You may remember Norplant, a system of six little rods that were implanted under the skin of the inner upper arm in the 1990s, providing five years of effective contraception. The beauty of Norplant was its tremendous effectiveness, and the ease of use -- once it was in, nothing else needed to be done. This system had many terrific aspects, but due to technical issues, removal of the rods was sometimes difficult, so it went out of favor.

Welcome Implanon! A new implantable contraceptive has been developed that avoids the pitfalls of Norplant, yet maintains its benefits. Implanon consists of a single rod that continuously releases a small amount of a progesterone-like synthetic hormone. The rod is stiffer than Norplant and reportedly much easier to insert and remove, using a small amount of local anethesia. Average insertion time is 1-2 minutes and removal takes less than 5 minutes. Implanon is effective for three years.

• Implanon is a progestin-only contraceptive that can be used by women who can't take estrogens.
• In clinical trials involving over 20,000 women, not one pregnancy occurred while using Implanon!
• The effects are immediately reversible -- as soon as the rod is removed, pregnancy can occur.
• Irregular bleeding is the norm -- you will not have regular periods using this method, but you will not have excessive blood loss either. One in five women on Implanon loses her periods altogether.
• More than 2 million women in Europe and Asia already use implants for birth control. In Australia, nearly 20% of women practicing contraception use implantable methods.
• Unlike "the shot," Depo-Provera, Implanon doesn't lead to bone loss or substantial weight gain.
• Implanon is compatible with breastfeeding and can be inserted four weeks after birth.

Currently, the company is being cautious about who they allow to insert Implanon. They want to be sure everyone is well-trained, so the problems that occurred with Norplant don't recur. If you are interested in this system and your doctor hasn't yet been trained, ask for a referral to someone who has. Within the next year, a great number of practitioners will be trained in this method, and it will become more widely available.

If having a contraceptive placed under your skin is unappealing, but you otherwise like the idea of long-term effective progestin-only birth control, consider the Mirena intrauterine system, an intrauterine device (IUD) that is placed inside your uterus instead of under your skin, but with otherwise similar side effects and benefits.