1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites
In focus
IranEbolaUkraine
Latest audioLatest videos
Live TV
A strip of hormonal pill next to a condom (still in its packet, but the packet is ripped open)
Image: SORAPOP UDOMSRI/PantherMedia/picture alliance

Contraception

There is a range of contraceptive methods. Some, such as the pill and intrauterine devices (IUDs), focus on preventing pregnancy. Others, such as condoms, also protect against sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

Skip next section All Content on this topic

All Content on this topic

image shows a graphic of a uterus with the title: 'Is the birth control pill carcinogenic?'

Fact check: Online claims link contraceptives to cancer

Some social media accounts say oral contraceptives are as deadly as smoking. The science is more complicated than that.
HealthFebruary 4, 202607:45 min
A Greenlandic Inuit woman recounts to DW her traumatic experience of being forced to undergo contraceptive measures as a teenager.

Denmark apologizes for abuse of Greenlandic Indigenous women

One Greenlandic Inuit woman told DW that the trauma of forced birth control as a teenager has shadowed her entire life.
Human RightsSeptember 24, 202502:05 min
Naked feet of two adults poking out of the end of a bed

Is the birth control pill destroying women's sex drive?

Common types of the contraceptive pill don't warn that it can lower libido. But research shows it does affect sex drive.
ScienceSeptember 22, 2025
A woman in a headscarf with blurred face, hands clasped, greenery in background

Why women in South Asia are aging faster than in Europe, US

Age is a stigma in South Asia, where a woman's worth is tied to her ability to have children and menopause starts early.
HealthJuly 8, 2025
Symbolic picture of women's self-esteem

Myths and truths about women's freedom

Women's sexual liberation through contraceptive pills — mere myth?
CultureMarch 22, 202526:04 min
International Condom Day in Lima, Peru, a young person learns how to put a condom on a fake penis

'Concerning' rise in unprotected sex among teenagers

Many teenagers in Europe, central Asia, and Canada don't use condoms. Experts warn of unwanted pregnancies and STIs.
HealthAugust 30, 2024
Emergency contraceptive pills

Poland seeks to ease access to 'morning after' pill

Poland's ruling coalition is looking to undo the restrictive measures the previous government introduced in 2017.
HealthJanuary 24, 2024
A family, a mother and three children, eat a meal together

Family planning isn't easy in South Sudan

In conservative South Sudanese society, health workers are attacked and young couples are judged.
SocietyJanuary 22, 202403:21 min
DW "Global Us" Sendungslogo Composite

Japan's military build-up hampered by lack of recruits

Why young people in Japan don’t want to join the army, and what needs to be done to tackle the global water shortage.
SocietyOctober 27, 202326:06 min
3 people inside a trailer. One man, wearing a lab coat, addresses man in shorts

The mobile vasectomy clinic

With abortion now banned in a number of US states, increasing numbers of men are choosing to get a vasectomy.
SocietyJuly 11, 202305:38 min
Woman holding birth control pills

Hormonal birth control raises risk of breast cancer — study

All hormonal contraceptives have been found to increase the risk of breast cancer according to a new study.
HealthMarch 22, 2023
Hand holding contraceptive pills

Men want the pill and they are ready to use it responsibly

There's high demand among men and their partners for male contraceptive pills, a new study shows.
ScienceMarch 13, 2023
Condoms in a red wrapper on a pink background

International Condom Day: A brief history of rubbers

They prevent STDs and unwanted pregnancies: Condoms are pretty great.
LifestyleFebruary 13, 2023
DW Projekt Zukunft Sendungslogo Englisch (Tomorrow Today)

Tomorrow Today - the Science Show

How do zoos manage contraception? How to milk medicine from goats? Find out in Tomorrow Today.
ScienceJanuary 13, 202326:06 min
A selection of colored condoms

France offers free condoms to young people

The government will subsidize the cost of male contraceptives to cut the number of sexually transmitted infections.
HealthJanuary 1, 2023
DW Magazin Global 3000 28.11.2022

Teen pregnancies on the rise in South Africa

Young girls in townships are most affected by South Africa's surging teenage pregnancies.
SocietyNovember 28, 202205:04 min
Vasektomie Kampagne in Peru

The 77 Percent — Why are men terrified of vasectomies?

Kenyans and Ghanaians share their thoughts on this topic.
SocietyNovember 25, 202219:59 min
Sex & the Body - Episode 7 - Fertility: How do a sperm cell and and an egg cell get to have a romantic rendez-vous? The picture shows a sperm and an egg cell sitting around a table with two glasses of wine and a candle.

Age, menstrual cycle, sports: Factors influencing fertility

Here's what age has to do with fertility, how you can know how fertile you are and what it takes to get pregnant.
HealthAugust 2, 202211:22 min
Birth control pills

France to make birth control free for women aged 18-25

After making birth control free for underage girls, France is now expanding the program to include women aged 18 to 25.
HealthDecember 31, 2021
DW Sendung The 77 Percent Sendung13

Kibera's king of condoms

After losing a close friend to HIV/AIDS, Stanley Ngara now advocates for the importance of safe sex.
SocietyDecember 22, 202103:52 min
Birth control pills

France: Free birth control for all women up to 25

The French health minister said young women had the right to contraception even if they could not afford it.
HealthSeptember 9, 2021
Grafik Vagina Gebärmutterhals

The sterilization taboo

Young childless women in Germany often find that sterilization is a taboo subject.
HealthAugust 6, 202104:50 min
Portrait picture of medical students Sina Pollmann and Linus Piehler standing next to each other

Sex-education – DW interview

DW talks to medical students and sex-educators Sina Pollmann and Linus Piehler.
ScienceApril 30, 202109:23 min
Kashmiri women with their children

Kashmir's tribal women suffer without family planning

Tribal women in Kashmir end up with children they can't support ,as their husbands forbid access to birth control.
HealthMarch 1, 2021
DW Covid-19 Special Sendungslogo englisch

Pregnant in a pandemic

Unplanned pregnancies have surged in some countries, with the pandemic disrupting access to health services.
HealthSeptember 8, 202012:05 min
Woman holding blister of birth control pill

The pill at 60 — transformative and controversial

The oral contraceptive changed lives and lifestyles. It was championed by some and condemned by others.
HealthAugust 16, 2020
Evelyn Samba

Opinion: COVID-19 especially strikes African women

Evelyn Samba
Even during the pandemic, sexual health and family planning need to be ensured, says Evelyn Samba.
HealthJuly 10, 2020
Birth control pill

Fewer German women are taking the pill

A new survey shows fewer German women are taking the birth control pill.
HealthSeptember 19, 2019
Yoani Sanchez

Opinion: Many Cubans using abortion as birth control

Yoani Sánchez
A lack of access to birth control means many Cuban women undergo several abortions in their lives, writes Yoani Sánchez.
HealthAugust 14, 2018
Kenia Kamelklinik

The mobile camel clinic

The mobile camel clinic visits remote communities in the Rift Valley to provide healthcare.
Nature and EnvironmentOctober 27, 201706:38 min
Schwangerschaftsverhütung Antibabypille

Free contraception for low-earners

With the long-term aim of a nationwide scheme, "biko" hopes to give women choice and reduce unwanted pregnancy.
HealthMarch 28, 2017
A group of Malawian women carrying bundles of wood

Malawi churches back abortion

The Malawi Council of Churches now backs an amendment of the abortion law if certain conditions are met.
HealthNovember 1, 2016