Canadian Health Network

What are the most effective birth control methods, and where can I go to get them?

Birth control allows men and women who have sexual intercourse to prevent pregnancy. It is also called "contraception" or "contraceptives."

If you do have vaginal intercourse and don't want to become pregnant or get your partner pregnant, it's important to always use a method of birth control you can trust. Otherwise, it's very possible to get pregnant. There is about an 85% chance that a woman who has sex regularly with a male partner without using birth control will become pregnant within a year.

What are my options?

A wide variety of reliable birth control is available in Canada.

Some forms of birth control are permanent. These options are for people who never want a pregnancy, even in the future. Tubal ligations (for women) and vasectomies (for men) are available only by seeing a doctor.

For some methods such as the birth control pill, contraceptive patch, injectable contraception, diaphragm and intra-uterine device (I.U.D.), you need a prescription from a doctor. Other contraceptives like condoms and spermicides are available at pharmacies. You don't need to see a doctor or get a prescription for these.

Some women practice what is called Fertility Awareness Method (FAM). This is where a woman monitors the three signs of fertility: her daily basal body temperature, her cervical mucus and the position of her cervix. She writes it down on a chart to see when she ovulates and doesn't have vaginal intercourse during ovulation. This method takes a lot of responsibility because you have to check the three signs every day and write them down on the chart. It takes several months before a woman knows her cycle well enough to know when she is ovulating. You can read more about fertility awareness method on the Women's Health Matters website.

How well does each method work?

Listed below are some of the most common contraceptive methods available, and how successful each one is. The success rate is the percentage chance that a woman using that method will not become pregnant in a one-year period for typical use:

*Efficacy rates based on information provided by Contraceptive Technology 18th Ed. (Hatcher, R.A. et al., 1998)

Additional Resources

Contraception – Canadian Federation for Sexual Health

Conception and Contraception: Myths and Realities – Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC)

Oral contraceptives (birth control pills) and antibiotics – BC HealthFiles

What method of birth control is right for you? – Women's Health Matters (WHM)

The Boston Women's Health Book Collective. (2005). "Birth Control" in Our Bodies, Ourselves for the New Century. New York: Simon & Shuster Inc. pp. 322-380.

Additional Resources for Health Intermediaries

Hatcher, R.A. et al. (1998). Contraceptive Technology. New York: Ardent Media.

American Health Consultants. Contraceptive Technology Update: A Monthly Newsletter for Health Professionals. (404) 262-7436.

Fisher, W., Boroditsky, R. & Bridges, M. (1999). 'The Canadian Contraception Study' in Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, December 1999, 8(3). For reprints please contact SIECCAN, Tel (416) 466-5304 Fax (416) 778-0785 e-mail: sieccan@web.net.