Contraception: Finding the Right Option for You
There’s no single “best” contraceptive method — the right one depends on whether you want future fertility preserved, your health history, and how much you want to think about it day to day. Options range from barrier methods and short-term hormonal options to long-acting devices and permanent procedures, and switching between methods over time is completely normal.
The main types, and how they actually compare
Barrier methods, mainly condoms, involve no hormones at all, are used only when needed, and are the only contraceptive method that also protects against sexually transmitted infections — worth using alongside another method if STI protection matters to you, not instead of it.
Short-term hormonal methods — the pill and injections — are effective when used consistently and are fully reversible. Pills themselves aren’t all the same: combined pills (oestrogen and progestin) and progestin-only pills work slightly differently and suit different people, particularly around certain health conditions, so “the pill” isn’t really one option but a small family of them. Injections offer similar reversible hormonal contraception without a daily routine, at the cost of needing a repeat visit every few months.
Long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) — hormonal or copper IUDs, and implants — is inserted once and effective for years, among the most reliable reversible options available precisely because it removes daily compliance from the equation. A hormonal IUD releases a small, localised dose of hormone and often reduces bleeding; a copper IUD contains no hormones at all and works through a different mechanism, which matters if you specifically want to avoid hormonal methods.
Permanent methods — tubal ligation — are intended to be irreversible and are a genuinely different category of decision from everything above, not just a longer-lasting version of them. See our Tubal Ligation & Sterilisation page for what the procedure itself involves.
Questions worth asking yourself before you choose
A few questions tend to narrow this down faster than reading every option in detail: Do you want children at some point in the next few years, or is this decision open-ended?
Switching methods
It's genuinely common to start with one method, find it isn't quite right — side effects, inconvenience, a change in circumstances — and switch to something else.
Getting started
If you're choosing contraception for the first time, or coming back to it after a gap, the first appointment is really just a conversation — your health history, what matters most to you (convenience, reversibility, hormone-free, STI protection), and any past experience with a method that did or didn't suit you.
Emergency contraception
A backup option for after unprotected sex or a failed method — most effective the sooner it's taken after the event, and it works best measured in hours, not days.
Frequently asked questions
Reversible methods — the pill, injections, IUDs, implants — don’t cause lasting infertility; fertility typically returns after stopping, though the timeline varies by method (injections in particular can take longer to wear off than others). Permanent methods are a separate decision entirely.
It depends which pill and how late — your doctor or the pack’s instructions will guide you, and it’s worth asking directly rather than guessing, since the answer changes your risk of pregnancy that cycle and whether backup contraception is needed.
Many people feel brief cramping during insertion, and it’s over quickly — your doctor can discuss pain management options beforehand if you’re concerned, and it’s a reasonable thing to ask about rather than just push through.
This varies by method and whether you’re breastfeeding — some options are appropriate within weeks, others are better delayed — worth discussing at your postpartum visit rather than assuming a fixed timeline.
Yes, any time — this is common and not a sign you chose wrong the first time. Bring up what isn’t working and your doctor can help find a better fit.
Yes — irregular periods don’t reliably mean you’re not ovulating, so pregnancy is still possible even with an unpredictable cycle. See our Menstrual Irregularities page for more on irregular cycles specifically.