How you prepare

Your health care provider will review your medical history and check your blood pressure. Talk to your health care provider about any medications you're taking, including nonprescription and herbal products.

Your health care provider will determine the appropriate timing for you to start using a vaginal ring based on your menstrual cycle and your previous birth control method. You may need to take a pregnancy test and use a nonhormonal backup method of contraception for one week when you start using a vaginal ring.

A backup method of contraception may not be necessary if you previously used combination birth control pills or the skin patch (Xulane), and you insert a vaginal ring on any day up to the day you would have started your new pack of pills or applied a new skin patch.