At a glance: the combined pill
- When taken correctly, the pill is over 99% effective at preventing pregnancy. This means that fewer than one woman in 100 who use the combined pill as contraception will get pregnant in one year.
- You need to take the pill every day for 21 days, then stop for seven days, and during this week you have a period-type bleed. You start taking the pill again after seven days.
- You need to take the pill at the same time every day. You could get pregnant if you don't do this, or if you miss a pill, or vomit or have severe diarrhoea.
- If you have heavy periods or painful periods, the combined pill can help.
- Minor side effects include mood swings, breast tenderness and headaches.
- There is no evidence that the pill makes women gain weight.
- There's a very low risk of serious side effects such as blood clots and cervical cancer.
- The combined pill is not suitable for women over 35 who smoke, or women with certain medical conditions.
- The pill does not protect against sexually transmitted infections (STIs), so using a condom as well will help to protect you against STIs.
Advantages and disadvantages
Some advantages of the pill include:
Some disadvantages of the pill include:
Some advantages of the pill include:
- it does not interrupt sex
- it usually makes your bleeds regular, lighter and less painful
- it reduces your risk of cancer of the ovaries, womb and colon
- it can reduce symptoms of premenstrual syndrome
- it can sometimes reduce acne
- it may protect against pelvic inflammatory disease
- it may reduce the risk of fibroids, ovarian cysts and non-cancerous breast disease
Some disadvantages of the pill include:
- it can cause temporary side effects at first, such as headaches, nausea, breast tenderness and mood swings – if these do not go after a few months, it may help to change to a different pill
- it can increase your blood pressure
- it does not protect you against sexually transmitted infections
- breakthrough bleeding and spotting is common in the first few months of using the pill
- it has been linked to an increased risk of some serious health conditions such as thrombosis (blood clots) and breast cancer
For more information visit: http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/contraception-guide/Pages/contraception.aspx