Human Bio - Contraception + STIs

Contraception

Method that use hormones, devices, or surgery to prevent pregnancy

Effectiveness

The chance that a women does not become pregnant after sexual intercourse using this method.

Calculated based on how many women get pregnant from the chosen method over a year.

E.g. if a method is 99% effective, then 1 woman out of 100 will get pregnant each year using that method

Most Effective Methods

• Contraceptive Implants

• IUS/IUD

• Tubal ligation

• Vasectomy

Daily Routine Contraception

Male/Female Condom

Why use Set and Forget?

If you:

• Travel a lot and forget to pack contraception

• Find it annoying having to constantly take pills

Examples of Set and Forget

Weekly - Contraceptive Patch

Monthly - Vaginal Ring

Every 2-3 Month - Contraceptive Injection

Ever 3-10 Years - Contraceptive implant, IUD, IUS

Self-Inserted Devices

• Vaginal Ring

• Female Condom

• Diaphragm/Cervical cap

Inserted by Health Professional (long-term)

Inserted into uterus through the vagina:

• IUD

• IUS

Suitable Contraception for Future Pregnancies

These methods of contraception can be stopped at any time, with fertility returning to normal within the first month:

• Contraceptive implant

• IUD/IUS

• Progestogen-only pill or “mini pill”

• Diaphragm/Cervical cap

• Male/Female Condom

Unsuitable Methods for Future Pregnancies

• Contraceptive Injection (can take months to a year for fertility to return to normal)

• Any permanent methods such as vasectomy or tubal ligation (reversal is expensive and isn’t guaranteed to be successful)

Male Condom

Made from thin latex, rolled on to the penis before intercourse.

Diaphragm / Cervical Cap

Soft, dome-shaped silicon cup placed at the end of the vagina so that it covers the cervix.

Spermicide

Available as creams, gels or aerosol foams applied near the cervix. Reacts with moisture to form bubbles of CO2, presenting a physical barrier to the sperm.

Female Contraceptive Pill

Combination Pill:

• Contains oestrogen and progestogen

• Prevents ovulation, cervical mucus thickens, uterine lining thins

Mini Pill:

• Contains progestogen

• Cervical mucus thickens

Contraceptive Implant

Small plastic rod inserted under the skin of the upper arm.

Releases hormones (3)

IUD

T-shaped device wrapped in copper.

Inhibits movement of sperm

IUS

T-shaped device placed inside the uterus that releases hormones.

Rhythm Method

Not having sexual intercourse 4 days before and 4 days after ovulation so that the egg and sperm are not available at the same time to be fertilized

Coitus Interruptus

Withdrawal of the penis before the male ejaculates to prevent sperm from entering the vagina.

Assisted Reproductive Technology

Treatments or procedures that help people become pregnant.

IVF and ICSI

In-vitro fertilisation (IVF) and intracytoplasmic sperm inject (ICSI) are forms of assisted reproductive treatment in which eggs are fertilised with sperm outside the body.

IVF is used for female infertility

ICIS is used for male infertility

IVF - Step 1

Ovarian Stimulation:

Ovaries are stimulated by injected drugs which mature the eggs and encourage the release of multiple eggs (rather than just one)

IVF - Step 2

Egg Retrieval:

When the eggs are mature, they are retrieved through surgery while the woman is under light anesthetic.

IVF/ICIS - Step 3

Egg Fertilisation:

IVF - sperm are added to the eggs to be fertilised

ICIS - a single sperm in injected into each egg using microscopic needle

IVF - Step 4

Embryo Development:

Eggs and sperm are kept in the laboratory for 2-5 days for embryos to develop

IVF - Step 5

One embryo is placed inside the woman’s uterus. Sometimes several embryos develop and they can be frozen for use in later embryo transfer procedures.

IVF - Step 6

Test for Pregnancy:

2 weeks after the embryo transfer, the woman has a blood test to see if the treatment was successful.

• If positive, an ultrasound is scheduled 2 weeks later to check that the pregnancy is developing normally

• If negative, the woman will have her period and can decide if she wants to try again. She can use the frozen embryos to try again.

Cumulative Live Birth Rate

The total probability of having at least one live-born baby after completing one or multiple IVF cycles (including both fresh and frozen embryos collected from those cycles)

Factors Affecting Cumulative Live Birth Rate

• Female’s age (in general, younger women have a higher success rate)

• Number of retrieved eggs (having more eggs means having more attempts at creating healthy embryos)

• Embryo quality (greater quality embryos improve the success rate)