The contraceptive patch is a sticky, hormone-releasing patch that you stick onto your skin. It must be changed once a week.
It prevents pregnancy by releasing the hormones oestrogen and progestogen into the blood.
The contraceptive patch is 99% effective if you use it correctly all the time. If not used correctly it’s less effective. When you stop using the contraceptive patch, your fertility usually returns to previous levels after around 1 to 3 months. The patch allows you to control when you bleed.
It does not provide protection against STIs.
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How does it work?
You put the contraceptive patch on an area of clean, dry hairless skin that’s unlikely to get rubbed against tight clothing.
This could be the top of your arm or back, your bottom or your tummy.
You use 3 patches each month.
To use contraceptive patches correctly:
- wear the 1st patch for 7 days before taking it off and putting on the 2nd patch;
- wear the 2nd patch for 7 days before taking it off and putting on the 3rd patch;
- wear the 3rd patch for 7 days before taking it off;
- have 7 days with no patch – you may have a bleed during your patch free week;
- after 7 days, put on a new patch – this is the 1st patch of your new cycle.
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Advantages
- Easy to apply and replace.
- Convenient and easier to remember than a birth control pill.
- Shorter, lighter periods in people with irregular periods.
- Reversible. This means you can stop using it and become pregnant immediately.
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Disadvantages
- You may have some side effects when you first start using the contraceptive patch.
- Bleeding between periods (breakthrough bleeding) or changes to your periods are common in the first few months.
- Using the contraceptive patch can cause high blood pressure in a few people.
- Some people have headaches, feel sick or dizzy, or have sore breasts. But there is not enough evidence to say whether this is caused by using the patch.
- Where to get it?