What is Contraception?
Contraception is any means used to prevent or reduce the likelihood of pregnancy.

By one estimate, the typical American woman spends 90% of her fertile period avoiding pregnancy.⁷ If she plans to have children, this fertile period has different stages: the time prior to beginning a family, between children, and after the optimal family size has been reached. Most women use some method of contraception to limit and space pregnancies.⁸ According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, spacing pregnancies is important. ACOG notes “babies born soon after their siblings may have problems because the woman’s body has not had time to recover from the previous pregnancy.”⁹

Methods of Contraception and their Effectiveness
Today women can chose from a wide range of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved contraceptives. These products (see FDA’s Birth Control Guide PDF File) work in different ways and have varying degrees of effectiveness.

Who Uses Contraception?
In 2002, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 62% of all women ages 15 to 44 used some method of contraception (see the CDC PDF File), down from 64% in 1995. Of women using contraception, 30.6% use birth control pills, 5.3% 3-month injectables, 2% IUDs, 0.3% diaphragms, and 18% condoms. An additional 27% used sterilization.

Covering a Range of Contraceptive Methods: why does it matter?

• No single method of contraception is right for all women.
   
• Pre-existing medical conditions and risk factors may preclude the use of certain types of contraceptives for some women.
  For example, women who smoke, are breastfeeding, have a history of blood clots or have been diagnosed with certain types of cancer are discouraged from using hormonal methods of contraception such as the pill.¹³ IUDs are not recommended for women with known cervical cancer or in women diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. In addition, certain drugs may hinder the efficacy of some forms of contraception. For example, women taking antibiotics while on the pill have a higher rate of contraceptive failure.
   
• Side effects can be common and may make women switch methods.
  Women may experience side effects such as weight gain, mood changes, and breakthrough bleeding that make their chosen method of contraception intolerable. Research finds that the primary reason women discontinue using the pill is the presence of unpleasant side effects.¹⁴ Other methods of birth control such as IUDS, cervical caps and diaphragms can also cause cramping, bleeding and pelvic inflammation, which may out-weigh the potential benefits of reduced fertility.¹⁵

Taking all of these variables into consideration, only a woman and her doctor can decide on the best method of contraception.

Covering all FDA-approved means of reversible contraception saves employers more money

• If a woman likes her method of contraception, she is more likely to use it.
  Research shows that the greater satisfaction a woman feels about the physical and psychological effects of a particular method of birth control the more likely she is to use it correctly and consistently.¹⁶ By using an effective method of birth control correctly and continually, the rate of unintended pregnancies, and their ensuing cost, could be cut in half.¹⁷
   
• Contraception saves money by reducing unintended pregnancies.
   
• More employers currently cover only the pill rather than newer contraceptive methods.
   
• Offering coverage of all reversible methods of contraception will enable the use of highly effective contraceptive methods, including IUDs, IUSs, the vaginal ring, etc.
  More effective methods of contraception reduce overall costs because they reduce unintended pregnancies.¹⁸ More effective methods are those that require less user intervention, such as IUDs, IUSs, and the vaginal ring.