HOUSTON – For women who aren’t hoping to become pregnant, long-acting reversible contraceptives, or ‘larcs’ have been around for decades. Many states are mandating that doctors offer them at the hospital after a woman has a baby.
Dr. Salena Zanotti is a women’s health physician at Cleveland Clinic. She says many doctors are talking about birth control options before mom goes home with her baby because of an increased rate in unintended pregnancies.
“In an effort to control this, we’re really trying to encourage women to consider getting either an IUD or the arm implant while they’re at the hospital before they go home,” Zanotti said.
She said that birth control used to only be discussed at a new mother’s six week follow up appointment. However, doctors have recently seen an uptick in women unintentionally becoming pregnant again less than one year after having a baby.
She said that long-acting reversible contraceptives include intrauterine devices, or IUDs, and also an implantable device that goes in the arm. Both are safe for all women, whether they are moms or have never been pregnant.
As far as their effectiveness, Zanotti says they are actually more effective than using birth control pills or shots.
“There’s really no failure – you can’t mess with it, you know, you can’t forget to take your pill. It’s about as effective as having permanent sterilization, that’s how good it is,” Zanotti said.
She said it’s also important to note that these birth control devices do not impact a woman’s long term chance of having a baby. When a woman wants to become pregnant, it is simply removed