Which contraceptives are best suited for women over 40? Here’s everything you need to know to make an informed choice.
From the age of 40 onwards, the risk of unwanted pregnancy decreases progressively, falling to 15% around the age of 45. However, this does not mean that women suddenly become sterile.
Premenopause, i.e. the transition period between normal fertility and total infertility, is characterized by many, deep and frequent hormonal changes.
The best known and most recognized consequences of such hormonal fluctuations are hot flashes, mood swings, insomnia, nervousness, weight gain etc.
What is not talked about enough, however, is the fact that such hormonal changes also involve different levels of fertility from month to month. It follows that, even if the risk of unwanted pregnancy is very low after the age of 40, it does not suddenly become zero.
Prudence is therefore always absolutely necessary, just as it is necessary continue to use contraceptives.
Since the woman’s body has changed, however, it is also strictly necessary to understand what are your new needs and which are the most suitable contraceptives to this specific stage of life.
What contraceptives to use after the age of 40?
In Italy, hormonal contraception has a rather scarce prevalence among women of childbearing age compared to what happens in other European countries.
This means that most of the women who use contraceptives prefers other types of contraceptives.
Prophylactic
The most common choice, as you can imagine, is that of prophylactic. This contraception system, able to protect against both unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, has a relatively low cost and does not imply the need to be constantly followed by a gynecologist who prescribes or controls its use.
The use of condoms after the age of 40 however, it may begin to show some contraindications. There vaginal dryness, in fact, it is one of the most annoying symptoms of premenopause.
The rubbing of the latex against the vaginal canal without adequate lubrication of the area can therefore result in discomfort or even burning and irritation due to friction.
If you choose to continue using the condom it is always better, therefore, arm yourself with water-based lubricant. This will allow for simpler, more comfortable sexual intercourse and above all without unpleasant consequences. Oil-based lubricants can damage or even puncture the latex of the condom, so you need to pay close attention to the lubricant you choose and absolutely discard all body oils which are used for skin hydration.
Diaphragm
The diaphragm is a contraceptive method that provides the insertion into the female body of a latex barrier containing spermicidal substances.
The diaphragm must be inserted into the uterine canal a few hours before intercourse and removed a few hours later, so that it can perform its function by eliminating the spermatozoa and with them the risk of an unwanted pregnancy.
This type of contraception it does not protect against sexually transmitted diseases and has a probability of failure equal to 20%. Plus you need one careful planning of sexual intercourse on the part of the woman, who must insert the diaphragm into her body only when she plans to have sexual intercourse.
Since the risk of getting pregnant in premenopause is much lower than in childbearing age, the effectiveness of the diaphragm in this period of female life increases. Furthermore, in adulthood there is a tendency to plan and predict more easily the moment in which you will have sexual intercourse, therefore the use of the diaphragm in premenopause is less difficult.
The copper spiral
The copper spiral is a reversible method of contraception which prevents pregnancy from releasing into the uterus small amounts of copper which change the chemical composition of vaginal fluids making it impossible for sperm to survive.
This contraceptive method is rather invasive: the IUD must necessarily be positioned by a doctor and its positioning can be quite painful.
Other than that it does not protect against sexually transmitted diseases but it can remain inside the female body from 3 to 10 years without ever being removed, without losing effectiveness and above all without interfering in any way with the menstrual cycle. It therefore allows us to immediately identify the principle of actual menopause.
Hormonal contraceptives after the age of 40
As for hormonal contraception, as we know Prolonged use of the contraceptive pill, patches or hormonal spiral can cause health problems. For this reason, many women feel they can stop it once they reach premenopause.
Moreover it is advisable to stop using hormonal contraceptives during premenopause in order to better control when the menstrual cycle is permanently interrupted. From that moment on, it is biologically impossible for a woman to become pregnant and officially enter the period of menopause.