Personal choice, comfort, religious and cultural beliefs all play into the decision of what birth control to use. Barrier methods such as the diaphragm, condoms, and Novo ring pose no increased risk of disease activity although these methods are not 100% protective. Intrauterine devices (IUDs) are very reliable but pose a slight increased risk for infection in particular in women on medicines that can suppress their immune system.
Recently it has been shown that in women with stable mild lupus, oral contraceptives or birth control pills containing estrogen can be used providing that these women do not have antiphospholipid antibodies or other clotting problems. In patients with antiphospholipid antibodies, only pills with progestin should be used.