Choosing a Birth Control Method.

Association of Reproduction Health Professionals

Abstinence/outercourse

Pill pack Oral Contraceptive ("the pill")

Oral Contraceptives (combination estrogen and progestin and progestin-only), also know as the pill, contain hormones that prevent pregnancy. Today's pills are safe and effective for most women, if taken as prescribed.

The pill is not intended to protect you from sexually transmitted diseases-called STDs for short-which are diseases, infections, or illnesses that can spread from one person to another through sexual contact. Some examples of STDs are chlamydia, herpes, HIV, gonorrhea, and syphilis.

What you need to do:

Take a pill at the same time every day. Refill your prescription on time. Your health care provider may talk to you about a range of pills that have varying doses of hormones such as low-dose pills (35 mcg), lower-dose pills (20 mcg), and "mini pills" that contain only the hormone progestin, no estrogen.

Couples should learn about Emergency contraception before using any contraceptive method. Sometimes called the "morning after pill," Emergency contraception reduces the chance of getting pregnant after unprotected sexual intercourse.

Pros:

You do not have to do anything right before, during, or after sex.
The pill helps protect against cancer of the ovaries and uterus.
It protects against infections of the fallopian tubes and ovaries.
Most women have lighter periods and fewer and less severe cramps.

Cons:

Some women have trouble remembering to take the pill at about the same time every day.
You must plan in advance to have refills on hand when you need them.
Side effects such as nausea, breast tenderness, spotting, mood changes, and headaches vary by estrogen dose and the type of pill used.
Some women may have minor menstrual changes, such as spotting between periods.

Effectiveness:

This guide gives effectiveness percentages for two categories of contraceptive use: typical use, which includes people who may not always use a method exactly how and when they were supposed to use it, and perfect use, which indicates how effective the method would be if it were always used correctly.

Perfect use: Out of 100 women who use the pill correctly at all times, maybe 1 and probably no one in the group might become pregnant in one year.
Typical use: For typical users, 8 women out of 100 might become pregnant when using the pill for one year.

Available Pills

The pill comes in two forms:

The combination pill. This contains two synthetic hormones, estrogen and progestin. The combination pill comes in varying doses. The low-dose combination pill commonly used today is generally considered safer than higher estrogen-dose pills used years ago. Pills containing 20 mcg of estrogen are the most often used, but dosage is not a one-size-fits-all women issue. The combination pill can be prescribed as a monophasic product, which means that it delivers the same levels of estrogen and progesterone throughout the month. Or it can be prescribed as multiphasic, which means it delivers differing amounts of estrogen and progesterone during different times of the menstrual cycle. Some women cannot use pills containing estrogen (e.g., those with medical conditions such as high blood pressure, or those over age 35 who smoke).

The mini-pill. This contains progestin only-it does not contain any estrogen at all.