Patch
The Patch
The Birth Control Patch is a square patch that sticks on the skin. Women need a new patch each week for three weeks. The fourth week no patch is used. It contains the same hormone-like drugs as contained in the birth control pill. The patch works to prevent pregnancy by releasing estrogen and progestin through the skin and into the bloodstream over a period of seven days.
This drug is not a barrier method of birth control and does not have the protection against STIs like condoms, the diaphragm or the cervical cap.
Side Effects
- Risks and side effects are greater than the pill.
- Exposure to greater amount of estrogen-like drugs
- Greater risk of blood clots
Women who want to use the pill but do not want to take a pill every day may want to consider this method; however, since the Ortha Evra Patch exposes a woman to greater amounts of estrogen-like drugs, she may want to reconsider this method. Although a woman can remove the patch at any time, the patch exposes a woman to a greater risk of blood clots.