Posts Tagged ‘birth control’

Birth Control Pill

The birth control pill represents one of the most efficient contraceptive methods available. It is administered by women and it consists of a combination of hormones that control the release of the eggs from the ovaries into the uterus. And it works as follows:

-It contains a combination of estrogen and progesterone, both inhibitors of the ovulation. Without ovulation there is no chance of pregnancy.

-It thickens the cervical mucus preventing the sperm from entering the uterus.

-It modifies the lining in the uterus making it unsuitable for the implantation of the egg.

You need to administrate the birth control pill daily, at the same hour, twenty-one days per month. During the seven days when there is no hormonal administration, the period appears. Depending on the manufacturer, the pills are available in 21 or 28 pill packages. The last seven pills in the 28-pill package are inactive as they contain no hormones.

As for the advantages of the birth control pill, they are pretty numerous.

-The bleeding is consistently reduced.
-The pre-menstrual discomfort is seriously alleviated.
-Fertility is preserved, and it is totally reversible when you stop taking the pill.
-Hormonal imbalances may be treated.
-It prevents some forms of cancer.

There is one special kind of birth control pill that contains active hormones for 12 weeks and then inactive pills for a week. This means that you will have a bleeding once every three months.

The mini-pill is another type of hormonal contraceptive we should mention in the category of the birth control pill. It contains progesterone only, and it requires continuous administration daily, on the same hour, without the monthly break. The efficiency of the mini-pill has been reported as inferior to the combined birth control pill.

The normal efficiency of the birth control pill is very high, with only 8 couples out of 100 reporting a pregnancy during the treatment. When taking the pill at random hours or when forgetting to use it daily, the efficiency drops. Plus, there are some individual factors at work here, and they also influence the efficiency of the medication.

For example, the birth control pill may not work properly when drugs or herbal supplements are administered in parallel. Moreover, the incidence of adverse reactions should not be overlooked. Read carefully about the possible adverse reactions to the birth control pill, as well as the health conditions that make the use of the pill very risky. Only start a hormonal birth control treatment following doctor’s orders!

Morning After Pill

Emergency contraception or the morning after pill is a hormonal treatment administered if another form of birth control has failed, or when no protection was used. The same hormones present in the regular birth control pill are used in the morning after pill with the only mention that the concentration of the ingredients is a bit higher. Nevertheless, the concentrations are different, which makes the regular use of the morning after pill a potential health threat.

Take the morning after pill as soon as you can after unprotected sex. Normally it can be used within three or five days after intercourse, but the sooner you act, the better for you. Manufacturers nevertheless warn that the efficiency can be influenced by the moment when you actually administer it. Do not mistake this birth control method for the abortion pill, because this is not the effect it produces. Emergency contraception simply prevents ovulation, and changes the lining of the uterus so that it cannot allow the egg to nest.

The morning after pill has similar side effects with the regular hormonal pill, and the efficiency rate is pretty high. The usual adverse reactions to hormonal treatments may appear nonetheless: nausea, headaches, breast tenderness and spotting. Read the list of side effects carefully as all packages have detailed specification on this matter. The morning after pill should not be used by women who suffer from severe liver disease or porphyria. The efficiency of the morning after pill could be impaired by other drugs or by some herbal supplements.

Contact the general practitioner right away to have a drug prescription. Do specify that you need the morning after pill urgently, in order not to be appointed for some later date. The risk of unwanted pregnancy is higher if you don’t act right away. In some states, you can also buy the morning after pill without prescription. The cost could be a problem, as some pharmacies sell the morning after pill at very high prices. There are also cases when you can use free emergency contraception provided by some non-profit organizations.

The morning after pill does not protect you for the entire menstrual cycle, and after you take it you are again exposed to the appearance of pregnancy if you don’t use another birth control method. Do not use more emergency contraceptives during the same menstrual cycle because of the serious adverse reactions. Either abstain from sex or rely on some serious birth control method.

Birth Control Pill

There is hardly any other contraceptive method as efficient as the birth control pill. Women take it daily, and thanks to the combination of hormones, it prevents ovulation and the release of eggs. And it works as follows:

-It combines estrogen and progesterone, the two hormones that inhibit ovulation. Pregnancy cannot appear without ovulation.

-The birth control pill changes the consistency of the cervical mucus, thickening it and making it impossible for the spermatozoon to reach the womb.

-It modifies the lining in the uterus making it unsuitable for the implantation of the egg.

You need to administrate the birth control pill daily, at the same hour, twenty-one days per month. There is no administration for the last seven days of the menstrual cycle, and it is within this interval that the period appears. Depending on the manufacturer, the pills are available in 21 or 28 pill packages. The last seven pills in the 28-pill package are inactive as they contain no hormones.

Benefits of taking the birth control pill!

-The monthly bleeding is less intense.
-The pre-menstrual discomfort is seriously alleviated.
-There are no consequences on fertility following the use of the birth control pill.
-It solves hormonal imbalances.
-It prevents some forms of cancer.

One more special type of birth control pill contains active hormones to be administered for 12 weeks without a break; then seven days of inactive pills follow, and the period occurs. This means that you will have a bleeding once every three months.

Yet, another type of birth control pill is the mini-pill. It contains progesterone only, and it has to be taken daily without any interruption, preferably at the same time every day regardless of whether you have sex or not. The efficiency of the mini-pill has been reported as inferior to the combined birth control pill.

The efficiency range of the birth control pill is very high, although 8 out of 100 couples face an unexpected pregnancy yearly, despite the use of this treatment. The chances of getting pregnant increase if you fail to take the pill daily, or you take it at random hours. Plus, the efficiency of the medication also depends on some individual factors too.

For example, the birth control pill may not work well if you follow some other herbal or medical treatment and there are interferences between the drugs. Moreover, the incidence of side effects should not be overlooked. Read carefully about the possible adverse reactions to the birth control pill, as well as the health conditions that make the use of the pill very risky. Only start a hormonal birth control treatment following doctor’s orders!