Birth control pill: Basic Info
The birth control pill, also called "the pill" or "oral contraception" is a pill you take once a day to prevent pregnancy. There are lots of different brands of pills on the market, and new ones come out often. Most work by using hormones that keep your ovaries from releasing eggs.
There are two main categories of birth control pills, even though there are many different brands. Both types of birth control pills contain hormones. The biggest differences between them are which hormones they contain and how you use them. If you use the progestin-only pill, or mini-pill, you have to be much more careful to take your pill at the same time every day. If you are more than 3 hours late taking the mini-pill (unless you're using the brand Slynd, which offers more flexibility), you will need to use a backup method of birth control, like condoms, for the next 48 hours. With the combination pill, you just need to make sure to take a pill a day—the timing doesn’t matter.
Quick Facts
Very effective if you use it correctly. Easy to use, but you have to remember to take it every day.
- Effectiveness
The pill is very effective the way most people use it.
Perfect Use: Over 99% effective.
Typical Use: 93% effective.
- Hormones
The pill contains hormones.
- Side effects
Most common—but usually temporary—side effects are irregular bleeding, headaches, sore breasts, and nausea.
- Cost
As low as $0 or as high as $200 a month.
- STI protection
The pill doesn’t protect against STIs.
- Ongoing effort
You have to take your pill every single day, which can be hard.
Different Types
The combination pill
The combination birth control pill is a type of oral contraception that contains the hormones estrogen and progestin, which work together to prevent pregnancy. The combination birth control pill is the most commonly used kind of birth control pill.
The combination pill contains two different kinds of hormones, estrogen and progestin. The main way they work to prevent pregnancy is by stopping ovulation from happening, which means that the ovaries don't release an egg.
You take one pill a day to prevent pregnancy. Most combination birth control pills come in packs of 28 pills, with 21 consecutive pills containing hormones, followed by seven placebo pills, which don't contain hormones. Some brands of combination birth control pills contain different numbers of pills with and without hormones. Taking the placebo pills isn't necessary to prevent pregnancy, but it can help you make sure you start your next pack on time. And with some brands, the placebos contain vitamins like iron or folic acid. While you're taking the placebo pills, you're still protected from pregnancy as long as you took the pills with hormones in them correctly and start your next pack on time.
The mini-pill
The mini-pill is an estrogen-free birth control pill. It contains a single hormone, progestin, that prevents pregnancy primarily by thickening cervical mucus, making it harder for the sperm and egg to meet. Progestin-only pills need to be taken at the same time every day to be effective at preventing pregnancy.
Most brands and generic versions of the mini-pill require a prescription, but Opill is a type of mini-pill that is available over the counter. It contains the same type of hormone and works the same way as other progestin-only pills. You can get it at drugstores, grocery stores, convenience stores, and online.
