Birth control online in New Jersey and Pennsylvania

Start, switch or renew your birth control without an office visit. A board-certified New Jersey and Pennsylvania clinician reviews your health history and sends a prescription to your pharmacy when it's safe for you.

Start a birth control visit

Message visit $39. No insurance needed.

Is online care right for you?

Online care may be a good fit if you

Want to start the pill, patch or ring
Want to renew or switch a current prescription
Need emergency contraception
Can share a recent blood pressure reading

Get in-person care instead if you

Want an IUD or implant placed
Have unusual bleeding or pelvic pain
Have new or severe headaches with vision changes
Have leg swelling, chest pain or shortness of breath

What we can prescribe, and what needs an office

Worth being clear up front so nobody pays for a visit expecting something we cannot do.

Available through a messaging visit:

The pill, both kinds, covered below
The patch, applied weekly
The ring, inserted monthly
Emergency contraception, when appropriate. See emergency contraception.

Requires an in-person visit:

An IUD, which has to be placed by a clinician
The implant, same reason
The shot, which is an injection

If you want an IUD or implant, your clinician can tell you what to look for and help you find somewhere, but we cannot place one remotely and will not pretend otherwise.

The two kinds of pill, and why the difference matters

Almost every conversation about “the pill” is really about two different medications, and knowing which one you are discussing explains most of what follows.

Combined pills contain both an estrogen and a progestin. They are the most commonly prescribed, they give the most predictable cycle control, and they are the ones with meaningful safety restrictions, because the estrogen component slightly raises the risk of blood clots.

Progestin-only pills contain no estrogen. They are safe for many people who cannot take a combined pill, including while breastfeeding, and they are the answer for most of the restrictions listed in the next section. The tradeoff is timing. Traditional progestin-only pills need to be taken within roughly the same three-hour window every day, which is less forgiving than a combined pill. Newer ones have a wider window, and your clinician can tell you which you are being offered.

There is also a progestin-only pill available over the counter without any prescription. If a visit is not practical for you right now, that is a real option, and we would rather you know it exists than go without.

Who should not take estrogen

This is the part of the visit that actually matters, and it is the reason a questionnaire is not a formality.

Combined hormonal methods, meaning the combined pill, the patch and the ring, are not recommended if any of the following apply:

Migraine with aura, at any age. Aura means visual changes, flashing lights, blind spots, zigzag lines or numbness and tingling before or during a headache. This one gets missed constantly because people do not realize their visual symptoms have a name, and it matters because combined methods raise stroke risk in people who get aura. If you get any warning symptoms before a headache, say so.
Smoking, if you are 35 or older. The restriction tightens with how much you smoke, and at 15 cigarettes a day or more it becomes an absolute one.
High blood pressure. Readings from 140 to 159 over 90 to 99 generally mean a combined method is not the right choice, and anything at 160 over 100 or above rules it out.
A history of blood clots in the leg or lung, or a known clotting disorder.
Certain heart and liver conditions, current breast cancer, lupus with particular antibodies, and the first three weeks after giving birth.
Major surgery with a long immobile recovery coming up.

None of this means you cannot use birth control. Almost every item on that list is an argument for a progestin-only method rather than no method, and that is usually what your clinician will suggest. Tell us the thing you think might disqualify you. It usually changes which option you get, not whether you get one.

Why we ask for a blood pressure reading

Because we cannot take it ourselves, and because an estrogen-containing method is genuinely unsafe above a certain threshold.

A reading from a pharmacy machine or a home cuff is fine. It does not need to be from a doctor’s office. If you do not have one and cannot easily get one, tell your clinician, because a progestin-only method does not carry the same requirement.

If your reading comes back high, that is useful information regardless of contraception, and your clinician will tell you what to do about it.

How your birth control visit works

Answer questions about your health, medications and preferences. Your clinician screens your answers against CDC medical eligibility guidelines.
A board-certified clinician licensed in New Jersey and Pennsylvania reviews your case within minutes.
If a method is safe for you, your prescription goes to your pharmacy, with refills so you don't run out.

Your $39 visit fee covers the clinical review. Medication is paid for separately at your pharmacy.

Starting a new method, and when you are actually protected

The most common cause of an unintended pregnancy on a new prescription is assuming protection starts on day one.

Combined pills, the patch and the ring. If you start within the first five days of your period, you are protected immediately. If you start at any other point, use a backup method for the first seven days.
Progestin-only pills. Protection takes about two days. Use a backup method for the first 48 hours.

You do not have to wait for your next period to begin. Starting the day you get the prescription is usually the better choice, as long as you use backup for the window above. Waiting three weeks for a cycle to line up leaves you unprotected for three weeks.

Switching methods

Switching is common and usually straightforward, but the handover is where mistakes happen.

Tell your clinician what you are on now, how long you have been on it, and why you want to change. That last part shapes the recommendation more than anything else. Breakthrough bleeding, mood changes, headaches, nausea, cost and simply not wanting a daily pill all point in different directions.

Do not stop your current method before the new one starts. Your clinician will tell you how to overlap them, which generally means finishing your current pack or starting the new method immediately rather than leaving a gap.

