| Birth Control Pills | ||
| Birth Control Pills are hormones that are well-absorbed by the digestive tract and that interfere with a woman's ability to get pregnant. They generally do so by stopping the production of the female half of a potential new baby (the ovum, or egg). Exactly how they interfere with ovulation depends on just which of several different kinds are used, but all of them are nearly 100% effective if taken JUST THE WAY THEY ARE DIRECTED. In actual use, women being people, these pills are less effective. That's because their effects only last a day or two- and proper blood levels of the ingredients fall too low to prevent pregnancy if days are missed.
Birth control pills are in the same general "family" (so to speak) as the vaginal ring, and birth control patches, and as in birth control shots like Depo-provera. The effects of any single pill, however, unlike those other formulations, last only a day or two- and to prevent pregnancy, birth control pills have to be taken daily - with little leeway. |
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| Oral Contraception: Systemic Hormones | ||
| Overview:
Oral contraceptives are pills or capsules that contain hormones. First FDA approved in the United States in , birth control pills have proven to be an effective means of birth control - unintended pregnancy while taking "the pill" seems to be attributable to accidentally skipping doses rather than a failure of the medication itself. The first pills contained a combination of estrogen and progesterin that attempted to mimic natural changes in the monthly cycle. One of the first modifications came in the dose of hormones- and currently ultra-low dose estrogen is used in several formulations. |
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