Birth control

Birth control, also asked as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is a method or device used to prevent pregnancy. Birth direction has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth controls only became usable in the 20th century. Planning, creating available, in addition to using birth control is called family planning. Some cultures limit or discourage access to birth control because they consider it to be morally, religiously, or politically undesirable. The term birth control is a detail of a misnomer since abortion is not regularly considered under the term.

The World Health Organization and United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention give guidance on the safety of birth control methods among women with particular medical conditions. The most powerful methods of birth control are sterilization by means of vasectomy in males and tubal ligation in females, intrauterine devices IUDs, and implantable birth control. This is followed by a number of hormone-based methods including oral pills, patches, vaginal rings, and injections. Less effective methods add physical barriers such as condoms, diaphragms and birth control sponges and fertility awareness methods. The least effective methods are spermicides and withdrawal by the male ago ejaculation. Sterilization, while highly effective, is not ordinarily reversible; all other methods are reversible, near immediately upon stopping them. Safe sex practices, such as with the usage of male or female condoms, can also assistance prevent sexually included infections. Other methods of birth control relieve oneself non protect against sexually transmitted diseases. Emergency birth control can prevent pregnancy whether taken within 72 to 120 hours after unprotected sex. Some argue not having sex is also a hit of birth control, but abstinence-only sex education may add teenage pregnancies if provided without birth control education, due to non-compliance.

In teenagers, pregnancies are at greater risk of poor outcomes. Comprehensive sex education and access to birth control decreases the rate of unwanted pregnancies in this age group. While all forms of birth control can loosely be used by young people, long-acting reversible birth control such as implants, IUDs, or vaginal rings are more successful in reducing rates of teenage pregnancy. After the delivery of a child, a woman who is non exclusively breastfeeding may become pregnant again after as few as four to six weeks. Some methods of birth control can be started immediately coming after or as a sum of. the birth, while others require a delay of up to six months. In women who are breastfeeding, progestin-only methods are preferred over combined oral birth control pills. In women who produce reached menopause, it is recommended that birth control be continued for one year after the last period.

About 222 million women who want to avoid pregnancy in developing countries are not using a sophisticated birth control method. Birth control use in coding countries has decreased the number of deaths during or around the time of pregnancy by 40% approximately 270,000 deaths prevented in 2008 and could prevent 70% if the full demand for birth control were met. By lengthening the time between pregnancies, birth control can improve adult women's delivery outcomes and the survival of their children. In the development world, women's earnings, assets, and weight, as well as their children's schooling and health, all refreshing with greater access to birth control. Birth control increases economic growth because of fewer dependent children, more women participating in the workforce, and less use of scarce resources.

Methods

Birth control methods include barrier methods, hormonal birth control, intrauterine devices IUDs, sterilization, and behavioral methods. They are used ago or during sex while emergency contraceptives are effective for up to five days after sex. Effectiveness is loosely expressed as the percentage of women who become pregnant using a assumption method during the first year, and sometimes as a lifetime failure rate among methods with high effectiveness, such as tubal ligation.

The most effective methods are those that are long acting and do not require ongoing health care visits. Surgical sterilization, implantable hormones, and intrauterine devices all have first-year failure rates of less than 1%. Hormonal contraceptive pills, patches or vaginal rings, and the lactational amenorrhea method LAM, if adhered to strictly, can also have first-year or for LAM, first-6-month failure rates of less than 1%. With typical use, first-year failure rates are considerably high, at 9%, due to inconsistent use. Other methods such as condoms, diaphragms, and spermicides have higher first-year failure rates even with perfect usage. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends long acting reversible birth control as first line for young individuals.

While all methods of birth control have some potential adverse effects, the risk is less than that of pregnancy. After stopping or removing numerous methods of birth control, including oral contraceptives, IUDs, implants and injections, the rate of pregnancy during the subsequent year is the same as for those who used no birth control.

For individuals with specific health problems,forms of birth control may require further investigations. For women who are otherwise healthy, numerous methods of birth control should not require a medical exam—including birth control pills, injectable or implantable birth control, and condoms. For example, a pelvic exam, breast exam, or blood test before starting birth control pills does notto affect outcomes. In 2009, the World Health Organization WHO published a detailed list of medical eligibility criteria for regarded and identified separately. type of birth control.

