The benefits and risks of birth control pills for women

Many women are trying to prevent pregnancy through various methods. One of the ways modern women avoid pregnancy is by using contraceptives.

Birth control pills or oral contraceptives are drugs women swallow to prevent getting pregnant.

Before you start using any birth control pill, you need to talk to your doctor because several factors can make it unfit for birth control.

Things like breastfeeding, cardiovascular issues, other drugs or other health issues you might be dealing with are reasons why you must consult the doctor.

So how does this birth control work? First, they stop you from ovulating. Also, these pills would cause your cervical mucus to thicken, when the cervical mucus thickens, sperm will be prevented from reaching your uterus.

Birth control pills are in monthly packs with a 21-day, 24-day, or 28-day cycle. Additionally, you must take one pill every day at the same time of the day. They are usually really tiny but the issue is remembering to take them.

Benefits

If your period isn't regular or you experience heavy flow, birth control pills offer some control and regulation.

They protect you from getting pregnant whenever you have sexual intercourse.

They have a 9% failure rate. You are assured of not getting pregnant.

You don’t need a special procedure to stop using them. If you are ready to get pregnant again. You can just stop.

Birth control pills also reduce acne and period pains. The pills reduce the circulation of androgens, when less androgen is produced, less sebum which clogs pores is produced and acne is also reduced.

Another important benefit is it reduces the risk of endometrial and ovarian cancer. Several epidemiologic studies have confirmed the reduction of endometrial cancer.

Birth control pills also decrease the risk of ectopic pregnancy. Results of case-control studies in the United States and other developing countries discovered birth control users were 10 times less likely to experience an ectopic pregnancy than women using no method.

Risks

They do not protect against sexually transmitted diseases. This means that you can still get infected with all manners of STDS if you do not use a condom.

If you miss a pill or do not begin a new pack when your cycle begins, you could get pregnant.

Birth control pills increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases like venous thromboembolism, myocardial infarction, and stroke, especially in women over 30 years of age.

On birth control pills leading to weight gain, BBC writes, "There still isn't any conclusive that the effect is real. The largest review so far examined 49 studies of the combined pill and found no large effect is evident”

Contrary to popular belief, birth control pills does not make you gain weight but might lead to fluid retention in your body.