It affords you the privacy of not having to keep contraceptives lying around for an inquisitive child or parent to find. Is Your Depo-Provera Causing Weight Gain. There is, though, one big drawback. In the study, more than 700 women were allo to choose among various contraceptive methods and then were follo for three years to measure their gain in weight and body fat. It's more than 99 percent effective at preventing pregnancy, provided you get your shots on time € all of which could explain why it's used by about 5 percent of women ages 15 to 44. Depo-Provera, the progesterone-only birth control shot, has a lot of advantages.

It's given once every three months in your doctor's office, so you don't have to remember to take a pill every night. Weight gain, enough to make you go up one or two dress sizes, according to a new study published today in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Those who chose the Depo shot gained an average of 11 pounds over three years and experienced a 3.