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Contraceptive implant

You can have the contraceptive implant immediately after having your baby. It can be inserted in the hospital before you home.

The implant is a tiny, bendy rod, about the size of a matchstick that is inserted under the skin of your upper arm.

The implant steadily releases a hormone called progestogen into your bloodstream, which prevents the release of an egg each month (ovulation).

It also thickens the cervical mucus which makes it more difficult for sperm to move through the cervix and thins the lining of the womb, so a fertilised egg is less likely to implant itself.

It's more than 99% effective. Fewer than 1 woman in 1,000 who have the implant as contraception for 3 years will get pregnant.

Advantages 

  • Suitable if you are breastfeeding.
  • Can start immediately after birth. 
  • Lasts for 3 years. 
  • It can reduce your menstrual flow or stop your periods altogether. 
  • Does not contain oestrogen (safer for some people).
  • Removed at any time and fertility returns to normal quickly.
  • It may reduce period pain.

Disadvantages 

  • Possible irregular periods or no periods. 
  • Bruising, tenderness, swelling around implant after it is inserted.
  • You are not protected against sexually transmitted infections (STI's) 
  • Migration of implant (it moves from its position). 
  • You may have some side effects such as breast-tenderness, acne, low mood, headaches. These should clear up after a period of use.