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How Do I Start the Birth Control Shot?

You can start the birth control shot, also called Depo-Provera or Depo-SubQ Provera 104, as soon as you receive a prescription from your health care provider. This birth control option uses Medroxyprogesterone, a hormone that mimics what your body produces naturally, to prevent the release of an egg.

You can go into a health clinic or doctor’s office to receive the shot, or you can obtain a prescription online and receive the shots delivered to your door. If you choose to have them delivered, you will need to give yourself the shot in your upper thigh or stomach area every 12-14 weeks. In order to prevent pregnancy, you must continue giving yourself the shot on that required schedule.

If you receive your first birth control shot within the first seven days after the start of your period, you will be protected against pregnancy immediately. We recommend that you start the shot within this time period so you don’t have to use a backup form of birth control or worry about potentially becoming pregnant.

Get the Birth Control Shot At Home

Nurx offers the birth control shot for as little as $0 with insurance or $75 per month without insurance.

Many women prefer Depo-SubQ Provera 104 as a birth control option because it doesn’t contain estrogen, another hormone commonly found in birth control pills and in the birth control patch and ring. If you have experienced negative side effects on estrogen-based birth control, have certain risk factors (such as high blood pressure or migraine with aura), or you’re breastfeeding, the shot may work well for you because it contains only progestin.

Your health care provider can help determine whether Depo-SubQ Provera 104 is a good birth control option for you, based on your medical history and habits.

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