The Birth Control Pill and Contraception
These days people have a wide choice of
effective contraceptive methods, from hormonal methods, to condoms, to
sterilisation and many more. The pill is one of the most effective and
user-friendly contraceptive methods.
Read the section below and find out whether the
pill is the right option for you.
The Pill
If you’re thinking of going on the Pill, you’ll be joining a band of about 100
million women worldwide who use this method.
In the UK alone, roughly one in three of all females of reproductive age are on
the pill. But the situation isn’t the same in all parts of the globe, and there
are still one or two countries where the oral contraceptive is banned.
What is the Pill?
The Pill is a tablet containing two female-type hormones – oestrogen and
progestogen. Various different oestrogens and progestogens are used in the many
different types of Pill which are available. What these two hormones do is to
stop you from ovulating (‘producing an egg’) each month. And if you don’t
ovulate, you won’t get pregnant.
In addition, the hormones thicken the secretions round your cervix – thus making
it more difficult for sperm to get through. Also, they make the lining of your
womb thinner, so that it is less receptive to an egg.
How effective is the Pill?
It’s very effective indeed — which is why so many millions of women rely on it. If you take it exactly as prescribed, then its effectiveness is likely to be almost 100 per cent. Put it another way: let’s say that 100 women use the Pill for a year, and that all of them never forget to take the little tablet.
It is
likely that not a single one of them will get pregnant. In contrast, if they were
all relying on the condom instead, then probably about five of them would become
pregnant. And if they used no contraception at all, then at least 20 of them
would fall pregnant! So the Pill is just about the most effective method of
contraception there is, apart from sterilization .
How do you take it?
You’re given a pack containing 21 or 28 Pills and you take one every day for three weeks or 28 days. If you take the 21 day pack, at the end of those three weeks, you ‘break’ for a week. During those seven days, you’ll have your period. It is stopping the Pill at the end of the pack that brings on the period.
After the week’s break, you start on your next packet. So it’s ‘three weeks on
and one week off’ throughout the year. If you take the 28 day pack, the last 7
pills are inactive, and are just "reminder pills" to keep you in the routine of
taking the pills.
Women who rely on the Pill as their sole method of contraception need to take
their daily dose at the same time every day, otherwise its effectiveness is
reduced.
If you forget to take the Pill on time and if you remember within 12 hours, take
the missed tablet as soon as possible. If you only remember within 36 hours, you
should take all the tablets you missed at once.
In both these cases you should continue to take your pill at the usual time, but
also use condoms for seven days to prevent possible pregnancy. If you have had
sexual intercourse during this time, contact your doctor and ask about emergency
contraception – generally known as the morning-after pill.