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Contraception Dictionary: A - B

Learn about the available birth control methods one word at a time. Explore definitions, photos, and birth control terms important to understand when thinking about your contraceptive options. Your very own contraception dictionary of all the available birth control methods and their meanings arranged alphabetically, so you can easily find the method you are searching for! These are just the briefest of definitions of some of the available birth control options beginning with the letters A and B. For more detailed descriptions see the individual page for each term.

Abstinence
Being abstinent means to refrain from sexual activity.

Adiana Permanent Birth Control
Adiana was approved as a non-surgical permanent method of contraception. In April 2012, Adiana production was discontinued.

Aspiration Abortion
The manual vacuum aspiration is an available abortion option to end an early pregnancy. The manual aspiration procedure only takes a few minutes, has a quick recovery and a very high success rate. Learn more about this early abortion option.

Basal Body Temperature Method
A birth control method that involves using a special thermometer to take your temperature in the morning, charting your temperature, and recognizing a predictable pattern to figure out when you are most fertile.

Beyaz
Beyaz is a birth control pill that provides daily supplementation of folate (folic acid). It may lower the risk of having rare neural tube defects in a pregnancy occurring during Beyaz use or shortly after stopping. Beyaz is also FDA-approved to help treat PMDD and moderate acne.

Billings Ovulation Method
The Billings method is a form of natural birth control (also known as the ovulation method or cervical mucus method). This method seeks to teach women how to recognize their own fertility patterns, so they can choose when to avoid sexual contact (to prevent pregnancy) or initiate sexual contact (in the attempt to conceive).

Birth Control Shot
A contraceptive that is an injectable form of the progestin medroxyprogesterone acetate (also known as DMPA shot or Depo Provera).

Breastfeeding (Continuous)
A form of contraception that can postpone ovulation for up to 6 months after giving birth. It is only effective if the woman feeds her baby at least 6 times a day with both breasts, does not substitute other foods for breast milk, and feeds her baby every 4 hours during the day and every 6 hours at night. Also known as LAM - Lactational Amenorrhea Method.

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