    • The patch is applied to your skin, and it releases progestin and estrogen that travel through your skin and prevent pregnancy. You wear the patch for three consecutive weeks, applying a new one each week. When you remove the patch following the third week, you do not put one back on. This is when you will have your period (the fourth week). You do not have to apply the patch daily, so you are less likely to forget to do it as some women do when it comes to taking a birth control pill daily. There are downsides to the patch, as there are to many of the birth control methods. It may produce blood clots in the lungs and legs that are non-fatal. Blood clots have long been associated with birth control pills.

    Ring

    • Another choice is the birth control ring, which a woman inserts in her vagina. It works by releasing the same hormones that the Pill and patch do. It is not a barrier method, like a diaphragm, so its exact placement doesn't matter. The ring is worn for three weeks and then removed. You go for a week without the ring and have your period during this week. A new ring is then inserted. If you don't want to have a menstrual period, you insert the new ring immediately after taking out the old ring. You will not experience withdrawal bleeding (a period).

    Updated IUD

    • Mirena is a new version of the old intrauterine device, or IUD. You can wear it for five years, after which it is removed and a new one is inserted if you still don't want to get pregnant. This is the longest-lasting method, and the user isn't required to do anything.

    Permanent Solutions

    • Of course, there is always the option to have your Fallopian tubes tied, which prevents future pregnancies, unless the procedure doesn't work and the tubes reunite. When this happens, a pregnancy can occur. Your male partner can opt for a vasectomy and if he is your only partner. Vasectomy is a long-term and final birth control method. However, following the procedure, he must be checked to see if the operation was successful. Men have been known to father babies after undergoing a vasectomy. A hysterectomy, in which the uterus and sometimes the ovaries are removed, is definitely a long-term birth control method, but this is an extreme measure and will bring about menopause, particularly if the ovaries are removed. This is not a reversible procedure.

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