Birth Control

This section gives brief information on birth control. Some birth control methods may have other side effects that are not talked about on this Web site. As a parent and an educator to your son or daughter, it is important for you to know what exists and what some of the risks are. For more information about side effects and possible risks, talk with your health care provider.

Contraceptives are methods, devices, drugs, or chemicals that lower the chance of getting pregnant. There are several kinds of contraception, but not having sex is the only way to be 100% sure that a female won't get pregnant or that either partner will not get a disease.

To better understand how contraceptives work, it might help to know what happens normally during reproduction. For a female to become pregnant, she must have sex around the time she ovulates (releases eggs). During sex, the male releases semen, which contains millions of sperm cells, into the female's vagina. Sperm cells have tails that allow them to swim up through the cervix, into the uterus and fallopian tubes in search of the egg. When sperm cells meet the egg, it enters the egg to join with the egg's nucleus. This is called fertilization.

Birth control (or contraception) works in different ways:

• Keeping eggs from being released (hormone pills, patches, shots, implants, or devices)
• Killing sperm (gels, foam, sponge, and spermicides)
• Blocking sperm from reaching the cervix (male and female condoms, diaphragm, and cervical caps)
• Changing the uterus lining so that an embryo can't attach (some IUDs or hormones)
• Avoiding sex when a female is most likely to get pregnant (during ovulation). This is called Natural Family Planning.
• Blocking the passage of eggs through a female's fallopian tubes or sperm from a male's vas deferens (both males and females can be sterilized).

To learn more about the different contraceptive methods and how good they are at preventing pregnancy, visit our Birth Control Chart page.  You can then click on each kind of contraceptive method to learn more, including whether it helps protect against STDs.

Some forms of birth control may be used in combination in order to further reduce the risk of pregnancy. Check with your medical professional for advice on combining birth control methods.

  It is important to understand that condoms, when used the right way all the time, are the only kind of contraception that can reduce the risk of STDs. And they only reduce, not eliminate, the risk, and they do a better job protecting against some STDs than others. ⁷⁴ Recently, research was published showing that condoms may provide some protection against HPV. ⁷⁵ Prior research, however, shows that condoms may not provide protection. ⁷⁶ All other kinds of contraception can protect against pregnancy but not against STDs.

And remember to go to Talking to Your Pre-Teen or Teen About Waiting for tips on how to talk.

Last revised: May 28, 2008