There is no "best" method of birth control for every woman. The birth control method that is right for you and your partner depends on many things, and may change over time.

Before choosing a birth control method, talk to your doctor or nurse about:

• Whether you want to get pregnant soon, in a few years, or never
• How well each method works to prevent pregnancy
• Possible side effects
• How often you have sex
• The number of sex partners you have
• Your overall health
• How comfortable you are with using the method (For example, can you remember to take a pill every day? Will you have to ask your partner to put on a condom each time?)

Learn about types of birth control that you or your partner can use to prevent pregnancy.

Keep in mind that even the most effective birth control methods can fail. But your chances of getting pregnant are lower if you use a more effective method.

Women can choose from many different types of birth control methods. These include, in order of most effective to least effective at preventing pregnancy:

• Female and male sterilization (female tubal ligation or occlusion, male vasectomy) — Birth control that prevents pregnancy for the rest of your life through surgery or a medical procedure.
• Long-acting reversible contraceptives or "LARC" methods (intrauterine devices, hormonal implants) — Birth control your doctor inserts one time and you do not have to remember to use birth control every day or month. LARCs last for 3 to 10 years, depending on the method.
• Short-acting hormonal methods (pill, mini pills, patch, shot, vaginal ring) — Birth control your doctor prescribes that you remember to take every day or month. The shot requires you to get a shot from your doctor every 3 months.
• Barrier methods (condoms, diaphragms, sponge, cervical cap) — Birth control you use each time you have sex.
• Natural rhythm methods — Not using a type of birth control but instead avoiding sex and/or using birth control only on the days when you are most fertile (most likely to get pregnant). An ovulation home test kit or a fertility monitor can help you find your most fertile days.

Types of birth control

Only two types can protect you from STIs, including HIV: male condoms and female condoms.⁴

While condoms are the best way to prevent STIs if you have sex, they are not the most effective type of birth control. If you have sex, the best way to prevent both STIs and pregnancy is to use what is called "dual protection." Dual protection means you use a condom to prevent STIs each time you have sex, and at the same time, you use a more effective form of birth control, such as an IUD, implant, or shot.

You can buy these types of birth control over the counter at a drugstore or supermarket:

• Male condoms
• Female condoms
• Sponges
• Spermicides
• Emergency contraception (EC) pills. Plan B One-Step® and its generic versions are available in drugstores and some supermarkets to anyone, without a prescription. However you should not use EC as your regular birth control because it does not work as well as regular birth control. EC is meant to be used only when your regular birth control does not work for some unexpected reason.

You need a prescription for these types of birth control:

• Oral contraceptives: the pill and the mini-pill (in some states, birth control pills are now available without a prescription, through the pharmacy)
• Patch
• Vaginal ring
• Diaphragms (your doctor or nurse needs to fit one to the shape of your vagina) 
• Shot/injection (you get the shot at your doctor's office or family planning clinic)

• Cervical cap
• Implantable rod (inserted by a doctor in the office or clinic) 
• IUD (inserted by a doctor in the office or clinic)

You will need surgery or a medical procedure for:

• Female sterilization (tubal ligation)
• Male sterilization (vasectomy)
• Tubal implant (Essure®)

Please note that Essure® will not be sold or distributed in the United States after December 31, 2018.

Birth control works to prevent pregnancy in different ways, depending upon the type of birth control you choose:

• Female or male sterilization surgery prevents the sperm from reaching the egg by cutting or damaging the tubes that carry sperm (in men) or eggs (in women).
• Long-acting reversible contraceptives or "LARC" methods (intrauterine devices, hormonal implants) prevent your ovaries from releasing eggs, prevent sperm from getting to the egg, or make implantation of the egg in the uterus (womb) unlikely.
• Short-acting hormonal methods, such as the pill, mini-pill, patch, shot, and vaginal ring, prevent your ovaries from releasing eggs or prevent sperm from getting to the egg.
• Barrier methods, such as condoms, diaphragms, sponge, cervical cap, prevent sperm from getting to the egg.
• Natural rhythm methods involve avoiding sex or using other forms of birth control on the days when you are most fertile (most likely to get pregnant).

Yes, hormonal birth control methods, such as the pill, are safe for most women. Today's birth control pills have lower doses of hormones than in the past. This has lowered the risk of side effects and serious health problems.

Today's birth control pills can have health benefits for some women, such as a lower risk of some kinds of cancer.⁵ Also, different brands and types of birth control pills (and other forms of hormonal birth control) can increase your risk for some health problems and side effects. Side effects can include weight gain, headaches, irregular bleeding, breast tenderness, and mood changes.

Talk to your doctor about whether hormonal birth control is right for you.

It can, depending on your health and the type of birth control you use. Talk to your doctor to find the birth control method that is right for you.

Different forms of birth control have different health risks and side effects. Some birth control methods that increase your risk for health problems include:

• Hormonal birth control. Combination birth control pills (birth control with both estrogen and progesterone) and some other forms of hormonal birth control, such as the vaginal ring or skin patch, may raise your risk for blood clots and high blood pressure. Blood clots and high blood pressure can cause a heart attack or stroke. A blood clot in the legs can also go to your lungs, causing serious damage or even death. These are serious side effects of hormonal birth control, but they are rare.
• Spermicides (used alone or with the cervical cap, diaphragm or sponge). Spermicides that have nonoxynol-9 can irritate the vagina. This can raise your risk for getting HIV. Use spermicides with nonoxynol-9 only if you are in a monogamous relationship (you have sex only with each other) with a man you know is HIV-negative. Also, medicines for vaginal yeast infections may make spermicides less effective.
• Intrauterine devices (IUDs). IUDs can slightly raise your risk of an ectopic pregnancy. Ectopic pregnancies happen when a fertilized egg implants somewhere outside of the uterus (womb), usually in one of the fallopian tubes. An ectopic pregnancy is a serious medical problem that should be treated as soon as possible. IUDs also have a very rare but serious risk of infection or puncture of the uterus.

