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News | Tips for using birth control right
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Failure rate with perfect use: 0.3 percent Failure rate with typical use: 7 percent Common mistakes and solutions: You must get the shot every 12 weeks for it to be effective. "I have patients who call and say they're due today, but they need to plan ahead to get an appointment," Tao said. If you're more than two weeks late, you could be at risk for pregnancy. * Many people plan to get their new shot every three months. But some months have five weeks, which could make you late for your next shot. So count the weeks, not the months, said Beth Jordan, medical director at the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals, a nonprofit organization in Washington.
Ricardo DeAratanha, Los Angeles Times
Failure rate with perfect use: 0.3 percent Failure rate with typical use: 7 percent Common mistakes and solutions: You must get the shot every 12 weeks for it to be effective. “I have patients who call and say they’re due today, but they need to plan ahead to get an appointment,” Tao said. If you’re more than two weeks late, you could be at risk for pregnancy. * Many people plan to get their new shot every three months. But some months have five weeks, which could make you late for your next shot. So count the weeks, not the months, said Beth Jordan, medical director at the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals, a nonprofit organization in Washington.

Tips for using birth control right

Chicago Tribune
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Using birth control simply isn’t enough these days. Unless you’re following every rule, you may be at risk for pregnancy. More than 3 million women have an accidental pregnancy annually — and about half of those women used contraception when it happened, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive health organization based in New York. Many people don’t realize that they’re using a particular birth control method incorrectly — so follow these tips to ensure your birth control will do its job.

–Danielle Braff, special to the Tribune

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