Oral Contraceptives to Prevent Pregnancy

ORAL CONTRACEPTIVES
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Oral Contraceptives

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Oral contraceptives or else “the pills” are tablets that are taken once per day in order to prevent pregnancy. The pills have been available since the year 1960 and since that period there have been several changes that have happened over time. One major change that has happened is the reduction of the dose of the hormones, progestin and estrogen (SPEROFF& DARNEY 2010). With the lowering of these doses it has helped to lessen the occurrence of severe side effects and the occurrence of minor, though annoying side effects, like nausea along with bloating (OKEKE 2011).
How contraceptives work

The commonly used oral contraceptives have estrogen as well as progestin materials that work like natural hormones in an individual’s body. These substances act together to stop the ovary from producing an egg every month. In view of the fact that women can become pregnant if an egg as well as sperm meets, pregnancy ought not to occur when a woman is taking the pills. When these contraceptives are taken in the right manner, they are one of the most effective ways to control pregnancy. If they are used correctly the chance of a woman becoming pregnant is 1 percent (SPEROFF& DARNEY 2010).In today’s world oral contraceptives are very safe. In fact, most of the women are safer to take the contraceptives than to have a baby. The ongoing research suggests that among the healthy contraceptives users who do not smoke, there has not been any risk of heart attack as well as stroke. As per cancer using the pills do not enhance the risk of getting cancer, but it actually protects an individual against various types’ cancers (OKEKE 2011)
Side effects of contraceptives

When taking contraceptives there may be some minor side effects which vary from an individual’s body, for some women, small amounts of bleeding might occur between periods. This outcome is not risky and it usually disappears after the third month on the oral contraceptive. Another side effect though temporally is nausea; some women might have upset stomachs after taking the contraceptive through the first month (SPEROFF& DARNEY 2010). Taking the oral contraceptive before going to bed can better control this problem. For the weight changes, most oral contraceptives users do not have any changes in weight. Although some women gain weight when they take oral contraceptives, but also an equal no loses weight. Loss or weight gain is more likely to be caused by changes in diet rather than taking the pills. Other side effects associated with taking the oral contraceptives in women include headache, breast tenderness, mood changes, as well as reduced sex drive.
What about AIDS and STDs

It is very important for individuals to keep in mind that oral contraceptives do not protect them against sexually transmitted diseases as well as HIV/AIDS. All women ought to use condoms besides using the pill oral contraceptives to assist protects them from the HIV and AIDS.

Benefits of using oral contraceptives

The pills have many health associated benefits besides being a very effective method of birth control. The use of oral contraceptives offers protection against two different types of cancer. For instance the pills control against the cancer of the ovary as well as cancer of the liner of the womb. The pills in addition also protects against non-cancerous cysts that may form in the breasts. The entire women who do use the pill are not likely to get cramps as well as pain during their monthly periods (SPEROFF& DARNEY 2010). They also tend to have lighter periods with very few days of bleeding.

An individual must not use oral contraceptives if the individual smokes cigarettes and is above 35 years of age. The pills become less protective if the individual uses other drugs especially those used to prevent seizures. The pill should not be used if it may make an individual to develop blood clots in arteries or veins, serious liver disease or cancer of the uterus, liver or breast (OKEKE 2011). The pills which contain progestin only are effective to all older women who do smoke, though the pills do not contain all the health benefits.
Things to remember when taking oral contraceptives

An individual’s needs to know the time to start taking each pill and the the first pill should be started either on the first day when period starts. An individual’s clinician ought to give directions on which method to use. After that it is vital that each new pill pack to be started on the same day of the week, no matter when an individual periods start. It is also very vital to take oral contraceptives the same time every day (OKEKE 2011). It is good to select the most convenient time of the day for yourself, when an individual starts taking oral contraceptives, and then make sure that you continue taking them the same time. When an individual forgets to take the oral contraceptives, the individuals should take them as soon as possible. If two pills have been missed, one pill ought to be taken in the morning and the other in the evening in a row for 2days. One should use condoms and foam for the remaining pills for maximum protection. If three pills have been missed, an individuals should throw all the pills and take the forth pill.
References

SPEROFF, L., & DARNEY, P. D. (2010). A clinical guide for contraception. Philadelphia, Pa, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

OKEKE, P. U. (2011). Women Use of Oral Contraceptives – Does it have any Effect on Haematological Parameters? Mu?nchen, GRIN Verlag GmbH. http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:101:1-201108082460.