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You Decide Tool Kit

How to Use the Patient Risk Comparison Tools

Using the Patient Risk Comparison Tools to understand personal risk with the pill, patch, or ring

The box-shaped pictures on the following pages show your chances of experiencing serious problems while using hormonal birth control such as the pill, the patch, or the ring.

These pictures also show:

  • The chances of experiencing serious problems when you are not using the pill, patch, or ring
  • The chances of serious health problems during pregnancy
  • The risks of everyday activities, such as bicycle riding or automobile driving

How to use these pictures

 To learn about your personal risk, follow these three steps:

1. Find the picture box that describes your situation:

  • If you are not using the pill, patch, or ring, your risk will be shown in the picture box above.
  • If you are using the pill, patch, or ring, your risk will be shown in the picture box below.

2. Compare your picture box with the other picture box to see your chances of experiencing or dying from serious health problems.

3. Compare these risks with the risks of pregnancy and the risks of everyday activities as shown in the following sections.