Birth Control Pill

The birth control pill is also known as an oral contraceptive. It is a pill taken by mouth daily. It is supposed to work by preventing the woman's body from becoming pregnant if she engages in sexual intercourse.

What is in the pill?

The birth control comes in many different forms, from the progestin-only pill to combinations of progestin and estrogen.

Progestin and the estrogen in the pill are artificial hormones designed to help a woman's body believe that it is pregnant month after month. All the vital organs in her body are affected by the constant use of this pill. It contains powerful steroids that constantly remain present in her body. The pill's artificial hormones suppress the woman's production of normal progesterone and estrogen.

How does the pill work?

The birth control pill can work in one of three ways:

• It can prevent ovulation.
• It can cause the mucus in the cervix to change so that if sperm reach the cervix, they are not allowed to enter.
• It can irritate the lining of the uterus so that if either of the above fail and a pregnancy does occur, the embryo cannot actually implant into the lining of the uterus.

What are the side effects?

• bacterial infections (because the pill weakens the immune system)

• more susceptible to the AIDS virus (HIV) because of the weakened immune system

• pelvic inflammatory disease- an infection of the fallopian tubes that can cause sickness or sterility

• infertility

• cervical cancer

• ectopic pregnancy

• shrinking of the womb (endometrial atrophy)

• mood swings and depression

• breast cancer

• blood clots

• birth defects in children conceived while women are on the pill

• tender breasts

• stroke

• weight gain

Resource: American Life League