Is a shot every few months the right birth control option for you? If an injection seems more appealing than a daily pill, it may be a good choice.
A momentary pinch from a shot might be a small price to pay if it means three month's worth of worry-free sex. If you're tired of taking the birth control pill, or worry that you'll forget to take it, you may want to consider the Depo-Provera shot. It's an injection of a hormone that works just like the pill, without the worry of remembering to take a pill every day.
What Is Depo-Provera?
Depo-Provera was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1992. Also called the birth control shot, it contains the drug called DMPA, which is made of the hormone progestin. The Depo-Provera shot works by preventing ovulation, or the release of an egg. If there is no egg to fertilize, pregnancy can't occur. Progestin also causes the mucus around the cervix to get thicker, which helps keep sperm out.
(In 2000, the FDA approved another type of birth control shot called Lunelle, which contained both progestin and the hormone estrogen, and was given monthly instead of every three months. But it was recalled in 2002, due to a possible risk of contraceptive failure. Depo-Provera is the only effective injectable birth control method available to women.)
The shot is always administered by a health professional, and is given once every three months in the buttocks or in the arm. The Depo-Provera shot is 97 percent effective against pregnancy, and possibly even 99 percent effective if used completely as directed. The hormones in the shot will protect against pregnancy for 12 weeks; then it's time to go back to the doctor for another shot.
Your health insurance may or may not cover this particular kind of birth control. The cost of the shot itself will cost anywhere from $35 to $75, but you may also have to pay for the doctor's time and an office visit.
Side Effects and Risks of Depo-Provera
Simple Interactions is a research project of the Fred Rogers Center that develops free tools and resources to give educators a language for noticing and ...
WE RECOMMEND THE VIDEO: The Building Blocks of Child-Adult Relationships | HundrED Pittsburgh Spotlight
As with any medication, Depo-Provera is not without risks. While it is a generally safe form of birth control, the shot can lead to decreased bone density, and may therefore eventually increase the risk of osteoporosis if taken for longer than two years. For that reason, it generally isn't recommended for use for more than two years.
Depo-Provera doesn't offer any protection against any sexually-transmitted disease (STD) or infection. Therefore, Depo-Provera may not be a good choice for women who are concerned about contracting STDs or who are not in monogamous relationships, unless they're also using condoms or other barrier methods.
The Depo-Provera shot also carries a small increased risk for some women of developing breast cancer, as well as an increased risk of blood clots.
Some common but minor side effects of Depo-Provera include:
- Irregular periods
- Lighter periods (common)
- Heavier periods (more rarely)
- Spotting between periods
- Breast tenderness
- Changes in hair (excess growth on the face, or losing hair on the scalp)
- Headache, nausea, feeling dizzy
- Gaining weight
- Altered sex drive
The effectiveness of Depo-Provera against pregnancy may last longer than three months — much longer. If you think you might want to try to get pregnant within the next year, the shot might not be the best choice. It can take between several months and a year or longer for the hormone to get out of the system and for pregnancy to occur. However, this effect cannot be counted on, as it is possible for pregnancy to occur as early as three and a half months after the last Depo-Provera shot — so never delay your next shot if you want complete protection against pregnancy.
If you're a woman looking for a short-term, easy, and worry-free way to prevent pregnancy, and you don't want to get pregnant any time soon, the Depo-Provera shot may be just what you're looking for.