Patient Consultation
Counseling with the patient improves user satisfaction and success with their chosen method. In a private setting, discuss information about Implanon®:
- Provide details about how Implanon® works, its effectiveness, how it is inserted, its characteristics, and its common side effects
- Advise the patient when to return
- Inform her that it will need to be removed at the end of 3 years or anytime she decides
- Show the package of Implanon® and how the rods are inserted
- Ask the patient to repeat information to ensure that she understands
- Answer any questions that the client may have regarding Implanon® use and its insertion and removal
It is very important for the efficacy in the first weeks of use is the exact point of time of insertion of Implanon dependent on whether or not and what previous contraceptive method was used:
- No preceding hormonal contraceptive use - Implanon should be inserted on day 1-5 of a woman’s natural cycle. Day 1 is the first day of her natural menstrual bleeding.
- Changing from a combined oral contraceptive (COC) - Implanon should be inserted preferably on the day after the last (active) tablet of the COC, but at the latest on the last day following the usual tablet-free interval or last placebo tablet of the COC.
- Changing from a progestogen-only method (minipill, injectable, other implant) - Implanon may be inserted any day when a woman is switching from a minipill (from another implant on the day of its removal, from an injectable when the next injection would be due).
- Following first-trimester abortion - Implanon should be inserted immediately. When doing so, the woman does not need to take additional contraceptive measures.
- Following childbirth or a second-trimester abortion - With the exception of breast-feeding women, Implanon should be inserted on day 21-28 after delivery or second-trimester abortion. When the implant is inserted later, the woman should be advised to additionally use a barrier method on the first 7 days after the insertion. However, if intercourse has already occurred, pregnancy should be excluded or the woman’s first natural period should be awaited before the actual insertion of the implant.