Family Planning & Birth Control

What Is Family Planning?

Family planning helps women and couples to manage and protect their reproductive and sexual health. Family planning helps women to control when they become pregnancy and how many children to have. Family planning services include contraception options and fertility treatment to help patients create and grow their families when they are ready. These services help women to protect themselves from unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases while maintaining reproductive health and wellbeing.

What Kind of Birth Control Should I Use?

The doctors at Legacy OB/GYN can provide advice on the different types of contraception and which option will best suit your individual needs. Essentially, the best birth control option is the one that fits in best with your lifestyle and your needs. Factors that could affect your decision about the best birth control for you include your sensitivity to hormones, allergies to latex, your plans for getting pregnant in the future, your ability to remember to take a pill at the same time every day, and if protection from sexually transmitted diseases is also a concern. Many women are opting for long-acting reversible contraceptive (LARC) options, such as IUDs and implants. LARC options are becoming increasingly popular because they are effective and convenient as there is no need to remember to take a pill or other interruptions to the protection they provide.

When Should I Be Concerned About Fertility?

A woman’s fertility is a very personal situation. However, the general guidelines advise that women under the age of 35 who have been trying to conceive naturally for a year with no success, or for 6 months if over the age of 35, should seek fertility assessment and potentially treatment. It is important to remember that infertility does not just affect women and that both the male and female partners trying to have a child should be tested for fertility issues. Women’s fertility issues can affect the egg, the fallopian tubes or uterus, or the ability for a fertilized egg to attach to the uterine wall.