This chapter stresses that each woman must know whether her medical therapy can interfere with hormonal contraception. There is a variety of contraceptive methods from which to choose. These fall into two main groups: hormonal and nonhormonal methods. Epilepsy and its treatment do not alter the effectiveness of any of the nonhormonal methods of birth control. These nonhormonal methods include the intrauterine contraceptive device (IUD), barrier methods, the rhythm method and other methods of 'natural' family planning with or without spermicides, and sterilization. Hormonal methods involve taking the combined oral contraceptive pill, (which contains two hormones, an estrogen and a synthetic form of progesterone called a progestogen), or the progesterone-only pill ('mini' pill), or long-acting preparations such as medroxyprogesterone (Depo-Provera) injections or a depot hormonal implant (Norplant). Nowadays, many neurologists discuss the issue of contraception with women before starting a drug to treat their epilepsy.