Dr Jacqueline Coombe

You can feel it if you get one.

It kind of looks like a matchstick.

Yeah, actually, now that you've said that, I remember a few older girls in school.

Yes, same, having them and letting everyone feel them, yes.

So that's another option, lasts for three years, super effective at preventing pregnancy.

It has similar hormones to an IUD, so it's different to the pill.

So it's a good option if you can't tolerate the pill or the NuvaRing.

It can cause, I think the main side effect or the main reason people don't love it is its impact on bleeding.

It can just make your bleeding, what's the word, like unpredictable, I suppose.

Like you might not quite know when your next period might be or if you'll be spotting for how long and that sort of stuff.

And then less used methods that are available are the contraceptive injection.

So that's an injection you get from your healthcare provider every 12 to 14 weeks, relatively effective at preventing pregnancy.

It does have some side effects that are concerning for people.

So it can lead to a little bit of weight gain.

It reduces your bone density while you're using it.

And your return to fertility after using it takes a while.

So with something like the pill or the IUD, you stop using them, your return to fertility is quite quick.

for the um injection it's called depo usually people refer to it as um it yeah it takes a little while for that to come back that's so interesting yeah so i guess when you're thinking about what contraceptive method is right for you it's partly thinking about what you want right now but also what you want in the future as well so if you for example were you know thinking i want something to cover me for a few months before me and my partner start trying the injection is probably not for you

Yeah.

They can be really good methods.