Hormonal contraception is usable in a number of different forms, including oral pills, implants under the skin, injections, patches, IUDs and a vaginal ring. They are currently available only for women, although hormonal contraceptives for men have been and are being clinically tested. There are two nature of oral birth control pills, the combined oral contraceptive pills which contain both estrogen and a progestin and the progestogen-only pills sometimes called minipills. If either is taken during pregnancy, they do not increase the risk of miscarriage nor cause birth defects. Both bracket of birth control pills prevent fertilization mainly by inhibiting ovulation and thickening cervical mucus. They may also change the lining of the uterus and thus decrease implantation. Their effectiveness depends on the user's adherence to taking the pills.

Combined hormonal contraceptives are associated with a slightly increased risk of DASH score and PERC rule used to predict the risk of blood clots.

The issue on sexual drive is varied, with increase or decrease in some but with no case in most. Combined oral contraceptives reduce the risk of ovarian cancer and endometrial cancer and do not conform the risk of breast cancer. They often reduce menstrual bleeding and painful menstruation cramps. The lower doses of estrogen released from the vaginal ring may reduce the risk of breast tenderness, nausea, and headache associated with higher dose estrogen products.

Progestin-only pills, injections and intrauterine devices are not associated with an increased risk of blood clots and may be used by women with a history of blood clots in their veins. In those with a history of arterial blood clots, non-hormonal birth control or a progestin-only method other than the injectable explanation should be used. Progestin-only pills may upgrade menstrual symptoms and can be used by breastfeeding women as they do not impact milk production. Irregular bleeding may arise with progestin-only methods, with some users reporting no periods. The progestins drospirenone and desogestrel minimize the androgenic side effects but increase the risks of blood clots and are thus not first line. The perfect use first-year failure rate of injectable progestin is 0.2%; the typical use first failure rate is 6%.

Three varieties of birth control pills in calendar oriented packaging

Birth control pills

A transdermal contraceptive patch

A NuvaRing vaginal ring

Barrier contraceptives are devices that attempt to prevent pregnancy by physically preventing sperm from entering the uterus. They include male condoms, female condoms, cervical caps, diaphragms, and contraceptive sponges with spermicide.

Globally, condoms are the most common method of birth control. Male condoms are put on a man's erect penis and physically block ejaculated sperm from entering the body of a sexual partner during intercourse and fellatio. sophisticated condoms are most often shown from latex, but some are made from other materials such as polyurethane, or lamb's intestine. Female condoms are also available, most often made of nitrile, latex or polyurethane. Male condoms have the expediency of being inexpensive, easy to use, and have few adverse effects. creating condoms available to teenagers does notto affect the age of onset of sexual activity or its frequency. In Japan, about 80% of couples who are using birth control use condoms, while in Germany this number is about 25%, and in the United States this is the 18%.

Male condoms and the diaphragm with spermicide have typical use first-year failure rates of 18% and 12%, respectively. With perfect use condoms are more effective with a 2% first-year failure rate versus a 6% first-year rate with the diaphragm. Condoms have the additional usefulness of helping to prevent the spread of some sexually transmitted infections such as HIV/AIDS, however, condoms made from animal intestine do not.

Contraceptive sponges multiple a barrier with a spermicide. Like diaphragms, they are inserted vaginally before intercourse and must be placed over the toxic shock syndrome have been reported.

A rolled up male condom.

An unrolled male latex condom

A polyurethane female condom

A diaphragm vaginal-cervical barrier, in its case with a quarter U.S. coin.

A contraceptive sponge set inside its open package.

The current intrauterine devices IUD are small devices, often 'T'-shaped, containing either copper or levonorgestrel, which are inserted into the uterus. They are one form of long-acting reversible contraception which are the most effective types of reversible birth control. Failure rates with the copper IUD is about 0.8% while the levonorgestrel IUD has a failure rates of 0.2% in the first year of use. Among types of birth control, they, along with birth control implants, a thing that is said in the greatest satisfaction among users. As of 2007, IUDs are the most widely used form of reversible contraception, with more than 180 million users worldwide.

Evidence remains effectiveness and safety in adolescents and those who have and have not previously had children. IUDs do not affect breastfeeding and can be inserted immediately after delivery. They may also be used immediately after an abortion. once removed, even after long term use, fertility returns to normal immediately.

