I visited the Student Health Care Center and talked to Kathy in the Health Education office Wednesday right after class. She provided me with an assortment of valuable information about various contraceptives. I am going to talk about are: Depo Provera and the Intra-Uterine Device (IUD).
At the Student Health Care Center, Depo Provera is a birth control shot which costs $56.00 every three months. This price includes the office visit. Its failure rate is less than 0.3% for both perfect and typical use. The advantages are: nothing needs to be taken daily or at the time of sexual intercourse, extremely effective, may reduce symptoms of PMS, less cramping, and is not less effective when taking other medicines like birth control pills are. The disadvantages are: can't protect you from STDs or HIV, can lead to very irregular periods, weight gain, may contribute to bone loss, associated with bad cholesterol, and may be expensive.
An IUD costs $360 for Paragard and $420 for Mirena. It is a small device that is placed in the uterus. The arms of it contain copper which blocks the sperm from fertilizing the egg. The failure rate for perfect use is 0.6% and the failure rate for typical use is 0.8%. The advantage of an IUD are: Highly effective for at least 12 years, prevents ectopic pregnancies, low cost over time, easy to use, may be inserted after the delivery of a baby or an abortion, decreased risk for uterine and cervical cancer, and it is the most effective emergency contraceptive.
The disadvantages are: no protection against STDs and HIV, may be pain after insertion, more bleeding days during a period and also more cramping, some women are allergic, and some men can feel the IUD strings during sex.
Out of these two options I would prefer the Depo Provera. I would choose this because there would be less pain and bleeding during a period unlike the IUD which would cause more. The Depo Provera also has a lower failure rate.