What is the Depo-Provera birth control shot?
Two “birth control shots,” or injectables, are available to women. One of them, Depo-Provera, is administered once every three months. It provides a hormone much like the progesterone a woman produces during the last two weeks of each monthly cycle. It stops the woman from releasing an egg and provides other contraceptive effects. Many clinics recommend that you use a backup contraceptive for a week after your first shot. Among typical couples who use Depo-Provera, about three in 1,000 will experience an accidental pregnancy in the first year. Complete information about this contraceptive is available from your clinician or from the package insert that is provided when you are given Depo-Provera injections. What are the advantages? • No birth control method must be taken daily or used at the time of sexual intercourse. • Depo-Provera is extremely effective. If women receive their injections right on time (every three months or 13 weeks), only three women in 1,000 will become pregnant i
