"Things have definitely changed. There are a lot more options for older women than there used to be," said Dr. Erika Banks, director of gynecology at New York City's Montefiore Medical Center.
Choosing the right contraception can be a bit of an odyssey, said Lisa Riley, a 44-year-old who works in Banks' medical practice. Last week, Riley got a new IUD.
When she was younger, she took the pill. It worked, but she stopped it to have kids - twins - in 1993. She was nervous about returning to the pill because of worries about a possible cancer risk. For about a year, she and her husband used condoms, but he got tired of that, Riley said.
She had friends on IUDs so she chose that option. It worked well for several years until it began to cause heavy menstrual bleeding. After Banks advised her to get a new one, she chose Mirena, a version that releases hormones and should last for five years.
For now, Riley doesn't plan any more children. But she wasn't ready for sterilization. "It's too permanent for me," she said.
