What Are the Benefits of Long-Acting Reversible Contraceptives (LARCs)?

If you’re looking for hassle-free birth control that you don’t have to think about for years, long-acting reversible contraceptives are the way to go. Here, we explain some of their benefits.

When it comes to preventing unplanned pregnancies, the good news is that you have a wealth of options to consider. Drilling down even further, if you’re looking for a contraception that’s mostly hassle-free, effective, and lasts for years, then long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs) may be just the right option for your goals.

In the United States, nearly 55% of women of reproductive age use some form of birth control, with slightly more than 10% relying on LARCs to do the job.

To give you an idea about why LRACs are so popular, we turn to the team of contraception specialists at Bay Area Physicians for Women’s Health. In the following, we dive into some key advantages of using LARCs to prevent pregnancy.

The two types of LARCs

We’ve been using the term LARCs, which refers to two distinct types of birth control:

Intrauterine devices (IUDs) — a small T-shaped device that we insert into your uterus
Implants — tiny rods that contain hormones that we insert just under your skin

Breaking this down further, there are two types of IUDs: hormonal and copper. The hormonal version slowly releases progestin to stop pregnancy as the hormone interferes with ovulation and thickens the mucus around your cervix to prevent sperm from getting through.

The copper IUD works by repelling sperm, which have an adverse reaction to copper.

Like hormonal IUDs, implants deliver progestin, which, as we discussed, regulates ovulation and stops sperm from getting through.

Now let’s look at some of the benefits of both IUDs and implants.

LARCs offer superior protection

One of the most important things you want in a birth control is for it to work, and both IUDs and implants excel in this category. LARCs provide protection ratings of 99% or higher, or near perfect.

IUDs and implants are easy to use

To use an IUD or implant, you need to make a quick visit to our practice so that we can get your birth control into place. From there, there’s nothing that you need to do on your end as both the IUD and implant work behind the scenes to prevent pregnancy.

IUDs and implants provide long-term protection

The L in LARC stands for long-acting, and both IUDs and implants check this box. For example, IUDs offer anywhere from 3-12 years of pregnancy protection, depending on type and brand, while implants can work for about five years.

Re-establishing fertility is easy

The R in LARC stands for reversible. To re-establish your fertility, you simply return to our offices where we remove the IUD or implant. Once we remove the contraception, your fertility should come back online fairly quickly.

LARCs can often lighten periods

If you opt for a hormonal IUD or the implant, your periods can become lighter. In fact, one in three women who use implants stop having their periods after a year of use.

Hormonal IUDs often garner the same result — lighter periods, less cramping, and even no periods.

As you can see, LARCs offer many different benefits that busy women today appreciate. If you’d like to explore whether you’re a good candidate for an IUD or an implant, we invite you to contact our office in Mobile, Alabama, to schedule a family planning consultation.