CHAPTER 8
Implants

Key Points for Providers and Clients

Implants are small flexible rods or capsules that are placed just under the skin of the upper arm.
Provide long-term pregnancy protection. Very effective for 3 to 7 years, depending on the type of implant, immediately reversible.
Require specifically trained provider to insert and remove. A woman cannot start or stop implants on her own.
Little required of the client once implants are in place.
Bleeding changes are common but not harmful. Typically, prolonged irregular bleeding over the first year, and then lighter, more regular bleeding or infrequent bleeding.

What Are Implants?

Small plastic rods or capsules, each about the size of a matchstick, that release a progestin like the natural hormone progesterone in a woman's body.
A specifically trained provider performs a minor surgical procedure to place the implants under the skin on the inside of a woman’s upper arm.
Do not contain estrogen, and so can be used throughout breastfeeding and by women who cannot use methods with estrogen.
Many types of implants:
- Jadelle: 2 rods, effective for 5 years
- Implanon: 1 rod, effective for 3 years (studies are underway to see if it lasts 4 years)
- Sino-Implant (II), also known as Femplant, Trust Implant, and Zarin: 2 rods, effective for 4 years (may be extended to 5 years)
- Norplant: 6 capsules, labeled for 5 years of use (large studies have found it is effective for 7 years)
Work primarily by:
- Thickening cervical mucus (this blocks sperm from meeting an egg)
- Disrupting the menstrual cycle, including preventing the release of eggs from the ovaries (ovulation)