When is depo shot given

It also thins your uterine lining, which makes it hard for a fertilized egg to implant, or attach, to your uterus. Depo-Provera works for about 3 months at a time. To prevent pregnancy, you have to get 1 shot from your doctor 4 times a year, about 12 to 14 weeks apart. If you get it in the first 7 days of your cycle, it works right away. Your doctor will confirm you are not pregnant before giving you the injection.

About half of women who use Depo-Provera stop having periods after 1 year. This is not harmful. Menstrual bleeding usually returns to normal when you stop using Depo-Provera.

It may take about 9 to 10 months to get pregnant after your last shot. Contact your doctor right away if you have abnormally heavy or nonstop bleeding. Other possible side effects of Depo-Provera include:. Due to an increased risk of osteoporosis, you should limit the use of Depo-Provera to 2 years.

Eat foods high in vitamin D and calcium to increase your bone density. Depo-Provera may increase your chance of having breast cancer if you begin using it before the age of Women who are breastfeeding can use Depo-Provera.

You should not use it if you are pregnant, trying to get pregnant, or have:. Hormone levels are very low while using Depo Provera, so there is some concern that this may lead to thinning of the bones osteoporosis in women who use Depo Provera for a long period of time.

The importance of this is not yet known, but the changes would be expected to happen more slowly than those that occur normally after menopause and reverse after the injections stop.

Although it is extremely difficult to prove a complete lack of risk, Depo Provera has not been shown to have any effect on the risk of breast cancer. It should be noted that protective effects against cancer of the ovary and uterine lining are very likely. No ill effects on the developing baby have been shown to occur if Depo Provera is given when a woman is already pregnant or in the very rare case where a woman becomes pregnant despite the injection.

Depo Provera can be used by most women who do not have any serious medical problems and by many women who use other forms of contraception. It may also be suitable for women who cannot take the combined pill for medical reasons. Information about long acting reversilble contraception LARC , including contraceptive injections, is also available in Arabic, Chinese, Hindi and Vietnamese — see Downloads section on this page.

Long acting reversible contraception, such as intra uterine devices IUDs , contraceptive implants and contraceptive injections, may be the choice for you. If you're having sex and don't want to get pregnant, you need contraception. Contraception is also called birth control or family planning.

This fact sheet discusses your options. If you wait longer than 13 weeks between injections, you might need to take a pregnancy test before your next injection. Mayo Clinic does not endorse companies or products.

Advertising revenue supports our not-for-profit mission. This content does not have an English version. This content does not have an Arabic version. Overview Depo-Provera Open pop-up dialog box Close.

Depo-Provera Depo-Provera is a contraceptive injection that contains the hormone progestin. Request an Appointment at Mayo Clinic. Share on: Facebook Twitter. Show references Hatcher RA, et al. Injectable contraceptives In: Contraceptive Technology. Ayer Company Publishers; Kaunitz AM. Depot medroxyprogesterone acetate DMPA for contraception: Formulations, patient selection and drug administration.

Accessed Oct. Hatcher RA, et al. Progestin-only contraceptives. In: Managing Contraception For your pocket. Bridging the Gap Foundation; Hapgood JP, et al. The hormone progestin in the birth control shot works by preventing ovulation the release of an egg during the monthly cycle. If a girl doesn't ovulate, she cannot get pregnant because there is no egg to be fertilized.

The progestin also thickens the mucus around the cervix. This makes it hard for sperm to enter the uterus and reach any eggs that may have been released. The progestin also thins the lining of the uterus so that an egg will have a hard time attaching to the wall of the uterus. The birth control shot is an effective birth control method. Over the course of a year, about 6 out of typical couples who use the birth control shot will have an accidental pregnancy.

The chance of getting pregnant increases if a girl waits longer than 3 months to get her next shot. In general, how well each type of birth control method works depends on a lot of things. These include whether a person has any health conditions or is taking any medicines that might affect its use.