Anyone who is sexually active and doesn't want to have a child should practice some form of birth control. Deciding on the specific type of birth control you need is a very personal matter that should be discussed with your physician and your partner. Some of the options for birth control include natural methods, such as withdrawal, abstinence or fertility awareness. Other birth control methods are medical interventions, including IUDs, IUSs, birth control pills, birth control shots, cervical caps, implants and sterilization. Barrier methods of birth control include male condoms, female condoms and spermicides.
Step 1
Consider your religious beliefs. Many Catholics, for example, don't believe in using any form of birth control except fertility awareness, withdrawal or abstinence. If you are unsure what your church's beliefs are about birth control, contact your pastor or priest.
Step 2
Decide if you want temporary or permanent birth control. Temporary birth control, such as condoms, birth control pills and IUDs can be stopped if you want to get pregnant. Permanent birth control, such as tubal ligation, hysterectomy or vasectomy usually prevent pregnancy from ever happening in the future.
Step 3
Determine if you can follow a birth control regime. If you are good at remembering to take medication on a daily basis, the birth control pill is an option for you. However, if you can't even remember to get a shot every 3 months, consider an IUD or IUS, such as Mirena.
Step 4
Figure out what an acceptable failure rate is for your birth control. All birth control, except abstinence comes with some failure rate. The Association of Reproductive Health Professionals (see References) offers information about the failure rate of various contraceptive methods. For example, a male condom touts a 12 percent failure rate, while the female condom is 21 percent. An IUS or IUD has a failure rate of eight pregnancies out of 1,000 women, while birth control shots have a failure rate of three pregnancies out of 1,000 women.
Step 5
Take the cost into consideration. When you are pricing the birth control methods, figure out the cost over a year to get an accurate idea of the overall costs. Compare these costs of temporary methods to permanent methods.
