Which form of birth control is better? The pill, or the shot (Depo provera)?!

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I use something called a Nuva Ring. It is a clear ring that you insert into your vagina for three weeks and then take it out for one week. It has a really low dose of hormones and so side effects are minimal. Also, you can't tell it's in your vagina and neither can your partner. I hope this helps.

I prefer the pill but as far as effectiveness and safety they are about the same. It's just a matter of whether or not you think you can remember the pill each day/ to get the shot every three months. There are definite differences in what it's like to be on them though. Typically the shot is thought of as having more symptoms than the pill, and when you are on the shot you don't have periods. The shot also is progestin only, where as the pill is typically a combination of progestin and estrogen. So for some women who have a hard time with the additional estrogen the shot is one of their only options, but really you won't know until you try it. A doctor would probably recommend the pill since you've never been on birth control before and it's the most common method, but if you want the shot then you won't have a problem getting it either.

I've never been on the shot but I can tell you why I prefer the pill. I like the idea of monthly birth control better than long term birth control. I'm seventeen too and although I don't plan on getting pregnant for a long time, if ever, I like that I can stop taking the pill at any time and get my fertility back. Like if I find out it's causing health problems I can just stop immediately and the hormones will be out of my system if a few days. Also I like that I still get periods, I don't like having them and I know there's no need for them when I'm on birth control but I like the monthly reassurance that I'm not pregnant, and it just seems a little bit too unnatural not to have it. But of course all of it is unnatural, that's just a little thing I have that doesn't make sense I suppose. But I also like the pill better because of the monthly birth controls out there I find it the least intrusive and easiest to remember. A bunch of women think it's difficult to remember and annoying to take every day, but I think it's much easier to just develop a daily habit of doing it in the morning than it is to remember it once a week or once a month. Once I get used to it I don't even have to think about it, just the alarm on my phone goes off and I take it and that's it. It takes all but five seconds. I tried nuvaring and I liked it overall but I went back to the pill because I hated having to have the ring in me all the time, then having to stop before having sex to take it out.. A little awkward. So anyways that's why I prefer the the pill.

It's definitely more a matter of your life style because when used properly they'll both protect you equally as well and not hurt your chances of fertility.

Check out this website too, they'll have all the information you'll need on any birth control. Here's their general method page.

http://bedsider.org/methods