If you have tried something before and hated it, say which one and what happened. It genuinely narrows the options.

Missed pills

This comes up constantly, and the answer depends on which pill you take.

Combined pills. One missed pill is usually recoverable: take it as soon as you remember and continue as normal. Two or more missed pills, especially in the first week of a pack, means taking the most recent missed pill, continuing the pack, and using backup for seven days. If you had sex during that window, emergency contraception may be worth considering.
Progestin-only pills. The window is tighter. More than about three hours late on a traditional progestin-only pill counts as missed, and you need backup for the next 48 hours.

When in doubt, message us. This is exactly the kind of question a messaging visit answers well, and guessing has a worse downside than asking.

What birth control does besides prevent pregnancy

For a lot of people this is the actual reason they are here, and it is a legitimate one.

Hormonal contraception is used to treat heavy or prolonged periods, painful cramps, acne, unwanted hair growth, PCOS symptoms, endometriosis pain, and premenstrual symptoms. Long-term use is also associated with a reduced risk of ovarian and endometrial cancer.

If you are coming to us for one of these rather than for contraception, say so directly. It changes which method makes sense, because the options are not interchangeable for these purposes.

Side effects, and what the pill actually causes

Worth separating the real from the assumed.

Common and usually temporary. Spotting between periods, nausea, breast tenderness and headaches in the first two to three months. Most of this settles as your body adjusts, which is why the usual advice is to give a new method about three months before judging it. Spotting in particular is most common early and improves.

Worth reporting. Mood changes that are new or significant. Headaches that are new, worsening, or come with visual symptoms. Any of these is a reason to message rather than push through.

Needs urgent in-person care

Chest pain, shortness of breath, severe leg pain or swelling, a severe headache unlike your usual, or sudden vision changes. These are blood clot and stroke symptoms. Go to an emergency room rather than messaging us.

Weight gain is the most commonly expected side effect and the evidence does not support it for combined pills. The injectable method is the exception and is associated with weight gain. If the number on the scale is your main concern about starting, that is worth an honest conversation rather than avoidance.

If you are also taking a GLP-1 for weight

This one matters and almost nobody mentions it.

One of the two main GLP-1 medications used for weight management interferes with oral contraceptives. It slows how fast your stomach empties, which affects how the pill is absorbed. The labeling advises either switching to a non-oral method or adding a barrier method for four weeks after starting it and four weeks after every dose increase.

The other main GLP-1 does not carry the same labeled interaction, but nausea, vomiting and diarrhea are common with all of them, and vomiting within a few hours of taking a pill can mean the dose did not count.

If you are on or starting a GLP-1 and you rely on an oral contraceptive, tell both clinicians. A non-oral method sidesteps the problem entirely, which is frequently the cleanest answer. See GLP-1 weight management.

Stopping, and fertility afterwards

Fertility returns quickly after stopping the pill, the patch or the ring, often within the first cycle. There is no need to taper, and no need to “clear it out of your system” before trying to conceive.

The injectable method is the exception. It can delay the return of fertility for several months after the last shot, sometimes close to a year, which is worth knowing before choosing it if you are planning a pregnancy in the near future.

If your periods do not return within about three months of stopping, that is worth looking into rather than waiting.

Birth control questions

Why do you need my blood pressure?

Some estrogen-containing methods aren’t safe with high blood pressure. A reading from a pharmacy machine or home cuff is fine.

Can I switch methods?

Yes. Tell your clinician what you’re using now and why you want to switch.

Can you prescribe emergency contraception?

Yes, when appropriate. Some emergency contraception is also available over the counter.

Can I get birth control online without insurance?

Yes. Qare is cash-pay. The visit is $39 and your medication is paid for at the pharmacy, with many generic options costing very little.

Can I get the pill without a doctor’s visit at all?

A progestin-only pill is available over the counter without a prescription. For combined pills, the patch or the ring, a clinician has to review your history first, because they are not safe for everyone.

How fast does birth control start working?

Combined pills, the patch and the ring work immediately if started in the first five days of your period, otherwise after seven days. Progestin-only pills take about two days.

Does birth control cause weight gain?

The evidence does not support weight gain with combined pills. The injectable method is associated with weight gain, which is one of the things to weigh when choosing it.

How long until I can get pregnant after stopping?

Usually quickly, often within the first cycle, for the pill, patch and ring. The injectable method can delay fertility for several months.

I get migraines. Can I still take the pill?

It depends on whether you get aura, meaning visual changes, flashing lights, blind spots or numbness before the headache. With aura, estrogen-containing methods are not recommended at any age, but a progestin-only method usually is. Tell your clinician exactly what your headaches involve.

Will this be covered by insurance?

Qare does not bill insurance. No claim is generated and no explanation of benefits is mailed, which is the specific reason some people on a parent’s or spouse’s plan come to us.

Need something right now after unprotected sex? See emergency contraception.

Get it handled without the waiting room

For adults located in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Start a birth control visit

Medically reviewed by Haroon Arshad, MD, Medical Director, Qare Medical Group, P.C.· Board-Certified in Family Medicine
Last reviewed: October 2026