Female Contraception
Although fertility naturally declines with age, and pregnancy is rare after the age of 50, effective contraception is still needed to prevent unintended pregnancy until menopause.
Speak to one of our female health specialists
Contraception for women over 40 years
Contraception needs to be considered for women of reproductive age that are having sex in order to prevent pregnancy. Even during perimenopause and depending on at what age you go through the menopause, contraception is still required. Women over the age of 40 years still have plenty of options, and prevention of sexually transmitted infections also need to be considered.
What are my options?
Condoms – protect against most sexual transmitted infections and pregnancy if used correctly.
Progesterone only pill – taken daily and likely will change periods. Some women may not bleed at all, some light bleeding, some irregular bleeding.
Combined oral contraceptive pill – can still be used in lower risk individuals (not used with migraine with aura, smokers, obesity etc). Can use tailored pill taking meaning you can choose when you have a period, and likely results in lighter periods.
IUD – the copper coil, 10 years of use before needing to be changed.
IUS – hormonal coil such as Mirena, Jaydess, Levosert can be used for contraception and to control heavy bleeding. The Mirena is also licensed to be used as part of HRT. Used for 3-5 years depending on type before needing an alternative.
Nexplanon – implant into the upper arm lasting for 3 years before removed and consider new one if needed.
Depo-provera Injection – every 12 weeks
Sterilisation – very quick procedure for men using a local anaesthetic and highly successfully, women require a day in hospital and need a general anaesthetic. Female sterilisation does not affect periods.
Please note that contraception is still needed on HRT.
Frequently Asked Questions about our Female Contraception Service
When it is safe to do so and you are stable on your medication, we can issue a set quantity, or allow you to order your medication as needed. Some medication requires monitoring, such as blood tests, and you will be reminded of this. Failure to complete these monitoring requirements will mean we will not be able to issue your prescription for safety reasons.
If you are already known to the clinic or if you have had your ID confirmed through other contacts with us, for example during a home visit for bloods and other physical tests, then yes.
We have partnered with a national phlebotomy service, Nationwide Pathology, who offer accredited blood tests all over the U.K. As such, we would request that, where possible, you do not obtain blood tests elsewhere. For those patients that have already had blood tests, we are happy to use them provided they were obtained from a reputable source, such as your NHS GP. However, we ask that you do not expect your NHS surgery to do further testing for you as you have chosen to seek private health care. If you do obtain blood tests from other clinics, they may need to be repeated (especially if via finger prick).
No, a GP letter is not needed. However, you are welcome to send us a letter, or a summary, if you feel it would help.
Unfortunately, we can only see and treat patients who are residing in the UK. We are unable to treat anyone who lives, or is temporarily, overseas.
You can call 03309120769 (national rate) to speak to one of our team or use the online web contact form. You can also email hello@h3health.co.uk
Alternatively, a number of our services can be booked online – you’ll see a Book Now button on the appropriate service pages.
Please see https://www.h3health.co.uk/about-us/making-a-complaint/ – we take all complaints very seriously and will investigate your issues in a customer-centric way.
The cost of the prescription varies depending on what you need. Charging is very different from NHS treatments where the prices are subsidised and you only pay £9.35 per drug regardless of how many packs you need. Some items are more expensive – Female Testosterone, for example, is £80 per tube, but this will last 3-4 months.
The cost of blood tests vary. We will recommend the most appropriate group of tests to suit your requirements. We can test for one thing alone, or a group.
For example, a single testosterone blood test is £35 and a full well man screen is £190.
We send your prescriptions via electronic prescribing to our pharmacy partner, CloudRx. They will prepare them for you, and deliver the medication to your door within 72 hours, and often sooner.
It can take up to 7 days for the processing of your blood tests and for us to receive notification from our partner, Nationwide Pathology. Once we have received them your doctor will be notified, and they will review them. Your doctor will then email them to you with any comments, via a secure link.
Depending on your chosen service, you may have a follow-up consultation to discuss your results.
You can call 03309120769 (national rate) to speak to one of our team or use the online web contact form. You can also email hello@h3health.co.uk
Please note that we do not provide urgent care or assistance, and in these cases, you need to contact NHS 111, or 999 if an emergency. Or contact your own GP for other matters.
H3 Health is regulated by the Care Quality Commission who are the independent regulator of health and social care in England – you can find out more about the CQC at their website.
We do not treat anyone under the age of 18 years.
We do not provide urgent care or treatment of acute conditions.
If you have a medical emergency we request you call 999 or urgent care service via your NHS GP or 111 service.
The consultation costs include the appointment with the GP only. It does not cover prescriptions, follow up appointments, or monitoring blood tests or further investigations.
General health appointments are charged at £175 for up to 30 minutes.
First female health appointments are £250 for up to 1 hour.
All follow up appointments are £175.
If you think you might need a longer appointment, you can book an hour for £250.
After you have seen the doctor, they will send a letter to your normal GP advising of any new diagnosis, treatments and plans.
You might need further blood tests or investigations, or a referral to a specialist. We will explain the cost prior to undertaking any work.
You will be charged £30 per email to the clinical team after your consultation if you require further time.
After you have your pre-appointment assessment, if you require a blood test we will arrange a convenient time and location for one of our trained healthcare specialists to visit you to take bloods and carry out any other physical tests that may be required.
If you are seen in person, then this will be at Warwick Nuffield Hospital, The Chase, Old Milverton Lane, Leamington Spa, CV32 6RW.
All of our consultations are doctor-led. You will see a practicing GP, all of whom work within the NHS also, and have a dedicated interest in either Men’s or Women’s Health. For example, for testosterone deficiency you will see a male GP who has a specialist interest and understanding of this condition. For menopause, we have female GPs who have a specialist interest in Women’s Health. Where additional support or treatment is required, we can also refer you to our other specialists such as hospital consultants.
We want to practice as safely as we can and involve your normal GP. We will notify your GP of treatments we provide so that they can update their systems and ensure that there are no concerns highlighted over other treatment you might be receiving from them. For example, some medications cannot be taken alongside others, or you might need more monitoring with some.
For that reason, we ask that you provide your GP’s details before your first appointment using the hello@h3health.co.uk email address.
