Family Planning

WMCHealth provides comprehensive family planning services. Our OB/GYNs and complex family planning specialists offer compassionate care for your reproductive health. Whether you want to delay pregnancy, are starting a family, or are dealing with an abnormal or unplanned pregnancy, we’re here to help.  

Our family planning services include: 

• Birth control counseling 
• Pregnancy confirmation and options counseling 
• Initiation of prenatal care 
• Management of abnormal pregnancy 
• Management of miscarriage and termination of pregnancy. 

Contraception (Birth Control)

Contraceptives are methods to prevent pregnancy, and some can even prevent the transmission of sexually transmitted infections. There are many different types of birth control. Our providers will discuss the various options to see what would work best for your body and lifestyle.  

There are four main types of birth control. These include: 

• Barrier methods, such as condoms, sponges, spermicide, or diaphragm 
• Hormonal methods, which include oral medications, the patch, vaginal ring, injections, or implant 
• Long-term reversible methods, like an intrauterine device (also known as IUD), or a birth control implant  
• Permanent methods such as salpingectomy (removal of fallopian tubes)  

Some of these have higher success rates than others and only a few actively prevent STIs, so make sure to discuss your choice with your provider.  

IUD Insertions and Removals 

IUDs are a highly effective and convenient form of long-term birth control, but we understand how they can raise questions or concerns: 

• If you are interested in an IUD insertion, we offer several options to help make the procedure more comfortable. These pain management options include topical lidocaine (numbing) gel and paracervical block (numbing injection).  
• If you’ve had a challenging IUD insertion or removal, or birth control implant that’s hard to remove, we can help. Our complex family planning specialists are experts in manging these difficulties. They will perform ultrasound examinations to locate the device and discuss the safest removal options with you.  

Consultations and Support 

Our complex family planning specialists can help you determine which methods are safe, if you have other health conditions. If you are unsure about which method is best, schedule a consultation. Telephone or video visits are available to discuss birth control, IUD insertion, and IUD removal. 

Early Pregnancy Care

Finding out you’re pregnant can bring excitement, questions, and sometimes uncertainty. At WMCHealth, we’re here to guide you through every step of early pregnancy. 

During your first visit, our providers will perform an ultrasound to confirm that the pregnancy is healthy, and help you begin prenatal care. Our providers will also discuss: 

• Ways to manage early pregnancy symptoms 
• Review options for prenatal screening and diagnosis 
• Identify any high-risk pregnancy conditions that would require specialized care  

If you’ve been diagnosed with an early pregnancy complication, our complex family planning specialists are well equipped to care for you. We specialized in:  

• Second-trimester miscarriage  
• Ectopic pregnancy (when a pregnancy develops outside your uterus, such as in the fallopian tubes) 
• Cesarean scar ectopic pregnancy (a rare pregnancy in the scar of a previous C-section)