English
Amharic
Arabic
French
Kurdish
Polish
Punjabi
Romanian
Spanish
Turkish
UrduContraception Options
Choosing the right contraception is a personal choice but you can talk to us for advice and further information by contacting your nearest clinic. There are a wide range of contraception options available. The most effective methods are the long acting reversible methods (LARCs) such as coils, implant and Depot injection. Other methods such as condoms also reduce the risk of transmission of STIs
REMEMBER: Condoms are the only contraception method to reduce the risk of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Condoms can protect you from STI’s such as syphilis and gonorrhoea, both of which have increased in the last couple of years.
Emergency Contraception
Emergency Hormonal Contraception (EHC) is often called ‘the morning after pill’. EHC may be taken up to 5 days after having sex, but the sooner you take it the more effective it is at preventing pregnancy.
If you want more information on how this pill works, please download the leaflet on emergency contraception here
Using contraception every time you have sex is the best way to reduce the risk of pregnancy. But sometimes things go wrong – a condom breaks or forgotten, you forget to take a Pill, or you have sex without using contraception and regret it later. If this happens acting quickly, by sorting out emergency contraception, will protect you against the possibility of pregnancy.
Help is on hand.
If you’ve had unprotected sex in the last 72 hours, you may be able to get free EHC from a number of pharmacies across the district, as well as from one of our clinics.
It may also be possible to get a copper intrauterine device (IUD), often known as a coil, fitted up to five days after unprotected sex as an emergency method of contraception.
It’s fitted in your womb by a specially trained doctor or nurse and you can then use it as your regular method of contraception.
For more information and to book an urgent appointment contact our clinic on 0800 055 6442 (Barnsley District patients) or 01924 327586 (Wakefield District patients).
If you want to learn more about IUD, please download this leaflet.
Hormonal Contraception
The combined pill is usually just called the pill. It contains two hormones – estrogen and progestogen. These are similar to the natural hormones women produce in their ovaries. The hormones in the pill prevent your ovaries from releasing an egg (ovulating) thus preventing pregnancy.
Even if you choose to take the pill as a contraceptive you will still need to use a condom to help prevent the transfer of sexually transmitted infections.
If you want to learn more about the pill, please download this leaflet.
The vaginal ring is a small, soft plastic ring that you place inside your vagina. It’s about 4mm thick and 5.5cm in diameter. You leave it in your vagina for 21 days, then remove it and throw it in the bin (not down the toilet). Seven days after removing the ring, you insert a new one for the next 21 days.
You can start using the vaginal ring at any time during your menstrual cycle. You leave it in for 21 days, then remove it and have a maximum seven-day ring-free break. You’re protected against pregnancy during the ring-free break. You then put a new ring in for another 21 days.
If you want to avoid bleeding during your periods, you can leave in the ring for 28 days and immediately replace it with a new one.
For more information on vaginal ring, please download this leaflet.
The contraceptive implant is a small flexible rod about 40mm long that’s inserted under the skin of your upper arm and lasts for three years.
Want to learn more about the contraceptive implant? Please download this leaflet.
There are three types of contraceptive injections in the UK: Depo-Provera, which lasts for 12 weeks, Sayana Press, which lasts for 13 weeks, and Noristerat, which lasts for eight weeks.
Contraceptive injections contain a progestogen hormone which is similar to the natural progesterone that women produce in their ovaries.
Learn more about the injections here
The contraceptive patch is a small, thin, beige coloured patch, nearly 5cm x 5cm in size. You stick it on your skin and it releases two hormones – estrogen and progestogen. These are similar to the natural hormones that women produce in their ovaries and like those used in the combined pill.
Learn more about this patch by downloading the leaflet here.
An IUS is a small T-shaped plastic device that is put into your uterus (womb) and releases a progestogen hormone. This is similar to the natural progesterone that women produce in their ovaries.
If you want to learn more about IUS, please download this leaflet.
Non-Hormonal Contraception
An IUD is a small T-shaped plastic and copper device that’s inserted into your womb (uterus).
The IUD is a long-acting reversible contraceptive (LARC) method. This means that once it’s in place, you don’t have to think about it each day or each time you have sex.
Learn more about IUDs here.
Barrier Contraception
Barrier Contraception stop sperm from reaching an egg by creating a physical barrier between them. Condoms can also protect against STIs if used correctly during vaginal, anal and oral sex.
The male condom is one of the most easily recognised forms of contraception available.
Male condoms are made from very thin latex (rubber), polyisoprene or polyurethane, and are designed to stop a man’s semen from coming into contact with his sexual partner.
When condoms are used correctly during vaginal sex, they help to protect against pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
When used correctly during anal and oral sex, they help to protect against STIs. Condoms are the only contraception that protect against both pregnancy and STIs.
It’s important that the man’s penis does not make contact with the woman’s vagina before a condom has been put on. This is because semen can come out of the penis before a man has fully ejaculated (come). If this happens, or if semen leaks into the vagina while using a condom, contact us about emergency contraception. You should also consider having an STI test.
Female condoms are made from thin, soft plastic called polyurethane (some male condoms are made from this too). Female condoms are worn inside the vagina to prevent semen getting to the womb.
When used correctly during vaginal sex, they help to protect against pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Condoms are the only contraception that protect against pregnancy and STIs. Currently, there is only one brand of female condom available in the UK, called Femidom.
- If used correctly and consistently, female condoms are 95% effective.This means that five out of 100 women using female condoms as contraception will become pregnant in a year.
- Using female condoms protects against both pregnancy and STIs.
- A female condom needs to be placed inside the vagina before there is any contact between the vagina and the penis.
- Female condoms need to be stored in places that aren’t too hot or too cold, and away from sharp or rough surfaces that could tear them or wear them away.
- Always buy condoms that have the CE mark on the packet. This means they’ve been tested to European safety standards. Condoms that don’t have the CE mark won’t meet these standards, so don’t use them.
- A female condom can get pushed too far into the vagina, but it’s easy to remove it yourself.
- Female condoms may not be suitable for women who are not comfortable touching their genital area.
- Do not use a female condom more than once. If you have sex again, use a new female condom.
The contraceptive cap is a circular dome made of thin, soft silicone. It’s inserted into the vagina before sex, and covers the cervix so that sperm cannot get into the womb. You need to use spermicide with it (spermicide kills sperm).
Learn more about caps in this leaflet.
A contraceptive diaphragm is inserted into the vagina before sex, and it covers the cervix so that sperm can’t get into the womb (uterus). You need to use spermicide with it (spermicides kill sperm).
- When used correctly with spermicide, a diaphragm is 92-96% effective at preventing pregnancy – this means that between four and eight women out of every 100 who use a diaphragm as contraception will become pregnant within a year.
- There are no serious health risks.
- You only have to think about it before you have sex.
- You can put a diaphragm in several hours before you have sex.
- It can take time to learn how to use it.
- Some women develop cystitis (a bladder infection) when they use a diaphragm.
- If you lose or gain more than 3kg (7lbs) in weight, or have a baby, miscarriage or abortion, you may need to be fitted with a new diaphragm.
- By using condoms as well as a diaphragm, you’ll help to protect yourself against sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
English
Amharic
Arabic
French
Kurdish (Kurmanji)
Polish
Punjabi
Romanian
Spanish
Turkish
Urdu