Thanks to advancements in modern medicine, Canadians have access to highly effective birth control methods. Unfortunately, those methods are still only effective when they’re used properly, and according to a new report from Bayer, many of them aren’t. Upon the launch of Bayer's new intrauterine system (IUS), Jaydess, a hormonal device that protects against pregnancy for up to three years, the company announced a number of alarming stats about Canadian women’s current birth control use. Did you know that a third of women in Canada do not use birth control consistently? In fact, women who use oral contraceptives miss, on average, 2.6 pills per cycle. These mistakes can lead to stress, side effects and unintended pregnancies. Meanwhile, women’s birth control options are better now than ever. Whereas access to birth control used to be difficult and choices used to be few, today women can easily get birth control information and prescriptions from their family doctors or local clinics, and they have an abundance of choices, including pills, patches, vaginal rings, shots, condoms, IUDs and more. And if you need help remembering to use your contraception, there are apps that will remind you. If you commonly miss pills or haven’t re-evaluated your birth control choices in a while, it’s a good time to start a discussion with your doctor, because there might be a contraceptive method out there that better suits your lifestyle that wasn't even available when you last looked at your options. Learn more about modern advancements in birth control. (Photography: WikiCommons/Ceridwen)