Dr. Marjorie Greenfield
Specializing in pregnancy and birth.
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 Ask Dr. Greenfield
Getting Pregnant While Using Norplant | | | QUESTION | | | Dear Dr. Greenfield,
The girl I am seeing uses Norplant for birth control. She has been on it for 3-1/2 years. She recently missed her period, and she is under a lot of stress. One doctor says it is the stress, and another thinks she is pregnant. She is sick just like she was with the two other kids she has. Could the stress have caused her to miss her period or do you think she may be pregnant? It will be several days before we know for sure and I am very worried. She assured me that the implants were the safest of all birth control. Although everything indicates she is pregnant, she says she is not because of the Norplant.— Scared to Death | | | ANSWER |
July 18, 2001 | | | Dear Scared to Death,
Unfortunately, from the information that I have, I can't tell you whether your girlfriend is pregnant or not. Norplant is an excellent form of birth control. But for all methods that are very effective at preventing pregnancy, there is still no 100 percent guarantee. In addition, menstrual irregularities are quite common when using this contraceptive method.
The good news is that pregnancy tests are very accurate at identifying whether someone is pregnant--especially by the time they think they are having pregnancy symptoms. I suggest that the two of you invest in a home pregnancy test and get your questions answered.— by Marjorie Greenfield, M.D. |
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