Birth control is the use of various devices, drugs, agents, sexual practices, or surgical procedures

to prevent conception or pregnancy.

It enables people to choose when they want to have a baby.

A range of devices and treatments are available for both men and women that can help prevent
pregnancy.

Some methods are more reliable than others. How well a method work often depends on how
carefully it is used.

The contraceptive pill, for example, used correctly, is ​over 99 percent​ effective. However,
because people make mistakes, as many as 9 women each year will become pregnant while using
it.

This article will look at a range of methods of preventing pregnancy. It gives the actual rates of
effectiveness, which take into account the possibility of human error.

PRO

Fast facts about birth control

● Birth control can help people decide when they want to have children.

● There are many types to choose from, including different types of barrier, medications, and
traditional methods that need no additional resources.

● Effectiveness varies and often depends on how carefully the method is applied.

● Only a male condom offers any protection against ​sexually transmitted infections​ (STIs)

● The Advantages of Contraceptives

The Guttmacher Institute estimates that nearly 50 percent of the pregnancies that occur in the
United States are unplanned and that an estimated 43 percent of unplanned pregnancies end in
abortion. Contraception can stop those unplanned pregnancies from happening and, in some
cases, can even protect against sexually transmitted disease. If you want to engage in sexual
activity and do not want to cause a pregnancy, contraceptives are necessary and even
advantageous for both men and women.
No Unplanned Pregnancies
An unplanned pregnancy can turn your world upside down. If you are not ready for it, learning
that you have become pregnant can be devastating. Instead of wondering or worrying what you
would do about an unplanned pregnancy, make sure you always have a reliable form of
contraception when you have sex.

Family Spacing and Size

Some couples do want children to be a part of their future but want to have some control over the
amount of time between each child. Contraceptives can be used to control the amount of spacing
between each child's birth. Use of contraceptives gives a family control. When that family
decides that it is not interested in any more children, use of contraceptives prevents the size of
the family from changing.

Less Abortion
The Guttmacher Institute notes that 46 percent of women who obtain abortions have used
contraceptives inconsistently or not at all during the month that the pregnancy occurred.
Abortions can be expensive, painful and emotionally taxing. Besides the social stigma of
abortions, they can be avoided with consistent usage of a contraceptive while being sexually
active.

STD Protection
External barrier methods of contraception, like the condom, can protect against sexually
transmitted diseases. This is especially important if you plan on having one or more partners or
are starting a new relationship with someone who has not been tested for sexually transmitted
diseases. In fact, condoms are often recommended along with other contraceptive methods to
prevent pregnancy and disease.

People use contraception for a range of reasons. This month we talk about the benefits of
contraception, including individual, community and societal benefits.

FAMILY PLANNING (LITERALLY)

Contraception can be used to plan when women and couples have children and how many
children they have. This includes choosing

● when they want to begin having children

● how far apart they want their children to be
● when they want to stop having children.
Contraception lets women and couples have the number of children they want, when they want
them. This is everybody’s right under the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights.
Delaying or spacing babies allows women and men to follow education and career goals that
may be interrupted by having children. This empowers people and increases their ability to earn
more. With fewer children, families are also able to invest more in each child.

REDUCING PREGNANCY-RELATED RISK

Girls and young women are especially at risk of problems in pregnancy. Contraception allows
them to put off having children until their bodies are fully able to support a pregnancy. It can
also prevent pregnancy for older women who face pregnancy-related risks.

Contraceptive use reduces the need for abortion by preventing unwanted pregnancies. It
therefore reduces cases of unsafe abortion, one of the leading causes of maternal death
worldwide.

REDUCING TEENAGE PREGNANCIES

Contraceptive use also reduces teenage pregnancies. For a developed country, New Zealand has
a very high adolescent fertility rate, at 26 births per 1,000 women aged 15-19 (Australia’s rate is
16 births).

By using contraception, young women can prevent unwanted pregnancies that can have negative
impacts on their relationships and ambitions.

Early pregnancy can also cause health problems for the baby. Babies born to teenage women are
likely to have be underweight before and at birth and are at higher risk of neonatal mortality
(dying within 28 days of birth).

POPULATION PRESSURES
Contraceptive use slows population growth. This is important because overpopulation puts
pressure on the environment, the economy and services such as education and health.

SOURCES:

● NEW ZEALAND FAMILY PLANNING (2013); BENEFITS OF CONTRACEPTION

USE, RETRIEVED FROM;
http://www.familyplanning.org.nz/news/2013/benefits-of-contraception-use
● IRELAND ,KAY 2017); THE ADVANTAGES OF CONTRACEPTIVES, RETRIEVED
FROM; ​https://www.livestrong.com/article/38557-advantages-contraceptives/
● Nordqvist ,Christian(2018); ​What types of birth control are there?, RETRIEVED FROM,
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/162762.php
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