1. Wot Wud U Do
  2. Vaginal Ring

Vaginal Ring

A small soft, plastic ring that you place inside your vagina that releases a continuous dose of oestrogen and progestogen into the bloodstream to prevent pregnancy

How effective are they?

Perfect use: More than 99% effective. Fewer than 1 in 100 women will get pregnant in a year when using the vaginal ring correctly.

Typical use: Around 91% effective. Around 9 in 100 women using the ring will get pregnant in a year.

What are the advantages?

  • Easy to put in and remove and you can have sex when the ring is in place,
  • One ring provides contraception for a month,
  • The ring may ease premenstrual symptoms,
  • Works if you have sickness or diarrhoea,
  • No long term effect on your fertility.

What are the risks?

  • Doesn’t protect against sexually transmitted infections,
  • A very small number of people using the vaginal ring may develop a blood clot in a vein or an artery,
  • Small increased risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer compared with those who don’t.

You should talk to your doctor or health professional about risk factors such as your age or medical history before you decide on using this method of contraception

What makes them less effective?

  • Some women have temporary side effects, including more vaginal discharge, breast tenderness, mood swings and headaches,
  • The ring can sometimes come out on its own, but you can rinse it in warm water and put it back in as soon as possible,
  • Doesn’t need to cover the womb like the cap or diaphragm,
  • Can take up to 7 days to prevent pregnancy.
"It (the resources) goes about it in a much better way, it goes deeper than other resources, it does make them think and consider, so they’re good resources in that regard, definitely, I wish we’d done it (the program) first"

Hutton Grammar School