Birth control pill are used mainly to prevent getting pregnant. Using a birth control pill is one of the most popular forms of birth control. 16% of women between the ages of 15-44 use a birth control pill. Women find it safe and simple to use and there are other benefits to using birth control as well like controlling acne, making your periods more regular, and it helps make cramps not as bad.
When taking a birth control pill, you want to take it around the same time every day. When you take the pill, the cervical mucus begins to thicken so that the sperm can’t get to the egg. Another thing that happens when you take a pill is that your hormones change. The pill itself consists of a few hormones depending on the kind of pill you take. One of the more popular hormones is progestin but estrogen s the other popular hormone. That hormone (progestin) changes the uterus lining so that sperm is much less likely to implant in an egg. Some, not all, pills stop the release of the egg all together. This method of birth control is up to 99.9% effective if you take it correctly. If you miss pills, forget to take them, or don’t take them around the time time each day, the percentage of effectiveness can go down. On average the effectiveness is 91%.
Other than preventing pregnancy, birth control pills have other benefits as well. For example, I have PCOS and birth control is the prescribed medicine I need to take to make my hormone balance correct. The pill also helps with acne, more regular periods, and cramps like I stated earlier. When it comes to ovarian cysts, since the pill stops ovulation, the eggs never drops making it less likely to get ovarian cysts. Going back to making your periods ore regular, your period id very heavy, long, or causes you a lot of pain, instead of taking the pill to make it more regular, you can take the pill to make it stop all together. You do that by taking the active pills in a row. Usually you can get a 3-month supply prescribed to you, that way you only get your period 4 times a year.
On top of all that, the pill helps with iron deficiency because it controls blood loss. On average, during you period, you lose between 30-40 milliliters of blood. Some women can lose much more than that as well. When you lose that much blood at once, you iron level can become low, the pill helps control the blood loss while on your period and can help correct some iron deficiency issues.
Even though there are many positives to taking a birth control pill, there are also a few negatives as well. The biggest downside or “con” to the pill is that it doesn’t protect you against an STI or STD. So, with that being said, even if you take the pill, a condom should be used as well. I personally haven’t found this to be a big issue, but a downside can also be remembering to take the pill everyday around the same time. For me, I set an alarm of my phone to remind myself to take my pill. A prescription is also needed to be able to get birth control. Having a doctor prescribe it to you can be good because they can alter the hormone levels of the pill depending on what you need, but unfortunately, some women don’t have access to a doctor for a prescription.
One other down side to taking a birth control pill is that there can be side effects to it. When you first start taking the pill, within the first few months, women may experience spotting between their periods. Luckily this only last a few months, usually round 3, then it will stop. Nausea is something that some women experience as well while taking the pill, but just like the spotting, it will go away after the few first months. With most of the common side effects, they are all common during the first few months after starting the pill, but they have pretty much all been reported that they go away eventually. Another side effect that you may experience from taking the pill (no matter how long you have been taking it) is vaginal discharge.
