Birth Control News & Features

How is birth control different from an abortion? What is the process like? What are the effects on your body? Learn the differences between birth control and an abortion.

How do you get emergency contraception? Which type is best? What are the effects on your body? Get the answers straight from a doctor.

Here's what you need to know about using a menstrual cup when you have an IUD.

Can you get a copper IUD put in as emergency contraception? How does it work? What are the pros and cons?

IUDs often cause cramps. Learn what can you do about them, how long they might last, how to feel better, and what to do if they don’t go away.

What happens if you think your IUD is out of place? What are the signs? How do you check? Should you call the doctor? Learn what to look for and what to do if you think your IUD is out of place.

How do birth control apps work? Can I use a cycle tracking app for birth control? How do I find a reliable fertility app? Learn about apps for cycle tracking, fertility, family planning, and birth control.

Many women avoid birth control methods they think will cause weight gain. An IUD isn’t likely to bring extra pounds. It’s also one of the most effective and easy-to-use contraceptives on the market.

A professor who led a study on women’s attempts to remove their IUDs found there’s a high risk of failure, but there’s really no harm in doing it yourself if you want to try.

Does getting an IUD hurt? Will my periods change? What type of IUD is best? Learn what women wish they had known before they got an IUD.

Thanks to design changes and recent declarations by physician’s groups that they are safe for all ages, IUDs are swiftly gaining popularity.

Women with asthma may suffer fewer severe symptom attacks if they are on birth control pills, a large new study suggests.

More than 70,000 U.S. women could be left without cost-free birth control after the Supreme Court upheld a Trump administration policy change that permits some employers to refuse to provide contraceptive coverage on religious or moral grounds.

The patch, which contains "micro-needles" absorbed into the skin, is seen as a possible alternative to current long-acting contraceptives

Many women get contraceptives through their doctor, but the issue of access to birth control has become more pressing as family planning clinics close across the United States.

Reproductive coercion is a form of abuse in which a girl or woman is pressured into pregnancy. From a male partner threatening to leave if his female partner refuses to have his baby, to poking holes in condoms before sex, the coercion can take shape in a variety of ways.

Among the men who took the birth control pill, average circulating testosterone levels dropped as low as that which occurs in a state of androgen (male hormone) deficiency.

A gene variant that breaks down hormones in birth control could be the culprit, researchers reported.

The FDA says the product could become less effective if a patient does not take a tablet because it is missing or takes a placebo instead of an active tablet. No unexpected pregnancies or other events have been reported, Apotex says.

In the study, the rate of American women seeking intrauterine devices, implants or other forms of long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) shot up by nearly 22 percent during the month after the 2016 presidential election.

The patch, which can be pressed into an arm or leg, has dissolvable microneedles that implant into the skin and slowly dissolve over time, delivering a contraceptive hormone, NBC News reported.

The Trump administration's new rules on employer-provided birth control have been blocked in some parts of the country by a judge in California.

The FDA is implementing a number of steps for long-term safety monitoring of the permanent birth control device Essure, which will no longer be sold or distributed in the U.S. after Dec. 31, 2018.

The protective effect of newer birth control pills -- which contain lower doses of estrogens and different progestogens -- rise over time and persist for several years after women stopped taking them, new research finds.

Drug maker Bayer announced Friday that it would stop US sales of the birth control implant Essure by the end of 2018.