Pill 08

What is a pill?

The Combined Oral Contraceptive Pill (COCP) is also known as the birth-control pill, or simply "the Pill". It consists of a combination of two female hormones: estrogen (oestrogen) and progestin (progestogen), taken by mouth in the form of a tablet to inhibit normal female fertility. Hormones are chemical substances that control the functioning of the body's organs. In this case, the hormones in the pill control the ovaries and the uterus.
The pill changes the way the body works and prevents pregnancy. The two hormones that are contained in the pill (estrogen and progestin) will stop (if used correctly, this goes without saying!) the female user from ovulating, which in other terms is producing an egg each month. Since no egg will be produced, fertilization by the contact of sprem will not happen, and there will be no risk of pregnancy.

OK but some repeats that could be avoided here--Pierre.brawand 15 janvier 2009 à 21:00 (MET)

Oral contraceptives are almost 100% effective when taken correctly. The mini-pill containing only one hormone, progesterone, and has an efficacy rate of 97%.

maybe you should ask a question about the efficiency of the pill and then answer to the question--Pierre.brawand 15 janvier 2009 à 21:00 (MET) This method of contraception is currently used by more than 100 million women worldwide. Its use varies widely by country, age, education, and marital status: one quarter of women aged 16–49 in Great Britain currently use the Pill, compared to only 1% of women in Japan.

maybe you should ask a question concerning the people using the pill and then answer to the question--Pierre.brawand 15 janvier 2009 à 21:00 (MET)

Why use contraception?

Contraception is necessary if you wish to avoid an unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections.

this is a very general question. Maybe you could use that theme in a little intro at the beginning of the page--Pierre.brawand 15 janvier 2009 à 21:01 (MET)

How does the pill function?

Most birth control pills are "combination pills" containing a combination of the hormones estrogen and progesterone to prevent ovulation. The pill also works by thickening the mucus around the cervix, which makes it difficult for sperm to enter the uterus and reach any eggs that may have been released. 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 uterus.

Advantages?

The Pill is known to have the following health advantages:

- It reduces considerably (even abolishes) period pains.

- It makes periods shorter and lighter.

- These two advantages result in smaller chance of becoming anaemic.

- The Pill also improves acne.

- The pill also permits women to avoid having their periods at inconvinient times. (this is due to the fact that with the Pill, they can plan when they will have their period.)

Disadvantages?

Along with the advantages, several disadvantages, or side-effects also accompagny the use of the Pill as a contraceptive method. The side-effects that are stated below usually occur during the first few packs of pills, and then disappear. If not, an easy solution to get rid of these side effects is to switch to another brand of pills.

- headaches

- nausea

- breast tenderness

- slight weight gain

- light spotting of blood between the periods.

Serious side effects are more rare, but they can occasionally happen, and knowing about them is already a way of preventing them...here is a list of the more serious side-effects:

- Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) or clotting. This is a rare condition, and when it occurs, it is usually within more mature women. This is due to the fact that the risk factors that can lead to this problem increase with age.

- heart attacks

- strokes

The good news is that these events are very rare. But a woman is more likely to have one of these problems if she has some of the following risk factors:

- being a smoker

- having a past family history of thrombosis, heart attacks, or similar illnesses

- being diabetic

- having high blood pressure

- having a high cholesterol level

Do different sorts of pill exist?

Yes! Three different sorts of pills exist: the Combination Pill, the Progestin-only Pill (POP) and the Emergency Contraceptive Pill (ECP).

Let's begin with the combination pill, which, as it's name indicates, consists of an oral contraceptive containing a combination of two female hormones: estrogen and progestin. The term Birth control pill often refers to this type of pill. The advantages and disadvantages of this type of pill will be spoken of later on.

The second type of pill is the progestin-only pill, or mini-pill. This different sort of pill contains no estrogen. This makes it milder and reduces it's side-effects, but it also makes it less effective. The progestin-only pill is ideal for women who are breastfeeding, because estrogen reduces milk production, and the mini-pill is estrogen-free. This type of pill is also the best choice for women who cannot take estrogen. It is also known that as the years go by, the safest choice for ageing women is to switch to the mini-pill. This is due to the fact that the risk factors increase (ex: thrombosis, we will speak about this situation in the advantages/disadvantages of the Pill) with age, and the regular combination pill can become riskier to take.

The third type of pill is the emergency contraceptive pill. The important fact to know about this sort of pill is that it is not intended to be used as a regular contraceptive method. They are designed for emergency situations, like the prevention of pregnancy after unprotected sex. T (...)

References

http://www.thewomens.org.au/ThePill http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/sex_relationships/facts/contraceptivepills.htm

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