Contraceptive Pearl: Addressing Common Concerns About Contraceptive Risks

Washington State Health Care Authority sent this bulletin at 05/26/2026 08:00 AM PDT

May 26, 2026

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Addressing common concerns about contraceptive risks

This bulletin is being sent by the Health Care Authority (HCA) in partnership with the Reproductive Health Access Project (RHAP).

Written by Mariam Kamel, DO and Lori A. Atkinson, MD

Many patients seeking contraception have concerns regarding prescribed birth control methods. Some of the most common concerns are surrounding future fertility and safety, often stemming from social media sources, particularly related to intrauterine device (IUD) and oral contraceptive pill (OCP) use.

Patients should be counseled that contraceptive effects are typically short-lived after discontinuation and that duration of contraceptive use does not affect long-term fertility.² Depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) results in the longest time to return to fertility, with a median of 10 months after cessation. Patients discontinuing long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs) return to fertility after 1 cycle, whereas those discontinuing OCPs, hormonal rings, or patches return after 2-4 cycles.³ One popular social media concern is that levonorgestrel IUD might cause infertility due to its long-term use, however evidence shows most people conceive within a year of removing a hormonal IUD regardless of parity, age, or length of use.⁴

Click the button below to read the full Contraceptive Pearl article about common concerns regarding contraceptive risks.

Read the full article

References

See RHAP's original post for sources.

About HCA and RHAP partnership

HCA and RHAP are partnering to support the reproductive health provider community’s access to accurate evidence-based clinical information.

If you are an enrolled Apple Health provider, HCA will pay to print items from the RHAP resource library.

Materials such as the birth control choices fact sheet or MEC for initiating contraception chart are available for bulk printing.

To order bulk printing

Email: Brandy Bautista
Include the following information:

"Washington Health Care Authority" in the body of the email
Items you'd like to order
Quantities
Business address
Delivery address (if different than your business address)

Contact

Email: Andrea Estes, Sexual and Reproductive Health Programs Innovation Manager at HCA, with questions regarding this partnership.

About the Health Care Authority (HCA)

Functioning as both the state's largest health care purchaser and its behavioral health authority, the Washington State Health Care Authority (HCA) is a leader in ensuring Washington residents have the opportunity to be as healthy as possible.

There are three pillars of our work: Apple Health (Medicaid); the Public Employees Benefits Board (PEBB) and School Employees Benefits Board (SEBB) programs; and behavioral health and recovery. Under these pillars, HCA purchases health care, including behavioral health treatment for more than 2.7 million Washington residents and provides behavioral health prevention, crisis, and recovery supports to all Washington residents.

Please do not reply directly to this message. For more information, visit the HCA website, where you'll also find contact information.

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The Washington State Health Care Authority (HCA) complies with all applicable federal and Washington state civil rights laws and is committed to providing equal access to our services. Visit HCA’s website to view complete nondiscrimination statements.