Contraceptive Implant: Tiny Hormone Sticks For Birth Control
Highly effective and relatively hidden, the small, matchstick-sized implant is placed just below the skin of your upper arm where it continuously releases the hormone progestin in small doses from a reservoir into your blood stream. The hormone keeps your ovaries from releasing eggs but also thickens your cervical mucus making it hard for sperm to move around in the womb and fertilize an egg.
Who Should Choose Contraceptive Implant in Malaysia?
A contraceptive implant is one of the contraception methods available in Malaysia. Depending on the type, contraceptive implant duration is usually effective from 3 to 5 years. This method is suitable for women who cannot use any contraception containing oestrogens, women who don't want to take pills and follow any regime, and women who suffer from other diseases like breast cancer or liver disease.
The Benefits of Choosing Contraceptive Implant
Other than preventing pregnancy, there are a lot of other benefits of birth control implants. Some of the benefits are mentioned below:
Contraceptive Implant Method is Effective
The implant contraceptive method is known as one of the most effective contraceptive methods. Other than offering long-term protection against pregnancy, it is also 99% effective! Hence, a contraceptive implant is one of the best choices as there's hardly any chance you can screw up.
Contraceptive Implant is a Convenient and Private Method in Arm
Taking a contraceptive implant is convenient as you do not have to follow any routine to make it work. It will do its job on your body until it expires or is taken out. By this, you don't have to go to the pharmacy, no pill to consume or ring to put in while still able to prevent yourself from pregnancy. It is also a private method as the implant is put under your skin, and nobody knows that you have them.
You Can Still Get Pregnant Anytime After Contraception Implant Removal
The implant contraceptive method is reversible; hence, you do not have to worry about not being able to get pregnant at a certain period of time. Even if you have a contraceptive implant on your body, you can still take it out if you want to get pregnant any time you want. Besides that, the contraceptive implant will also not affect your fertility, and it won't make it harder for you to get pregnant once you remove it.
HOW TO INSERT CONTRACEPTIVE IMPLANT INTO ARM
After administering local anesthesia, a well-trained healthcare provider will numb a small area of your inner upper arm and insert the implant just underneath the surface with a special needle. The implant releases small amounts of hormones into your blood over the course of up to 3 or 5 years, depending on the type. It is suitable for women who want highly effective and long-acting but reversible contraception and wish to avoid a daily, weekly or monthly regimen. It can be removed at any time with minor surgery by a well-trained healthcare provider. Once the implant is removed, the contraceptive effect wears off quickly and you can become pregnant as rapidly as women who have used no contraceptive at all.
PROS & CONS OF CONTRACEPTIVE IMPLANT INSERTION
- At 99.95%, it’s the most effective contraceptive method available
- Suitable for women who want long-acting reversible contraception for up to 3 or 5 years and wish to avoid daily, weekly or monthly regimen
- It doesn’t interrupt sex
- It can offer an alternative to those affected by the hormone estrogen
- It can be used when breastfeeding six weeks after childbirth
- It may reduce heavy and painful periods for some women
- It requires a trained healthcare provider for insertion and removal
- It may initially cause a change in bleeding patterns
- It may cause weight gain, breast and abdominal pain
- Does not protect against HIV infection (AIDS) and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs)
FAQS ABOUT INTRADERMAL CONTRACEPTIVE IMPLANT
The implant contains a progestin reservoir which is released in tiny doses during the three years or five years depending on the type to prevent pregnancy. It will need to be replaced after this time as the hormone reservoir will run out.
The implant is about the size of a thin matchstick, and people have it inserted under the skin of the inner side of the upper arm. It can easily be felt, but it is not very visible, except to someone who is looking for it. There will be a tiny mark at the point of insertion, but this isn’t very visible providing the implant has been inserted by a trained healthcare provider.
Many women find that heavy, painful periods are reduced. There can sometimes be irregular bleeding initially, but this should go after the first few months.
After the counseling by your healthcare provider and making sure that you are not pregnant, the implant should be inserted within 7 days after the onset of menstrual bleeding, or immediately or within 7 days after abortion. If the contraceptive implant is inserted at any other time, you will need to use an additional non-hormonal (barrier) method for the following 7 days. In case of questions, please consult with your healthcare provider.
Local anesthesia is used so there should be very little pain, and the procedure takes only a couple of minutes. There might be a bit of bruising or soreness afterwards.
Many women find that heavy, painful periods are reduced. There can sometimes be irregular bleeding initially, but this should go after the first few months.
Leaving the implants in place beyond their effective lifespan is generally not recommended if the woman continues to be at risk of pregnancy. The implants themselves are not dangerous, but as the hormone levels in the implants drop, they become less and less effective.
Yes, the implant can be removed at any time. But must be removed by a well-trained healthcare provider at the end of three or five years depending on the type or, they can be removed at any time before that, for either personal or medical reasons.
The birth control implant is actually the most effective contraception method available: with 99,95% efficacy, you can really rely on that tiny little rod. Once placed it dependably prevents pregnancy for up to four years by releasing progestin, a hormone that keeps your ovaries from releasing eggs and thickens your cervical mucus to block sperm from reaching an egg.
