Sex Edition: Women’s birth control matter of preference

Mikayla Ferchaw, a freshman engineering major, started using birth control pills last March. Since then, she has been on five different pills.

“I just feel like I should try every option out there,” Ferchaw said. 

Now that she is in college, Ferchaw, who originally took the pill to help clear her skin and prevent pregnancy, favors the pill as a safety precaution just in case.

Women have many options to choose from when it comes to birth control methods, ranging from injections, patches or the pill. All methods bring benefits and drawbacks, depending on the situation, and some women opt against the use of hormones altogether. 

In some cases, medication isn’t the only solution to prevent pregnancy.

Leslie Heyer, the founder and president of Cycle Technologies, said Cyclebeads — a planning method that helps women track their fertility cycles —  provides three different options for women to choose from: a smartphone app, an online tracker or a color-coded string of beads. 

With Cyclebeads, women can track which days they could or could not become pregnant after intercourse and make informed decisions on when to have intercourse.

Cyclebeads utilizes the Standard Days Method, which allows women to know when they are potentially fertile based on the lifespan of sperm, the lifespan of the egg and the timing of ovulation for the woman. 

The method generally defines the twelve days after a menstrual cycle as the most fertile days for pregnancy.   

A 2001 study by the Institute for Reproductive Health at Georgetown University developed the Standard Days Method, and the study calls the method a “fertility awareness-based method of family planning in which users avoid unprotected intercourse during cycle Days 8 through 19.”

Even Heyer was initially skeptical. 

“When I first started, I had the same misconceptions [about the research] as everyone else, thinking it wouldn’t be as effective,” Heyer said.

But Heyer now praises the Standard Days Method as a “simple, natural, effective family planning tool” and wonders why more women don’t use it.

Joanne Oleck, a physician at UPMC Mercy Hospital, said she isn’t quick to choose one birth control method over another.  

“It’s important to tailor the type of contraceptive to the body, depending on what the woman prefers,” says Oleck.

According to Oleck, the pill is the most commonly used form of contraception since its uses extend beyond pregnancy prevention, including relief from menstrual cramps, heavy and uncomfortable menstrual cycles and acne.

While Ferchaw said she has never experienced any side effects from using the pill, in rare cases, Oleck said the hormones ingested can cause painful headaches, mood swings or restlessness.  

These hormones are the reason some women such as Heyer switch to natural methods.

Other women dislike the pill because it can fail, or decrease in effectiveness, if it is not taken every day at the same time. 

Oleck said she’s noticed most women want a birth control method that is easy, and remembering to take a pill every day can be challenging.

As a result, some women explore other options.

The NuvaRing — a ring inserted into the vagina that allows hormones to be absorbed into the body — is just as statistically effective as the pill, but only has to be changed once a month. Additionally, women can receive injections of hormones every three months to prevent pregnancy.

Some women are hesitant to use these methods because they are not easily reversible. 

According to Oleck, “things go back to normal in a relatively short period of time with the pill,” but can take much longer with other methods.

Some methods — such as intrauterine devices — are even more permanent than rings or injections because the devices remain inserted in the uterus for between five and 10 years. These devices can completely stop menstrual cycles during the period of usage.

Surgical procedures can implant capsules of hormones that last for several years until a later surgery removes  them.

Oleck said the pill, the Nuva Ring, hormone injections and intrauterine devices are 99 percent effective and have some rare side effects. 

Throughout her 20-year career in gynecology, Oleck said she’s seen only two intrauterine devices become dislodged, and only a handful become infected. Similarly, she has rarely seen blood clots or other bleeding difficulties arise from birth control of any form.

Oleck has found that most women are satisfied with — and rarely switch — their choices in birth control methods. Switches do occur because of the differing costs of birth control pills and insurance coverage. 

Pills often range from less than $10 to more than $30 a month, depending on the brand and the insurance company.

Although Ferchaw has been on five different pills, she said she switched because of side effects rather than cost, and she has found each pill to be relatively the same.

Compatibility is the ultimate determinant in birth control methods, according to Oleck, who has worked with women who prefer a wide range of contraceptives outside of the pill.

“Whether it is more important to have an effective birth control — or to avoid putting things into their body or to avoid hormones or side effects — depends on the type of person they are,” Oleck said.