Are You Taking Oral Contraceptive Pill correctly?

The last few decades have seen great strides in how a woman chooses to deal with her body. Newer and smarter contraception methods have allowed women to oversee their sex life as well as determine how they wish to lead their lives. One of these revolutionary contraceptives is the birth control pill, or simply, ‘the pill’.

The pill contains hormones that bring about certain changes in the body; it stops ovulation so that there is no egg for the sperm to fertilise; thicken the cervical mucus to restrict the passage of sperm. The progestin-only pill also thins the endometrium lining so that it cannot hold an egg. In these ways, a birth control pill can prevent a pregnancy.

Types of birth control pills

There are two types of birth control pills, distinguished by their content.

i. Combination pill

More widely used as compared to the other kind of pill, a combination pill contains progesterone and oestrogen. These pills come in packs of 21 (3 weeks), 28 (4 weeks), or 91 (13 weeks) pills. Unwanted 21 is a widely used 21-day combination pill pack.

ii. Progestin-only

Progesterone or progestin-only pills do not contain oestrogen. This is widely used by lactating mothers and others who cannot ingest oestrogen for health reasons. These come in only 28-day packs.

Correct Use of Birth Control Pills

When used correctly every time, only one pill-user out of 10 will get pregnant in a year. This incredibly high effectiveness reduces with typical use. Typical use means how the user usually takes the pill, not the ideal way of taking birth control pills. They may forget to take the pill or take the incorrect pill. Either way, this decreases the effectiveness.

To maximise the effectiveness of the pill, it needs to be taken every day at the same time. Setting the alarm, using a pill tracking app, having a pill buddy, or asking your partner to remind you every day can help you stay on track and take your pills correctly.

If you are wondering 

how to take pregnancy pills

, here is how:

• If you are taking multiphasic combination pills, you need to take them from left to right as the level of the hormones in each is set accordingly. Similarly, in case there are active (containing hormones) and inactive pills (not contain any hormones) in the pack, you need to go from left to right to take the right pills.

• If you take the 21-day pack, then you need to take one pill every day. In the fourth week, you don’t take any pills and get your period. You must start with a new pack of pills on the 29th day. You can check out Mankind’s Unwanted 21 Days- Regular Contraceptive Tablets by logging on to www.unwanted21days.com.

• If you are taking a 28-day pack, take an active pill for the first three weeks and the inactive pills in the fourth week. Start another pack on the 29th day.

• In case of a 91-day pill pack, the user takes one active pill each day for 12 weeks, and the inactive pills are taken in the 13th week.

• All mini pills contain oestrogen; there are no inactive pills. The user needs to take one each day. Once the pack is over, you need to start with a new pack the very next day.

• In case you miss a pill, you can take Mankind’s Unwanted 72 – Emergency Contraceptive Tablet within 72 hours or 3 days to prevent a pregnancy. For more information log on to www.unwanted21days.com.

When the correct way to take birth control pills is employed, contraception is most effective.  Knowing how to use pregnancy pills, you can continue to enjoy stress-free sex life.