BOSTON -- Women now have more choices in birth control besides the pill and condom. Options are available that are less hassle and have minimum side effects.

NewsCenter 5's Gail Huff reported that the Implanon matchstick-sized implant is inserted by a doctor in about two minutes.

"With Implanon you just have a single rod. It's inserted just beneath the skin where it releases a low, steady dose of progestin so you can use it when you're breast feeding. It's 99 percent effective, and doctors say it should be very easy to insert and remove," health editor Toni Hope said.

CycleBeads may be worth considering if you're over 35 and smoke, have high blood pressure, or are concerned about taking hormones.

"To use CycleBeads, on the first day of her period, the woman puts this black ring on the red bead. She moves the ring one bead everyday. As long as she's on a brown bead a day, she can have sex without worrying about getting pregnant. But as soon as the ring is on one of these white beads, which represent days eight through 19 of her cycle, these are the days that pregnancy is possible," said Victoria Jennings, of the Institute for Reproductive Health.

A pill called Yaz offers protection from pregnancy, plus relief from occasional symptoms of peri-menopause

"Yaz has a lower dose of estrogen, the unique progesterone. What that does is it actually allows the woman to have a shorter, lighter cycle and so therefore frequently less menstrual symptoms and less PMS," said Dr. Vivian Roston, of St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital.