Nishmat's Women’s Health and HalachaIn memory of Chaya Mirel bat R' Avraham

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Mikveh timing with contraceptive patch

27 April, 2023
Question:

I have a new birth control method that is like a nicotine patch and it stays on me for 7 days until I replace it on Sundays. Am I allowed to immerse with it since it is a medical device, or should I wait until Sundays to attend mikveh when I would remove it anyways?


Answer:

Thank you for reaching out to us.

The contraceptive patch, along with any remaining glue, should be removed for immersion. It should then be reapplied after immersion.

To the best of our knowledge, according to the ORTHO EVRA package insert, a woman can put the original patch back on after immersion if it is clean and still sticky. Otherwise, she should use a new patch. Please check your package insert to confirm.

If there is a need to replace the patch early, it might slightly increase the cost of using the patch (using about four per month instead of three). Even if this is difficult, we would not recommend adding on days in niddah each cycle.

An alternative to the patch might be NuvaRing. This is a vaginal ring that is left in place for three weeks, but can be removed for mikveh and replaced without compromising efficacy.

We hope this helps. Please let us know if we can be of further assistance.

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