Birth Control in a Pandemic

Her Campus American University’s President and Editor-in-Chief collabed to get more information on Nurx and their birth control methods during COVID-19. 

People may be social distancing, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t having sex (especially if they are under stay at home orders with their significant other). But during the coronavirus pandemic, a lot of doctors’ offices are closing down and “non-essential” appointments are being canceled. Getting a birth control prescription or even maintaining your prescription during this time can be incredibly difficult. 

Birth control, even outside of a pandemic, can be hard to access. One resource that we have found extraordinarily helpful is Nurx. 

Abby

When I had trouble getting birth control, I turned to Nurx — an online company that prescribes and distributes birth control with and without insurance. There are two options for choosing your method of birth control. You can take a quiz to see what method would work best for you or you can just tell them what you prefer. Since I have a long history with birth control, I knew what method would work best for me — the NuvaRing. Then, all I had to do was enter some medical history, my insurance information, and a method of payment (in-case there was a co-pay).

My initial consultation, which was the online form I filled out and a doctor reviewing that form on their time, cost $15. After that one-time fee, my prescriptions have been free due to my insurance. The NuvaRing is replaced once a month, so each month they send me a new package automatically. And if I ever have any questions or issues with my birth control, all I have to do is send a message on the Nurx website. For me, Nurx was a cheap, convenient, and non-judgemental way to get the birth control I needed. Nurx is especially helpful during the quarantine since my gynecologist is closed and I am under stay at home orders. 

Hannah

Nurx believes that healthcare should be universal and easily accessible, and through their website, it is. When I needed a new birth control prescription, I answered their short questionnaire, put in my insurance information (insurance not required), and four days later, I received 3 months of birth control on my front doorstep. Nurx even automatically refills your prescription and ships it to you the day your birth control runs out. 

Nurx also runs a health-related blog with answers to a variety of questions. I have found that during the pandemic, they published several helpful blog posts about mental health during self-isolation, proper hand-washing techniques, patient safety, etc. Obviously, their blogs aren’t all COVID-19 centered, there are lots of informational and personal pieces about sex with herpes, sex ed for adults, emergency contraceptive stories, etc- just to name a few.

This method of birth control acquisition is perfect during stay at home orders and our self or city-mandated quarantines. You don’t have to leave your house to pick it up and it is super cheap. 

You may also be wondering, what is Nurx doing and how is it functioning during the COVID-19 pandemic? Not too long ago, Nurx was actually shipping and distributing at-home COVID-19 testing kits. Due to the limited number of kits, they are not currently distributing them anymore but stay tuned for updates. 

Other services Nurx offers:

• STI Testing 

• Herpes Treatments 

• Emergency Contraception
• HIV PREP
• HPV Screening 

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4

Photos: Her Campus Media Library

• American University
• birth control
• COVID-19
• nurx
• pandemic