The Pill Isn't Your Only Choice for Birth Control

• Progestin shots (Depo-Provera). This is an injection of progestin that is given by your health care professional and lasts three months (12 weeks). It is 97 to 99.7 percent effective, resulting in one to six pregnancies per 100 women each year.
• Vaginal ring (NuvaRing). This increasingly popular option involves inserting a thin, clear, flexible 2-inch ring in your vagina. It slowly releases the synthetic hormones estrogen and progestin for three weeks. At the fourth week, you remove the ring and have your period, or you can leave it in to avoid having a period, depending on what your health care professional recommends. At the fifth week, you insert a new ring. This method is more than 99 percent effective if used as directed; in practice, it results in one to nine pregnancies per 100 women each year.
• Patch (Ortho Evra). The patch looks like a 1-inch square bandage, and you stick it on the skin of your buttocks, stomach, upper outer arm or upper torso once a week for three weeks in a row. Synthetic estrogen and progestin hormones are absorbed through the skin. It is 99 percent effective when used as directed, but, in practice, it results in of one to nine pregnancies per 100 women each year and may be less effective for women weighing more than 198 pounds.

Remember, that most health care professionals recommend that you quit smoking if you plan to use hormonal birth control. Also, keep in mind that only condoms provide any protection against sexually transmitted diseases, and synthetic condoms provide better protection against disease than natural membrane condoms.

Condoms can be up to 98 percent effective at preventing pregnancies, but, because they are not always used correctly or may slip or tear, the results vary from two to 18 pregnancies per 100 women each year.

If contraception fails you

If you have had unprotected sex or fear that your method may have failed because of improper timing or use, there is one more option: emergency contraception pills, sometimes called "morning after pills" (Plan B One-Step, Next Choice, ella). This is a pill that can be taken up to five days after you have unprotected sex, but the sooner you take it the better your chances of avoiding conception.

Some types of emergency contraceptive pills are available over the counter to women aged 17 and older. If you are too young to obtain emergency contraceptive pills over the counter, call 1-888-NOT-2-LATE or 1-800-230-PLAN to locate a health care professional who can help you. These numbers also provide information on which pharmacies sell emergency contraceptives because not all pharmacies carry them.

The ella emergency contraceptive is available by prescription only, but you may obtain a prescription from your health care provider and keep the pills on hand for an emergency.

If you know you don't want children