Oral Contraceptives

What is Oral Contraceptives?

Oral contraceptives is birth-control using pills, this drug is used to prevent pregnancy. Estrogen and progestin are two female sex hormones. Combinations of estrogen and progestin work by preventing ovulation. They also change the lining of the uterus to prevent pregnancy from developing and change the mucus at the cervix to prevent sperm from entering to the uterus. Oral contraceptives are a very effective method of birth control, but they do not prevent the spread of human immunodeficiency virus such as HIV, the virus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and other sexually transmitted diseases.

Among the available birth control methods that require some medical care are oral contraceptives, intrauterine device, diaphragms, and the rhythm method.

Since 1960, when the Food and Drug Administration first approved oral contraceptives for use with a doctor's prescription, millions of prescriptions for them have been written in the United States alone. Most forms of the Pill introduce into the body certain synthetic equivalents of the natural sex hormones, in such a way that the hormone cycle that leads the woman's body to ovulate is altered and ovulation is prevented.

Through the years, investigation has shown that ovulation can be effectively prevented with much smaller doses of hormones than were originally used, which is fortunate because side effects are directly related to the amount of hormone in the Pill. Most brand on the market today are combination pills, that is, each tablet contains both progestin ( a synthetic progesteron derivative) and estrogen. The mini-pill, not widely used, contains no estrogen.

Risk and benefits:
The Pill does have many serious side effects, including: blood clots, which can impair circulation; increased risk of heart attack, and for users between the ages of fifteen and thirty four, about 8 times greater risk (about 1 in 12,000) of death due to circulatory disorders compared to those who do not use the Pill. At these risk factor are greatly increased if the women smokes.

Pill user also run a greater risk of gall bladder disease requiring surgery, benign, liver tumors, which can be fatal if they rupture, and high blood pressure. And if woman takes oral contraceptive by mistake when she is pregnant, her baby may have birth defects involving the heart and the limits. On the higher side, some recent studies suggest that pill users have a decreased risk of cancer of the ovaries and uterus.

Whatever the risks and benefits of oral contraceptives, they are the most effective method of birth control other than surgical sterilization, and the overall risk of death is low - below that of pregnancy and childbirth. Itself except for women who smoke. With all oral contraceptives, containing medical supervision is necessary in order to minimize these risks and to prescribe the appropriate pill for each woman.