What Your Clients Need to Know About the Birth Control Implant

Here are some of the basics about this method that your clients will find helpful to know.

What the Birth Control Implant Is

• The implant is a small plastic rod that goes under the skin in a woman's arm.
• It has hormones in it that keep the woman's eggs from leaving her ovaries.

Effectiveness

• Perfect use and typical use is the same: 99.5%

Almost no women out of 100 who use this method for a year get pregnant. Indeed, it is now considered the most effective reversible form of birth control.

How to Use the Birth Control Implant

A clinician puts the birth control implant in the woman's arm.

• The clinician will numb the area on the arm where the implant will be put in.
• It's just like getting a shot. The clinician will put it in just under the skin.
• The clinician will put two bandages over the implant.
• Keep the area around the bandages clean and dry.
• After 24 hours, take off the larger, outside bandage.
• After 3 - 5 days, take off the smaller, inside bandage.

The implant works for 3 years.

Advantages of the Birth Control Implant

• It is easy to use and lasts for 3 years.
• It works great.
• Some women's periods are lighter and less crampy.
• It does not interrupt having sex.
• It does not contain estrogen.

Disadvantages of the Birth Control Implant

• Some women may not like how it is put in and taken out.
• Some women may feel tired and have sore breasts and nausea for a few months.
• Some women could gain weight or have mood changes.
• Some problems may not go away until the implant is taken out.

Side Effects

At first, all women who use the birth control implant have changes in their periods.

• You'll need to tell clients that they may not know when they will have their periods.
• Women may have spotting between periods.
• Women may have longer or shorter periods.

There are other side effects that some women have:

• Headaches.
• Weight gain.
• Acne.
• Breast or back pain.
• Mood swings or depression.

Contraindications or Precautions

As a provider, before you prescribe the implant, be sure to find out if your client has:

• Had blood clots in her lungs or legs.
• Ever had breast cancer.
• Liver disease.
• Vaginal bleeding for no known reason.

Warning Signs

Remind clients using the birth control implant to call you right away, if they have any of these warning signs:

• Redness, swelling, heat, or tenderness where the implant was put in.
• Bad headaches.
• Pain in the leg, chest, or lower abdomen.
• Blurry vision.
• Heavy vaginal bleeding.
• Depression.

Breastfeeding

• Women who breastfeed can use the implant. It's best to wait 4 weeks after childbirth to put the implant in.

HIV/STD Prevention

Clients should be reminded that:

• The implant does not prevent HIV (the virus that causes AIDS) or other STDs.
• They should use condoms every time they have sex to prevent these diseases.

To Stop Using the Birth Control Implant

• If they want to stop using this method, a clinician must take the implant out. Make sure your client knows she must not take it out herself, because it could be harmful.
• Once the implant is out, your client could become pregnant right away. Remind her to use another birth control method if she doesn't want to be pregnant.

Register now for CFHC's Implanon training at the Women's Health Update.