Birth Control Hormones

Research with Birth Control Hormones started with an experiment with rabbits many, many years ago. The experiment proved that high levels of progesterone prevent ovulation. As a result, scientists found a way to synthesize human hormones (estrogen and progestin known as the birth control hormones) thus making way to the very popular birth control pills used by millions of people in the world.

How Pills Prevent Ovulation

The synthetic estrogen and progestin or the birth control hormones present in birth control pills combine to prevent the release of the egg, thus stopping ovulation from happening. If an egg happens to be released, the progesterone stops the female egg from traveling down to the uterus. Also, the progesterone helps thicken the cervical mucus, not allowing the sperm to move around and meet with the female egg.

A pack of birth control pills come in 2 different colors with numbers that corresponds to each pill for every day's use. In addition, these have to be taken in a specific order because a woman's dosage of birth control hormones varies from day to day. In fact, a month's pack of pills contains a week of pills without hormones to allow the thickening of the uterine lining. It is important to remember that these pills must be taken in a specific order at the same specific time. It is not safe to borrow or share pills with other people as it can affect a woman's cycle and increase the risk of pregnancy.

Birth Control Pill Effectiveness

On average, 5 to 8 women out of 100 who use pills to avoid unwanted pregnancies actually get pregnant. Given this figure, it is worth noting that this presents a high level of effectiveness, thus making it reliable. However, missing a pill will highly decrease a woman's chances of getting pregnant, so it is important that she knows how to take the pill correctly at all times to avoid pregnancy risks.

How well a type of birth control works highly depends on a lot of factors including (1) correct usage (2) remembering to take the pill religiously and not missing a single pill (3) not sharing it with other people (4) not taking any more supplements that may interfere to the pills effects.

Who are the people advised not to use the birth control pill?

If a woman suspects to be pregnant or is pregnant, if she is breastfeeding, has experiences unexplained vaginal bleeding, smokes, is over the age of 35, has a history of heart disease, has diabetes, has breast cancer or any history of cancer, has blood clotting problems, or experiences migraines from time to time she is advised not to use or discontinue the use of pills.

Is it normal to gain weight when using pills? What are its other side effects?

Weight gain is a very common side effect of the birth control pills, but this varies according to the type of person that a woman is, or the way she responses to the pills. The weight gain was seen to be a result of increase in birth control hormones. In fact, on average, women who use it gain up to 10 pounds on their first year of use. This, however, varies according to the person using it and some women may not gain weight at all.

If you are planning to use birth control hormones as a method of preventing pregnancy, consult your doctor first. They will help you decide if this birth control method is really for you.