Birth Control Bingo: What's the Right Barrier Method for Me That is NOT Condoms?

Part of Scarleteen's Birth Control Bingo. Need to go back a question? Or start over?

On the previous page, you said that you need or prefer a method that does NOT require the participation of a partner⁠ (partner: In a sexual context, a person with whom someone is having some kind of sex. The term "partner" can be used for all kinds of relationships, not just serious ones. "Partner" can also mean the person someone is with in a romantic or familial partnership.) , or that sexual⁠ (sexual: About or relating in some way to sex or sexuality.) spontaneity is MOST important, and you do not want to have anything to put into place immediately before sex⁠ (sex: Different things people choose to do to actively express or enact sexuality and sexual feelings; often this involves genitals, but not always. ) , and that you are comfortable touching your genitals⁠ (genitals: Body parts that are generally, culturally, scientifically or personally considered to be external sexual or reproductive organs.) , and are not squeamish about inserting/removing a contraceptive device, and you are not interested in a behavioral method like Fertility Awareness, either because your menstrual cycle⁠ (menstrual cycle: The whole of the phases of menstruation, which include, but are not limited to, the menstrual period.) is not regular, because you do not want to have to chart daily, or because you prefer a non-behavioral method.

Those needs or preferences leave you with a few options. First things first:

• Would you prefer, do you need or can you manage a method which you can obtain either over the counter or through mail-order? If so, click here. OR, would you prefer or are okay with a method which requires a visit to your sexual healthcare provider⁠ (healthcare provider: A qualified person to provide sound physical and/or mental healthcare, such as a doctor, nurse, clinician, counselor, medical assistant, midwife or other healthcare professional.) for a fitting or insertion? If so, keep reading.

(If you have no preference on that issue, the options following will link to methods which are more effective, whereas the over-the-counter or mail-order link above is mostly to methods which are slightly to considerably less effective than those below.)

If you would prefer, want or can manage a method which requires a visit to your sexual healthcare provider, which of the following is most true for you?

I would prefer a form of birth control⁠ (birth control: Any number of methods people use to intentionally prevent unwanted pregnancy, including the condom, the cervical barrier, the implant, the patch, the pill, the rhythm method, the ring, the shot, the IUD, spermicide and withdrawal.) I can use on an as-needed basis with no ongoing side effects AND I am not sensitive or allergic to spermicides AND I want a method I only need to think about when I’m going to have sex that day AND I prefer a method with a lower cost

If this statement is most true for you, click here to find out⁠ (out: Short for ‘out of the closet’. When someone’s LGBTQ+ identity is known to other people.) about Cervical Barriers.

OR

I am sensitive or allergic to spermicides AND/OR I feel okay with leaving a device in my body to provide longer-term contraception⁠ (contraception: Devices, medications or behaviors used to intentionally aim to prevent pregnancy, including the condom, the cervical barrier, the implant, the patch, the pill, the rhythm method, the ring, the shot, the IUD, spermicide and withdrawal.) . AND A mild-to-moderately painful procedure to put the method in place, and possibly while I get used to it, does not bother me. AND I can deal with unpredictable bleeding or spotting, heavier periods or more intense cramps AND I have adequate medical care with which to get urgent medical attention from a doctor or clinic if I have a complication from a more invasive method. AND I can pay for -- or am covered financially by a health plan for -- a more expensive method at the onset

If this statement is most true for you, click here to consider the Copper-T IUD.

If none of the options above seem to fit you, then you may want to consider a hormonal method. Or, you may want to start over from the top⁠ (top: In sexuality, this is someone who wants to take the/a lead during sex with a partner or partners, or to consensually take the role of being in charge of sexual actions.) of this page, or the previous page to see if you can't strike a compromise somewhere, such as by only choosing partners who will share responsibility for birth control use, to work it out so a brief interruption in sexual activity is not a big whoop, or to find a way to be able to see a sexual healthcare provider in order to obtain a method.

Don't forget: Statistically, sexually active⁠ (sexually active: Someone who has had or is currently having some kind of genital sex with a partner or partners.) young adults⁠ (adults: People whose age in years exceeds the legal age of majority, people considered to be adults by law, or people who a culture or individual considers to have reached an adult stage of life.) are as, if not more, likely to acquire a sexually transmitted infection⁠ (infection: When harmful microbes, or germs, or harmful levels of microbes/germs, enter the body and multiply, causing illness. The common cold, flu viruses, sexually transmitted infections, chickenpox, impetigo, rabies and diphtheria are some kinds of infections.) ( STI⁠ (STI: Sexually transmitted infections: illness, infection and/or disease which is often or can be transmitted through sexual or other intimate contact, like HIV, Chlamydia or Herpes. Some people call STIs STDs.) ) as you are to become pregnant. Although 15-24-year-olds represent only one-quarter of the sexually active population, they account for nearly half of all new STIs each year, and of the 18.9 million new cases of STIs each year, 9.1 million (48%) occur among 15-24-year-olds (AGI). Often people have some funny ideas about who is most likely to get an STI, but the fact of the matter is that younger people -- of any sexual orientation⁠ (sexual orientation: A term -- like homosexual, heterosexual, bisexual, queer, straight, lesbian, gay, asexual -- used to describe a person's usual or current pattern of emotional, romantic and/or sexual attraction to other people as it relates to or is about gender.) , any economic class, any kind of relationship⁠ (relationship: An ongoing interaction or association with another person, place or thing.) -- have been the highest risk group for some time now.

Condoms are the only method of birth control which also provide protection against STIs. It's pretty typical for younger people to ditch condoms if they have another method of birth control, so just remember that STIs are still a risk if you're using another method. You can read all about safer sex⁠ (safer sex: Practices which aim to reduce the risk of sexually transmitted infections, such as use of latex/nonlatex barriers, regular testing for infections and limiting the number of sexual partners.) here -- Safe, Sound & Sexy: A Safer Sex How-To -- but the rule of thumb most medical experts and prevention organizations suggest, which we also encourage at Scarleteen is six months of safer sex, six months of sexual monogamy, and then TWO full STI screenings for each partner -- once at the start of that six months, once at the end -- before ditching latex barriers for safer sex.