Many young women who can schedule to take a pill each day and who want excellent protection from pregnancy use birth control pills. Not all women can use the birth control pills. In some cases, medical or other conditions make the use of the pill less effective or risky. For example, for women who have had blood clots, high blood pressure, certain types of cancers, certain types of migraine headaches or uncontrolled diabetes the usage of birth control pills is not recommended. The girls who have had unexplained vaginal bleeding or who suspect they may be pregnant should talk to their doctor. You should also read all about birth control side effects before you start use them.
What is birth control pill?
The birth control pill, also called the Pill or BCP, is a daily pill that contains the hormones estrogen and progesterone. These hormones are due to preventing unwanted pregnancy. Hormones are chemical substances that control the functioning of the organs of the body; in this case, hormones control the ovaries and the uterus.
How does birth control pill work?
Most birth control pills are combination pills containing a combination of the hormones estrogen and progesterone. Purpose of these hormones is to prevent ovulation, which means the release of an egg during the monthly cycle. A woman cannot get pregnant if she does not ovulate. This is because there is no egg that is possible to fertilize. The birth control pill also works by thickening the mucus around the cervix. This mucus type makes it difficult for sperm to enter the uterus and reach any eggs that might release. The hormones in the pill can also sometimes affect the lining of the uterus, making it difficult for an egg to attach to the wall of the womb. Most combination pills come in either a 21-day pack or a 28-day pack, where you should take one hormone pill each day at about the same time. Depending on your pack, either you will stop taking birth control pills for 7 days or you will take a pill that contains no hormones for 7 days.
A woman starts to bleed when she stops taking the pills that contain hormones. Some women prefer the 28-day pack because it helps them stay in the habit of taking a pill each day. There is also a type of combination pill, which decreases the frequency of a woman’s period. It is happening by supply a hormone pill for 12 weeks and then inactive pills for 7 days. This decreases the number of periods to one every 3 months instead of one every month as it should be. Another kind of pill that also decreases the number of monthly periods is the low-dose progesterone pill. The other term for this low dose progesterone pill is the mini-pill. This type of birth control pill differs from the other pills in that it only contains one type of hormone, most commonly progesterone. Some pills contain only progesterone, rather than a combination of estrogen and progesterone. It works in a similar fashion to the combination pill but it can be slightly less effective at preventing pregnancy. The mini-pill you should take every day without a break. A girl who is taking the mini-pill may have no period at all or she may go several months without a period. This means she is not ovulating. Girls taking the mini-pill who are having regular periods are still ovulating. These girls are at greater risk of getting pregnant than girls whose periods have stopped. The pill works best when you take it every single day at the same time of day, regardless of whether a girl is going to have sex.
Possible side effects
The birth control pill is a safe and effective method of birth control, and most young women who take the pill have none to very few side effects. However, there are some possible side effects that some women do have while on the pill. Those are irregular menstrual bleeding, nausea, weight gain, headaches, dizziness, and breast tenderness, mood changes and blood clots. Those are rare in women under 35 who do not smoke. Some of these side effects improve over the first three months on the birth control pill. When a girl has side effects, a doctor will sometimes prescribe a different brand of the pill to prevent it. The pill also has some side effects that most young women desire. It usually makes periods much lighter, reduces cramps, and doctors recommend it for women who have menstrual problems. Taking the pill often improves acne, and some doctors prescribe it for this purpose as well. Birth control pills also protect against some forms of breast disease, anemia, ovarian cysts, and uterine cancer. The truth is doctors pay much attention on comparing benefits and risks of birth-control pills. There are many benefits of taking the birth-control pill, not just l00percentage effectiveness in preventing pregnancy. Beside less menstrual flow and cramping, lower risk of infection of the uterus and ovaries, benefits are also decreased chance of developing ovarian cysts and non-cancerous breast cysts and tumors, less ovarian cancer and uterine cancer, less rheumatoid arthritis, and it may improve acne. About 40% of women who take birth-control pills will have side effects of one kind or another during the first three months of these pills usage. The vast majority of women have only minor, transient side effects such as light bleeding between menstrual periods, skipped periods, nausea, weight change, bloating, or increasing in vaginal infections. If woman develop one of these minor problems, the doctor could eliminate problem by changing to a different birth-control pill. A spotty darkening of the skin on the face may appear and may be permanent for some women. The most serious side effect associated with the birth-control pill is a greater chance of blood clots, even stroke or heart attack. Although, you must know these problems occur in only a small number of women who take the pill. Women who have the most risk of developing these problems are women who smoke and are over thirty-five. Doctor should also carefully check women with other health problems such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart or vascular disease or blood cholesterol and triglyceride abnormalities before prescribing the pill. Reason is that these women have greater risk for developing blood clots, stroke or heart attack. Other serious side effects of the pill are worsening of migraine headaches, gall bladder disease, and increasing in blood pressure. In some cases, we have reported some extremely rare liver tumor. Some birth-control pills may cause changes in the levels of fatty substances in the blood, but the long-term consequences of these changes we do not know. Regular check-ups are important for early detection of any problem such as these are. However, it is important to know more about rare but serious side effects:
- Blood clot is common symptom, since birth control pill can make women slightly more prone to form blood clots. A blood clot can occur in a vein or artery and can have different symptoms depending on where it forms in the body. Clots can occur in the legs, abdomen, heart, lungs, eye, or brain, where it could manifest as a stroke. The risk of these events occurring is very low, but increases in women over 35, especially if they are smokers. The warning signs of a blood clot spell out the word ACHES:
- Chest pain
- Headaches
- Eye problems
- Severe leg pain
If you develop any of the ACHES side effects or jaundice while on birth control pills, you should call your doctor right away.
- High blood pressure is consequence you could also develop due to birth control pills usage. This is why doctors check your blood pressure a few months after you begin taking pills.
- Liver tumors and increased risk of forming benign liver tumors is associated with pills usage. This is a very rare occurrence, but you should contact your provider if you develop upper abdominal pain.
- Breast cancer risk as women’s future risk of developing breast cancer is concern of birth control pills.
The jury is still out on this issue, although some studies suggested that there is a slightly increased risk of breast cancer in women who have used pills. However, breast cancer diagnosed earlier and had a better prognosis than in women who have never used the pill. We encourage all women, especially those with a strong family history, to explore this risk with their health care provider.
- Cervical cancer risk as the risk of developing this type of cancer slightly increases in birth control pills users. Fortunately, routine Pap smear testing is an excellent screening tool. That is why doctors recommend this test on a yearly basis for women taking pills.
Which side effects of birth control pills are dangerous?
Women who develop serious side effects and symptoms should get emergency help right away. These serious symptoms may be signs of blood clots or some other serious side effect. Those are sudden changes in vision, speech, breathing, or coordination, severe or sudden headache, coughing up blood, or sudden, severe, continuing pain in the abdomen. If you have pain in the chest, groin, or leg, especially in the calf, weakness, numbness, or pain in an arm or leg you should also report it to your doctor. It is important to understand adverse effects of oral contraceptives can be impossible to predict. Other than avoiding smoking, there are no effective means of preventing these side effects. Woman should report all observed adverse effects to a physician promptly. You should also know that oral contraceptives might continue to affect the menstrual cycle for some time after a young woman stops taking them. Women who miss periods for several months after stopping this medicine should talk to her doctor about this. Other rare side effects may occur so anyone who has unusual symptoms while taking oral contraceptives should get in touch with her physician.
