NuvaRing for Birth Control

Filed in archive Birth Control on March 27, 2007

Seems like every time I go online, I find another new method of birth control. It started with condoms. Then progressed to things like diaphragm with Spermicide. Since then, there's been the pill, shots, patches, and on and on.

Now we have something to insert again, but this is different enough to merit mention. It's called the NuvaRing® .

NuvaRing® is a different kind of birth control. The comfortable, flexible contraceptive ring that is about two inches in diameter is used to prevent pregnancy. You insert NuvaRing® into your vagina just once a month. The muscles in your vaginal wall will keep NuvaRing® in place for three weeks. During that time, it will slowly release a low dose of hormones that are needed to prevent pregnancy.

Does it work? According to Dawn Stacey M.Ed, LMHC, About Guide to Contraception:

The NuvaRing® is 99.7% effective. This means that with perfect use, less than 1 out of every 100 women who use the ring will become pregnant. Preliminary research is showing that with typical use, the NuvaRing® will be more effective than the Pill. There are no published studies detailing the effectiveness with typical use.

Graphics from NuvaRing®