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Family Planning Specialist

Raritan Family Healthcare -  - Primary Care

Raritan Family Healthcare

Primary Care Practice & Family Medicine located in Raritan, NJ & Bedminister, NJ

Getting birth control is often the central focus of family planning, but Raritan Family Healthcare takes a whole-person approach that offers more. In addition to teaching you about the different types of contraceptives and helping you choose the one that's best for your lifestyle, the providers also offer pre-pregnancy planning. With pre-pregnancy planning, they support your ability to have a healthy pregnancy and delivery by ensuring you’re in optimal physical shape before getting pregnant. To schedule a family planning appointment, call the office in Raritan or Bedminster, New Jersey, or use the online booking feature today.

Family Planning Q & A

Why does family planning include pre-pregnancy services?

In addition to providing pelvic exams and birth control, Raritan Family Healthcare offers the medical care you need to prepare for a future pregnancy. Your provider begins with a thorough health evaluation with the goal of identifying and treating lifestyle and health concerns that could negatively affect a future pregnancy.

Treating potential problems such as high blood sugar, obesity, smoking, high blood pressure, nutritional deficiencies, and sexually transmitted diseases before you get pregnant increases your chance of a healthy pregnancy and delivery. To give you one example, high blood sugar increases the risk of a premature birth and birth defects.

What type of birth control is available through family planning?

The most important part of family planning is choosing a contraceptive that works for your lifestyle, overall health, and future plans.

For the first step, your provider reviews your medical history and performs a pelvic exam. The goal is to determine if you have any health issues that may affect the type of birth control you can use.

Then your provider talks with you about your choices and the benefits and risks of the contraceptives you might want to use. In addition to learning about potential side effects, most women want to know about the effectiveness of each method.

This list includes different types of birth control and their effectiveness:

  • Intrauterine device (hormonal and copper) - 99% effective
  • Birth control implant (Nexplanon®) - 99% effective
  • Birth control shot - 94% effective
  • Birth control pills and other hormone-based methods (patch, ring) - 91%
  • Tubal ligation (female sterilization) - 99% effective
  • Vasectomy (male sterilization) - 99% effective

 

You can improve the effectiveness of the shot, pill, patch, and ring by using them properly. Though they all contain hormones and could be 99% effective, they’re only 91% effective in reality due to user error.


For example, women often forget to take a pill or to replace a patch or ring when needed. As a result, they have a higher risk of getting pregnant.

What are long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs)?

LARCs — intrauterine devices (IUDs) and hormone implants like Nexplanon — are inserted once, and then they stay in place and continuously prevent pregnancy for 4-10 years, depending on which one you choose to use. 

However, your provider can also remove them at any time so you can get pregnant. As a result, they’re completely reversible.

Whether you need birth control or pre-pregnancy family planning, call Raritan Family Healthcare or book an appointment online today.