Non-Hormonal Diaphragm Birth Control Is Making A Comeback, But It's Still Less Effective Than The Pill, IUD
Diaphragm birth control hasn’t been a popular method for several years, which is why many women aren’t aware of it. In 2010, The National Survey of Family Council reported only 3.1 percent of women had ever used a diaphragm for contraception. But a new version of the birth control — the first update since the 1960s — may change that.
The The Huffington Post reported Caya is “one size fits all.”
The Food and Drug Administration approved the birth control last fall, and already Caya is available in Europe and Canada. Both the diaphragm and gel “act as a barrier that prevents sperm from entering the uterus,” which offers women a short term, non-hormonal solution to other birth control.
That said, HuffPo cited this method isn’t as effective as the pill or IUDs: Diaphragms are 88 percent effective, while the pill is 91 percent effective and the IUD is 99 percent effective.
Ultimately, Dr. Vanessa Cullins, vice president of external medical affairs at Planned Parenthood, told HuffPo,“the best birth control method is that which meet a woman’s needs, and those needs can change throughout a woman’s life."