Monique Rainford

Contraceptive choices

It's Valentine's Day, a time for love, romance and sometimes yes, sex. A couple may wish to enjoy sex without the fear of an unwanted pregnancy. Fortunately, there are multiple options available for avoiding unwanted pregnancy. These range from natural to hormonal methods of family planning or contraception.

Hormonal methods

The hormonal methods of contraception that are readily available in Jamaica include the oral contraceptive or birth control pill, the patch and the injectable methods. The male and female condoms are the only two barrier methods which are readily available. The intrauterine device or (IUD) which is available as the Copper-T device or the Mirena intrauterine system are methods of contraception that are placed in a woman's womb and can remain from five to 10 years depending on the type used.

Natural methods

Two of the most effective methods of natural family planning are the cervical mucus method or the Billings method and the symptothermal method. For the Billings method to be effective, a woman needs to be aware of the changes in her vaginal secretions. During her fertile period she will see a large amount of slippery clear mucus from her vagina. She should be abstinent from the time the mucus appears until four days after there is no sign of mucus. The symptothermal method involves a woman using a combination of natural methods including evaluating her cervical mucus, changes in her body temperature and calendar calculations. These methods can be very effective if used correctly.

The Pill

The birth control pill is one of the most popular methods of contraception and has been available since the 1960s. If used correctly, it is one of the most effective methods of contraception. Each pill consists of two hormones, an oestrogen and a progestin and over the years there has been a great deal of changes in the formulations with much lower amounts of each hormone.

The pill is usually started within the first seven days of a woman's menses. However, she can start is at other times of the month. She should first determine that she is not pregnant and she should use another method of birth control pill during the first week. She then takes one pill daily to complete 21 pills and seven pill-free days in which she usually has a withdrawal bleed 'her period'. If a woman wishes to avoid the withdrawal bleed for a particular month, she may use two consecutive packs of the pill without the seven-day break. The pill can be used safely by most healthy women but women over 35 years old who smoke should not use this method. If a woman has any health problems, it is best that she consult her doctor before starting this medication.

The patch

The contraceptive patch sold in Jamaica as Evra, and the monthly injectable contraception, called Mesigyna, have same two types of hormones as those in the oral contraceptive pill. The patch is changed once per week with one patch-free week.

The depo-medroxyprogesterone acetate (sold commonly as Depo-Provera) is an injectable progestin that is used every three months. The side effects of this method include irregular vaginal bleeding and weight gain and some women may stop seeing periods.

The Depo-Provera can be a good option for breast-feeding women as, unlike the oral contraceptive pill, it does not affect the quantity of breast milk. It can also be used in women who are unable to use the combined hormonal methods because of the oestrogen component.

Of course, for women who are past the menopause, none of these methods are required to prevent pregnancy, so have fun! Happy Valentine's Day!