Birth Control Pill

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Birth Control Pill or Oral Contraceptive is a drug that prevents pregnancy. Birth control pills are the most popular form of reversible contraception—that is, temporary birth control that, once discontinued, allows a woman to become pregnant.

Two types of birth control pills are available today: combination pills, containing the female sex hormones estrogen and progestin (a synthetic version of the female hormone progesterone), and progestin-only pills. Combination pills are the most popular. A woman takes a combination pill once a day for 21 days, followed by 7 days of a placebo (an inactive pill, often a sugar pill) or no pill. Combination birth control pills prevent ovulation (the release of an egg from the ovaries); thicken the mucus of the cervix (opening of the uterus) to make it difficult for sperm to enter the uterus; and keep the endometrium (lining of the uterus)from thickening so that a fertilized egg cannot implant in it.

Combination pills provide health benefits in addition to contraception. Women who take combination pills have a reduced risk of endometrial and ovarian cancer up to 15 years after they have stopped taking the pill. Combination pill users also have a lower incidence of pelvic inflammatory disease, ovarian cysts, fibrocystic breast disease (noncancerous breast tumors), iron-deficiency anemia, and ectopic pregnancies.

Like combination pills, progestin-only pills block ovulation, thicken the cervical mucus, and help prevent the fertilized egg from implanting. However, progestin-only pills are slightly less effective in preventing pregnancy than combination pills. Women who cannot take estrogen because of health problems, such as blood clots, can use progestin-only pills. Progestin-only pills are taken daily; there is no interval where a placebo or no pill is taken.

The pill may not be suitable for women with high blood pressure; heart, kidney, or gallbladder disease; a family history of heart attack or stroke; a history of headaches or depression; high cholesterol or triglycerides; epilepsy; or diabetes. For the first two to three months of use, the pill can cause a change in weight, nausea, and sometimes vomiting, headache, depression, tender breasts, and spotting or bleeding between periods. These side effects usually disappear with continued use.

Some medications, such as antibiotics, barbiturates, and antifungal drugs, reduce the effectiveness of birth control pills. The effects of some drugs, including diazepam, chlordiazepoxide, alprazolam, caffeine, and theophylline may be increased by oral contraceptives.

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