When a woman is fertile she is physically able to become pregnant. If she is sexually active she should ask herself if she wants to become pregnant "now."

If she would prefer not to become pregnant then she should use some kind of birth control.

Birth control goes by many names that include contraception, family planning, fertility control, and pregnancy prevention. Whatever you choose to call it, if you are sexually active there are a number of different methods that you can use to reduce the chances of your becoming pregnant.

Keep in mind, though, that aside from abstinence, there isn't any birth control method available today that will protect you against STDs (sexually transmitted diseases).

There are Two Approaches to Birth Control

Basically, any birth control method is based on either preventing a fertilized egg from being implanted in a woman's uterus (womb) where it can start to grow, or preventing sperm from reaching and fertilizing a woman's egg.

Companies are developing and testing new methods of contraception all the time. What might be the right type of birth control for you now may change over the course of time.

Nonetheless, there is only one type of birth control method that is considered to be effective 100% of the time. And that is abstinence.

Hormonal Birth Control

There are a number of different types of hormonal birth control methods. Their differences focus on the amount of the hormone, the type of hormone(s), and the way the hormone enters your body.

The hormones can be either progesterone and/or estrogen.

These hormones can be taken in a variety of ways. They can be implanted, taken orally, injected, placed in your vagina, or absorbed from a patch that you put on your skin,

The type of delivery system will determine whether your exposure to the hormone is intermittent or continuous.

All of these methods are very effective and every one of them is reversible.

The Pill

Oral contraceptives are sometimes called "The Pill." Made from synthetic hormones, they are believed to be approximately 97% to 99% effective if they are properly used.

The pill was first offered to the general public in 1960 and there are estimates that over 10 million woman in the United States area currently using oral contraceptives.

Although these pills are extremely effective there are some potential risks involved. A number of the birth control pills that are on the market can cause pulmonary embolisms, fibroadenomas, gallstones, heart attacks, deep vein thrombosis, and even death.

When serious illnesses arise many women decide to speak about their legal options to attorneys who specialize in birth control litigation.