Family Planning and Birth Control
Contraception and family planning is a very important part of a woman’s life. Determining when and how to start a family are important decisions.
By offering Fredericksburg women family planning as part of our comprehensive gynecological care services, Elite Gynecology and Wellness can support our patients’ decisions about when, or if, they would like to have children. We accomplish this by offering education, counseling and birth control methods for women of all ages.
What are the types of birth control methods?
There are many birth control methods and techniques available today. No one method is best for everyone at every stage of life. You can choose a birth control method to match your personal needs. It is important to think about what method will be best for you.
You should feel comfortable talking these issues through with your healthcare practitioner. Our practice is committed to guiding and advising women on these critical questions throughout her lifetime.
There are four main categories of contraception:
Barrier Method
The barrier method blocks sperm from entering the uterus and fertilizing an egg.
Hormonal Method
Hormonal birth control controls the hormones in a woman’s bloodstream, preventing her from ovulating. These can be prescribed as pills, patch, vaginal ring, implants, or injectables.
Long Acting Reversible Contraception (LARC)
Long acting reversible contraception includes IUDs with and without hormones.
Permanent Contraception
Permanent methods include total sterilization.
Birth Control Options Provided By Elite Gynecology and Wellness
Our practice offers a wide variety of reversible contraceptive methods including:
- The pill
- Hormonal patch
- Vaginal ring
- Diaphragm
- Depo Provera
- IUDs- copper IUD, progesterone IUD (Mirena®), low dose progesterone IUD (Skyla®)
- Nexplanon
- Permanent Sterilization – Tubal Ligation
We can also discuss the pros and cons of other types of contraception available without a prescription, including condoms, sponge, the rhythm method and spermicides.
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