You’re in all probability effectively conscious of the tablet and the way it works—however long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs), together with the contraception implant (a.ok.a. Nexplanon), don’t require a day by day verify in your to-do checklist.
There’s a rising curiosity within the etonogestrel contraception implant, and its set-it-and-forget-it nature seemingly performs a job in that. As soon as the tiny rod is positioned in your arm, you don’t have to consider your contraception for years. Couple that with the truth that it’s extremely efficient at stopping being pregnant, and it’s a lovely contraception choice, particularly as the fitting to abortion and different types of vital reproductive care are threatened in lots of states throughout the nation.
So, how does the contraception implant work? Right here’s what you need to know when you’re seeking to swap to a LARC and wish to discover your choices.
How does the contraception implant work?
LARCs, which embody the contraception plant and intrauterine gadgets (IUDs), are the best reversible contraceptive strategies, in accordance with the American Faculty of Obstetricians and Gynecology (ACOG). LARC strategies have a excessive success price of stopping being pregnant whereas they’re in place, however they shouldn’t straight affect your return to fertility; as soon as the implant is eliminated, for instance, you may get pregnant rapidly when you don’t produce other elements affecting your fertility, Christine Greves, MD, an ob-gyn on the Winnie Palmer Hospital for Girls and Infants in Orlando, tells SELF.
The contraception implant is fairly tiny—it’s slightly below 2 inches lengthy and is in regards to the measurement of a matchstick. “Nexplanon is a little bit rod of an artificial progesterone [progestin] that goes proper underneath the pores and skin,” Mary Jane Minkin, MD, a scientific professor of obstetrics and gynecology and reproductive sciences at Yale Faculty of Drugs, tells SELF. The implant is inserted into your non-dominant higher arm, the place it could keep for as much as three years to 5 years, per the ACOG.1 (Don’t fear, your well being care supplier ought to numb the realm, so that you gained’t really feel any discomfort throughout this course of.)
The best way it really works is fairly cool: “The implant sends out [progestin] into the bloodstream, which will get to the ovaries to assist suppress ovulation,” Dr. Minkin explains. “Additionally, [progestin] helps hold cervical mucus hostile to sperm—so it helps hold sperm from getting up into the uterus.”
Like all type of contraception, the contraceptive implant can include potential unwanted effects like recognizing between durations, longer or shorter bleeding throughout your interval, a heavier or lighter circulate, assorted quantities of time between durations, or no interval in any respect, in accordance with Deliberate Parenthood. Different potential unwanted effects embody the standard: complications, breast soreness, and nausea, amongst others. “So long as you’re okay with the potential for irregular bleeding…it’s an outstanding type of contraception,” Dr. Greves says.
How efficient is the contraception implant at stopping being pregnant?
Usually, “the implant is an efficient choice for people who know they wish to delay being pregnant for a number of years and are not looking for the trouble of taking a tablet each day,” Alexa M. Sassin, MD, an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Baylor Faculty of Drugs in Houston, tells SELF.