If you smoke and are 35 or older, you should not use hormonal birth control. Smoking tobacco and using hormonal birth control raises your risk for blood clots and high blood pressure. Smoking and high blood pressure are risk factors for a heart attack or stroke. The risk for a heart attack or stroke also goes up as you age.

Maybe. Research shows that hormonal birth control, such as the pill, patch, shot, ring, implantable rod, and hormonal IUD, may help with heavy, painful, or long-term bleeding. These methods can also help you have lighter, shorter periods.⁶

Research shows that other benefits of hormonal birth control may include:^6,7

• More regular and lighter periods
• Fewer menstrual cramps
• Less acne
• A lower risk of ovary, endometrial (uterus), and colon cancers, pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), noncancerous ovarian cysts, and iron-deficiency anemia

Read more about how birth control can help with the following health problems:

• Ovarian cysts
• Endometriosis
• Polycystic ovary syndrome
• Uterine fibroids

Follow the instructions that came with your birth control about using back-up birth control (such as a condom and spermicide). You also can follow these recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.¹

If you are late or miss a day taking your pill:

• Take the late or missed pill as soon as possible.
• Continue taking the rest of your pills at your normal time, even if it means taking two pills on the same day.
• You do not need other forms of birth control, such as a condom, unless you need to protect against STIs.

If you miss two or more days in a row:

• Take only the most recent missed pill as soon as possible.
• Continue taking the rest of your pills at your normal time, even if it means taking two pills on the same day.
• Use back-up birth control, such as a condom and spermicide, or do not have sex until you have taken a pill for seven days in a row.
• If you missed pills during days in the last week of active pills (days 15–21 for 28-day pill packs), start a new pack the next day. If you are not able to start a new pack right away, use back-up birth control or avoid sex until hormone pills from a new pack have been taken for 7 days in a row.
• Consider emergency contraception if you missed pills during the first week and had sex.

Talk to your doctor if you continue to miss taking your birth control pill or find it hard to take the pill at the same time each day. You may want to consider a different type of birth control, such as an IUD, an implant, shot, ring, or patch that you don't have to remember to take every day.

Not very! About 22 out of 100 women who use withdrawal as their only form of birth control for a year will get pregnant. See the chart above for how this number compares to other methods of birth control.

Withdrawal is when a man takes his penis out of a woman's vagina ("pulls out") before he ejaculates or "comes" (has an orgasm). This lowers the chance of sperm from going to the egg. "Pulling out" can be hard for a man to do. It takes a lot of self-control.

Even if you use withdrawal, sperm can be released before the man pulls out. When a man's penis first becomes erect, some fluid may be on the tip of the penis. This fluid has sperm in it, so you could still get pregnant. Withdrawal also does not protect you from STIs, including HIV.

Breastfeeding can be a short-term method of birth control in very specific situations. The risk of pregnancy is less than 2 in 100 if all three of these describe you:¹

• You have a baby who is less than 6 months old

and

• You exclusively breastfeed, meaning that you only feed your baby your breastmilk all of the time (no formula, no breastmilk from other people, and no solid food)

and

• You have not gotten a period after childbirth

Talk to your doctor about birth control if you do not want to get pregnant while nursing.

Under the Affordable Care Act (the health care law), most insurance plans cover FDA-approved prescription birth control for women, such as the pill, IUDs, and female sterilization, at no additional cost to you. This also includes birth control counseling.

• If you have insurance, check with your insurance provider to find out what is included in your plan.
• If you have Medicaid, your insurance covers birth control. This includes birth control prescriptions and visits to your doctor related to birth control. Programs vary between states, so check with your state's Medicaid program to learn what your benefits are.
• If you don't have insurance, don't panic. Family planning (reproductive health) clinics may provide some birth control methods for free or at low cost. Call your local clinic or enter your ZIP code in this clinic finder tool to learn more.

For information about other services covered by the Affordable Care Act, visit HealthCare.gov.

For more information about birth control methods, call the OWH Helpline at 1-800-994-9662 or contact the following organizations:

• Food and Drug Administration (FDA), HHS
  Phone Number: 888-463-6332
• Office of Population Affairs, HHS
  Phone Number: 240-453-2888
• American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
  Phone Number: 800-762-2264 x 349 (for publications requests only)
• Planned Parenthood
  Phone Number: 800-230-7526

1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2016). U.S. Selected Practice Recommendations for Contraceptive Use, 2016. Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report; 65(RR-4): 1–66.
2. Curtis, K.M., Tepper, N.K., Jatlaoui, T.C., et al. (2016). U.S. Medical Eligibility Criteria for Contraceptive Use, 2016. MMWR Recomm Rep; 65(RR-3):1–104. 
3. Food and Drug Administration. (2016). Birth Control: Medicines to Help You.
4. Food and Drug Administration. (2013). FC2 Female condom.
5. National Cancer Institute. (2012). Oral Contraceptives and Cancer Risk.
6. Wright, K.P., Johnson, J.V. (2008). Evaluation of extended and continuous use oral contraceptives. Therapeutics and Clinical Risk Management; 4(5): 905-911.
7. Fraser, I.S. (2012). Added health benefits of the levonorgestrel contraceptive intrauterine system and other hormonal contraceptive delivery systems.Contraception; 87(3): 273-279.