Contraception
(novolat. contraception – exception) – prevention from unwanted pregnancy and infection with sexually transmitted diseases.
There are several groups of contraception:
- Physiological method of contraception
- Barrier contraception
- Chemical contraception
- Hormonal contraception
- Surgical contraception
It involves tracking the days of ovulation. (Calendar, PPA – interrupted sexual intercourse, temperature, etc.) Degree of reliability – weak. A “shift” of ovulation is possible due to general malaise, stress, and travel. It is mainly used when other methods are not suitable for certain reasons.
Condoms, diaphragms, female condoms, etc. The effectiveness of the method reaches 95%. In addition, today this is one of the best methods against contracting STDs (sexually transmitted diseases). It is often used in “combined” contraception – with a hormonal or chemical method.
p> Aerosols, creams, candles, etc. The chemical method also includes copper-containing intrauterine devices. This method creates a barrier for sperm. The reliability of the method is quite high. Local application immediately before sexual intercourse can be considered an inconvenience.
With the help of low doses of hormonal drugs, ovulation is suppressed, cervical mucus thickens, making the cervix impassable for sperm.
Hormonal drugs are the most common method of contraception (COCs – oral contraceptives, hormonal injections, implants, hormonal rings, the Mirena hormonal device). The reliability of the method is up to 90%.
But there are a huge number of side effects and a large list of contraindications (vein diseases, cardiovascular diseases, oncology, etc.). You can use the hormonal contraception method only after consulting a gynecologist and undergoing laboratory tests.
Sterilization. This is a tubal ligation (for women) or a vasectomy for men. For men, this is a simple laparoscopic procedure to ligate the vas deferens. For women, tubal ligation is a more complex surgical procedure, which is performed strictly according to indications and has limitations: it is not performed on nulliparous women or women under 35 years of age.
In any case, contraception for women is selected individually and only after consultation with a doctor.