Contraception

Birth control, also known as contraception and fertility control, is a method or device used to prevent pregnancy.

Advantages and Disadvantages of the Contraceptive Patch

The oral contraceptive pill was used widely because of its high efficacy. However, poor patient compliance inevitably led to higher-than-ideal pregnancy rates, as users often forgot to take the pill at the right time, to take it every day, or had gastrointestinal conditions which interfered with its digestion and absorption.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Contraceptive Implants

Advantages and Disadvantages of the Contraceptive Vaginal Ring

Do Contraceptive Injections Affect Bones?

How Does the Progestogen-only Pill Work?

Natural Family Planning: an Overview

Natural Family Planning: Advantages and Disadvantages

Contraception and STIs

Contraception in Over 50s

Long-Acting Reversible Contraception (LARC) Types

Female Sterilization

Advantages and Disadvantages of the Progestogen-Only Pill (POP)

See more featured articles »

IUD: Advantages and Disadvantages

IUS: Advantages and Disadvantages

Intrauterine Device (IUD) and Intrauterine System (IUS) Differences

How Does the Contraceptive Vaginal Ring Work?

How Does the Contraceptive Implant Work?

How is the Contraceptive Implant Put in and Taken Out?

How Effective are Different Types of Contraception?

How to insert a diaphragm, cap or vaginal ring

How to Use the Patch

What is the Contraceptive Patch?

Types of Contraception

Types of Combined Birth Control Pills

Male Condom versus Female Condom

How Does The Combined Pill Work?

Advantages and Disadvantages of the Combined Pill

Emergency Contraception

Does Breastfeeding Act as a Contraceptive?

Condoms for Oral and Anal Sex

Condoms - Advantages and Disadvantages

How Effective are Condoms?

Combined Pill FAQs

Blood Clot Risk and the Oral Contraceptive Pill

The Effects of Continuous Contraceptive Pill Taking

Latest Contraception News and Research

Hormone replacement therapy associated with reduction in mortality from COVID-19

A new paper in Family Practice, published by Oxford University Press, indicates that receiving hormone replacement therapy within six months of a recorded diagnosis of COVID-19 was associated with a reduction in mortality from the disease.

17 May 2022

Novel technique to measure sperm age may help predict pregnancy success

A novel technique to measure the age of male sperm has the potential to predict the success and time it takes to become pregnant, according to a newly published study by researchers at the Wayne State University School of Medicine.

13 May 2022

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: The invisible pandemic

Covid-19 cases are on the rise again, but you couldn't tell from the behavior of the public (rushing back to normal), as well as public health and elected officials who fear backlash from even suggesting the reimplementation of precautions.

12 May 2022

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Leaked abortion opinion rocks Washington’s world

People who pay attention to the Supreme Court have been expecting the justices to scale back the right to abortion when they issue their ruling on a Mississippi abortion law by the end of the current session.

5 May 2022

Abortion politics lead to power struggles over family planning grants

In a busy downtown coffee shop, a drawing of a ski lift with intrauterine devices for chairs draws the eyes of sleepy customers getting their morning underway with a caffeine jolt.

3 May 2022

Emergency contraception marks a new battle line in Texas

"Mysterious Dolphin" needed an emergency contraception pill dropped off on a porch outside of town.

28 Apr 2022

New drug combo emerges as a potential candidate for oral pericoital contraception

A new combination of drugs has emerged as a "promising candidate" for an on-demand contraceptive pill, suggests preliminary research published online in the journal BMJ Sexual & Reproductive Health.

26 Apr 2022

COVID-19 vaccine can cause temporary delay in menstruation

Both the first and second doses of COVID-19 vaccines were related to a modest delay in menstruation.

3 Apr 2022

COVID-19 pandemic linked to delays in access to sexual and reproductive health care

Access to contraception was reduced during the COVID-19 pandemic. This especially impacted individuals who experienced employment and financial instability, according to a study published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Women's Health.

30 Mar 2022

Non-hormonal male contraceptive effectively prevents pregnancy in mice

Women have many choices for birth control, ranging from pills to patches to intrauterine devices, and partly as a result, they bear most of the burden of preventing pregnancy.

24 Mar 2022

Study provides a comprehensive picture of abortion provider workforce in the U.S.

Efforts to determine the actual size and makeup of the abortion provider workforce in the U.S. often rely on surveys that are limited in scope or else focus solely on abortion facilities.

21 Mar 2022

Sexual health programs adopting a pleasure-inclusive approach can improve safe sex behaviors

Sexual health programs that include sexual desire and sexual pleasure can improve knowledge and attitudes around sex, as well as condom use compared to those that do not, according to research published in the open access journal PLOS ONE.

12 Feb 2022

Scientists decipher molecular cause of cerebral venous thrombosis

Cerebral venous thrombosis is a rare, often severe disease that has been brought to public attention by the Covid 19 pandemic. A research group from Würzburg has now succeeded for the first time in deciphering a molecular cause of this disease.

11 Feb 2022

Discovery shows promise for development of a new non-hormonal contraceptive

A discovery that blocks the normal transition of semen from a thick gel to a liquid shows promise for development of a new form of non-hormonal, over-the-counter contraception.

7 Feb 2022

Do COVID-19 vaccinations increase the length of the menstrual cycle?

In this interview, we speak to Professor Alison Edelman about her latest research that investigated the effects COVID-19 vaccinations have on the menstrual cycle.

4 Feb 2022

Population Council receives $11 million to develop non-hormonal MPT ring for preventing unintended pregnancy, STIs

The Population Council's Center for Biomedical Research has been awarded an $11 million P50 Clinical Research Center Grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute for Child Health and Development of the National Institute of Health.

29 Jan 2022

New condom could increase protected sex and decrease sexually transmitted infections

A condom designed to increase sexual pleasure has the potential to increase protected sex and decrease sexually transmitted infections, a new study suggests.

25 Jan 2022

Study finds a sharp dip in access to care for poorer Americans during the pandemic

Americans' use of common outpatient health services dipped sharply at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, then rebounded to near-normal levels by the end of 2020, only to decline again during the second surge in January–February 2021, according to a new UCLA-led study.

24 Jan 2022

U of U Health researchers assess the effectiveness of new contraceptive gel for men

University of Utah Health scientists are testing a new contraceptive gel for men. Based on preliminary research, the scientists believe the hormonal gel decreases a man’s sperm production––reducing his chances of fathering a child––without decreasing his sex drive.

20 Jan 2022