The short explanation
The choice turns on four things rather than on which method is best: how well it prevents pregnancy in ordinary use, how much it depends on you remembering something, whether you want children within the next year or two, and your own medical history — which rules some methods in and some out. There is no best method, only the one that fits those four for you.
What depends on your situation
The parts of this that change from woman to woman. Uncertainty is stated, not hidden.
- Methods differ most in how much they depend on being used correctly every time. Long-acting methods — the implant and both kinds of IUD — are fitted once and work without anything further being remembered. Pills, injections and condoms all depend on something being done repeatedly and on time, so their effectiveness in real life is lower than in ideal use.
- Only condoms reduce the risk of sexually transmitted infections. Every other method on this list prevents pregnancy and nothing else, which is why condoms are often used alongside another method rather than instead of one.
- Your medical history matters more than most people expect. The WHO publishes eligibility criteria that set out which conditions make a particular method unsuitable — migraine with aura, high blood pressure, smoking over a certain age, some clotting conditions and certain medicines are among the things that change what is safe for you. This is the reason the choice is made with a clinician rather than at a counter.
- How quickly fertility returns after stopping differs by method and is worth asking about if you are planning a pregnancy in the foreseeable future.
- In India a range of methods is provided free through government facilities under the National Health Mission, including condoms, pills, emergency pills, the IUD including immediately after childbirth, the injectable and the implant in places where it has been introduced. What any particular facility has available is a question for that facility.
What this answer cannot determine
The boundary of online education. These need a clinician who can see you.
- This cannot tell you which method suits you. That requires your medical history, your blood pressure and a conversation, and the eligibility criteria exist precisely because the answer is individual.
- This gives no doses, brands or instructions, and it is not a substitute for the counselling that should come with any method.
- This cannot tell you what is stocked or offered where you live.
- This explanation was written by AskHer's editorial team from the guidance listed under Sources. A clinician registered in India has not signed this version off yet — that is why no clinical reviewer is named at the foot of this page, and it is why nothing here is a diagnosis.
Questions for your clinician
Take these with you. You can add any of them to an appointment card.
- Given my medical history, which methods are not suitable for me, and why?
- Which of these does not depend on me remembering something?
- If I want to try for a pregnancy in a year or two, does that change your suggestion?
- What will my periods do on this, and for how long?
- What does this cost, and is it available free anywhere near here?
- What do I do if I want to stop it?
When to seek help
Clinician-approved guidance for this topic. When in doubt, being seen is never the wrong choice.
Get help the same day
- you are on a combined hormonal method and have calf pain or swelling, chest pain, breathlessness, a severe unusual headache or sudden vision changes
- you have had unprotected sex in the last five days and do not want to be pregnant — emergency contraception is time-sensitive
Book an appointment soon
- you are using no method and do not want to be pregnant
- you keep forgetting pills
- you want to change method, or stop one
- you have a new medical condition or a new medicine since your method was chosen
Sources
The evidence this explanation is built on.
- Family planning and contraception methods World Health Organization
- Medical eligibility criteria for contraceptive use World Health Organization
- Contraception NHS
- Family Planning National Health Mission, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
Who wrote and reviewed this
Every AskHer answer names its author. A clinically reviewed answer also names the clinician who signed it off — if no clinician is named below, it has not been clinically reviewed.
- Author
- AskHer Editorial AskHer's editorial team — not an individual clinician Works in English, தமிழ், हिन्दी
- Clinical reviewer
- Nobody yet No clinician has signed this answer off. That is what the “Editorially reviewed” badge means, and why it does not say “Clinically reviewed”. It was written and checked by AskHer’s editorial team against the sources listed above, and it is queued for a clinician who works in this area.
- Review status
- Editorially reviewed
- Last reviewed
- Last reviewed 21 August 2026
- Version
- 1
Correction history
Substantive changes are listed, not quietly edited away.
No corrections have been made since this answer was first published.
Did this answer your question?
Whatever you choose is filed against this version of the answer, never against you, and it is never shown as a count.
“Explain more simply” asks you which part was hard to follow, so the author knows what to rewrite. “My question is different” opens a private follow-up with this answer attached.
Saving, following up and reporting are all private. Nothing you do on this page is visible to other readers or to the doctor who wrote it, unless you ask a question.