Increasingly, in the XXI century, modern women are choosing birth control pills to prevent unwanted pregnancy (especially after childbirth). The choice of the method of contraception is purely individual and it should be approached seriously. And almost every woman has a question: is it possible and necessary to take oral contraceptives?

Like other medicines, oral contraceptives have pros and cons.

Advantages of contraceptives

1. The indisputable advantage of birth control pills (such as Yasmin which can be ordered here besthealthcareinfo.com) is their reliability of protection against unplanned pregnancy in approximately 99 %.
2. Oral contraception is suitable for women of almost any age, from young to mature. It is only important that certain pills are selected for each age category.
3. The hormonal background is normalized and the risk of developing cancer, ovarian cysts and the development of endometriosis is minimized. With mastopathy, tablets also have a therapeutic effect.
4. If there were problems with the regularity of the menstrual cycle, then when taking oral contraceptives, this problem is solved. At the same time, the discharge will become less abundant and will last for fewer days.
5. Pain during menstruation decreases.
6. The signs of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) are minimized.
7. The possibility of delaying the arrival of menstruation by taking pills continuously. This saves women a lot when traveling, on vacation, on holidays.
8. After a certain course of taking oral contraceptives for therapeutic purposes, the chances of getting pregnant increase.
9. After stopping taking pills, the effect of hormones immediately passes.

Disadvantages of contraceptives

Undoubtedly, like many other medications, oral contraceptives are also not without some side effects and possible complications

1. There is no 100 % guarantee of protection from pregnancy, because there are “misfires”, and this may be due to a hormonal failure in the body, and with the skipping of the pill, and many other factors.
2. Taking pills daily, especially at the same time, is not always convenient.
3. When taking certain medications, the effect of oral contraceptives decreases.
4. There may be small spotting that occurs in the middle of the cycle in the form of a daub. Constant contraception can lead to thinning of the endometrium and complete cessation of the menstrual cycle. This situation requires contacting a gynecologist to exclude a possible pregnancy.
5. Venous thrombosis and thrombophlebitis are a serious complication of taking combined oral contraceptives. This is especially true for drugs containing a synthetic analogue of progestin-drospirenone. This component of COC, according to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA, 2012), can significantly increase the risk of thrombotic complications in comparison with other COC (combined oral contraceptives) containing other progestogens.
6. When taking some birth control pills, appetite may increase and fluid in the body may be retained, which leads to an increase in body weight. Therefore, you need to be active and regularly exercise.
7. Sometimes, during the administration of oral contraceptives and after withdrawal, hair loss may occur. Therefore, you should take an additional complex of vitamins and consult a doctor.
8. There are other individual unpleasant side effects: bloating, high blood pressure, swollen mammary glands, headaches develop, rarely-visual impairment due to edema of the optic nerve or thrombosis of an artery or vein of the retina of the eye.

There is one conclusion: in any case, oral contraceptives are a hormonal remedy, and it is not worth prescribing it to yourself. You should start taking oral contraceptives under the strict supervision of a doctor, because you can harm your body by increasing or lowering the level of certain hormones, which will ultimately negatively affect your health.