Eight Great Heat-Friendly Contraceptives

heat friendlyI don’t know if any of my fellow Arizonans have noticed, but it’s hot. It’s been hot. And all sources tell me that it’s likely to remain hot for a couple of months yet.

There are, of course, things we can do to make the heat more manageable for ourselves, such as drinking plenty of water and relegating intense outdoor activity to the early morning or late evening hours. There are also things we can do to help our contraceptives beat the heat if necessary, such as storing condoms or birth control pills away from extreme heat.

Still, some types of contraception require more intervention during the summer than do others. So — our top eight types of heat-friendly birth control!

Quick disclaimer: I made this list based on the single criterion that these methods are unlikely to be affected by the heat of an Arizona summer. When selecting a contraceptive method, there are loads of other factors to consider. So the methods on this list are not necessarily the most effective or appropriate methods for every person needing birth control.

8 Birth Control Vaginal Ring (NuvaRing)

  • Why It’s Heat Friendly: In terms of storage, it’s technically not; NuvaRing comes with the same temperature recommendations as oral contraceptive pills. However, since the ring is only inserted once per month, folks getting their rings one at a time don’t have to worry about longer-term storage.
  • Cons: In addition to the same risks and side effects of estrogen-containing contraceptives, NuvaRing isn’t the heat-friendliest choice for users getting more than one month at a time. Continue reading

Let’s Talk Contraception: Emergency Contraception

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently reported that 1 in 9 American women — 11 percent — has used the “morning-after pill.” This means that in the United States, 5.8 million sexually active women between the ages of 15 and 44 have used emergency contraception, an increase in use of 4.2 percent from 2002. Most women say their reasons for using emergency contraception are because they engaged in unprotected sex or feared that their method of contraception failed.


The best way to prevent pregnancy is reliable birth control. But sometimes we need a back-up method.


It has also been reported that half of all pregnancies in the United States are unintended. For that reason, the availability of a range of contraceptive options is very important. Emergency contraception is the last choice for a woman to decrease her chance of becoming pregnant after unprotected sex. There are several products available for emergency contraception in the United States. There are many options, and they include:

  • regular birth control pills in specific doses
  • PlanB One-step
  • Next Choice
  • ella
  • copper IUD or intrauterine device (Paragard)

The Yuzpe regimen, which used ordinary birth control pills in specific combinations, was named after a Canadian physician who developed the method in the 1970s. Several brands of birth control pills are approved for this use to prevent pregnancy. This method uses the combined estrogen and progesterone hormones in your regular birth control pills in certain prescribed combinations.

Research showed the progesterone component of contraceptive pills was most effective at preventing pregnancy, so Plan B was developed as a two-pill regimen of levonorgestrel (a type of progesterone). When Plan B was first released, it consisted of one pill taken as soon as possible and another taken 12 hours later. Plan B One-Step, the newest version of Plan B, now has the same dosage of levonorgestrel in just one pill. It should be taken as soon as possible after unprotected sex. This one-dose regimen has been shown to be more effective with fewer side effects. Continue reading