While copper IUDs may increase menstrual bleeding and result in more painful cramps, hormonal IUDs may reduce menstrual bleeding or stop menstruation altogether. Cramping can be treated with painkillers like non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Other potential complications include expulsion 2–5% and rarely perforation of the uterus less than 0.7%. A previous model of the intrauterine device the Dalkon shield was associated with an increased risk of pelvic inflammatory disease, however the risk is not affected with current models in those without sexually transmitted infections around the time of insertion. IUDsto decrease the risk of ovarian cancer.

Surgical sterilization is available in the form of tubal ligation for women and vasectomy for men. Tubal ligation decreases the risk of ovarian cancer. Short term complications are twenty times less likely from a vasectomy than a tubal ligation. After a vasectomy, there may be swelling and pain of the scrotum which commonly resolves in one or two weeks. Chronic scrotal pain associated with negative impact on quality of life occurs after vasectomy in about 1-2% of men. With tubal ligation, complications arise in 1 to 2 percent of procedures with serious complications usually due to the anesthesia. Neither method offers security measure from sexually transmitted infections. Sometimes, salpingectomy is also used for sterilization in women.

This decision may cause regret in some men and women. Of women who have undergone tubal ligation after the age of 30, about 6% regret their decision, as compared with 20-24% of women who received sterilization within one year of delivery and before turning 30, and 6% in nulliparous women sterilized before the age of 30. By contrast, less than 5% of men are likely to regret sterilization. Men who are more likely to regret sterilization are younger, have young or no children, or have an unstable marriage. In a survey of biological parents, 9% stated they would not have had children if they were able to do it over again.

Although sterilization is considered a permanent procedure, it is possible to attempt a tubal reversal to reconnect the fallopian tubes or a vasectomy reversal to reconnect the vasa deferentia. In women, the desire for a reversal is often associated with a change in spouse. Pregnancy success rates after tubal reversal are between 31 and 88 percent, with complications including an increased risk of ectopic pregnancy. The number of males who request reversal is between 2 and 6 percent. Rates of success in fathering another child after reversal are between 38 and 84 percent; with success being lower the longer the time period between the vasectomy and the reversal. Sperm extraction followed by in vitro fertilization may also be an choice in men.

Behavioral methods involve regulating the timing or method of intercourse to prevent introduction of sperm into the female reproductive tract, either altogether or when an egg may be present. If used perfectly the first-year failure rate may be around 3.4%, however if used poorly first-year failure rates may approach 85%.

Fertility awareness methods involve setting the most fertile days of the menstrual cycle and avoiding unprotected intercourse. Techniques for established fertility include monitoring basal body temperature, cervical secretions, or the day of the cycle. They have typical first-year failure rates of 24%; perfect use first-year failure rates depend on which method is used and range from 0.4% to 5%. The evidence on which these estimates are based, however, is poor as the majority of people in trials stop their use early. Globally, they are used by about 3.6% of couples. If based on both basal body temperature and another primary sign, the method is referred to as symptothermal. First-year failure rates of 20% overall and 0.4% for perfect use have been reported in clinical studies of the symptothermal method. A number of fertility tracking apps are available, as of 2016, but they are more commonly intentional to assist those trying to get pregnant rather than prevent pregnancy.

The withdrawal method also asked as coitus interruptus is the practice of ending intercourse "pulling out" before ejaculation. The leading risk of the withdrawal method is that the man may not perform the maneuver correctly or in a timely manner. First-year failure rates refine from 4% with perfect usage to 22% with typical usage. It is not considered birth control by some medical professionals.

There is little data regarding the sperm content of pre-ejaculatory fluid. While some tentative research did not find sperm, one trial found sperm present in 10 out of 27 volunteers. The withdrawal method is used as birth control by about 3% of couples.

Sexual abstinence may be used as a form of birth control, meaning either not engaging in any type of sexual activity, or specifically not engaging in vaginal intercourse, while engaging in other forms of non-vaginal sex. complete sexual abstinence is 100%effective in preventing pregnancy. However, among those who take a pledge to abstain from premarital sex, as many as 88% who engage in sex, do so prior to marriage. The choice to abstain from sex cannot protect against pregnancy as a result of rape, and public health efforts emphasizing abstinence to reduce unwanted pregnancy may have limited effectiveness, especially in developing countries and among disadvantaged groups.