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Contraception - the contraceptive pill
Written by Dr David Delvin, GP and family planning specialist
Is the Pill popular?
If you're thinking of going on the Pill, you'll be joining a band of about 100 million women worldwide who use this method.
Is it safe?
For that reason, most doctors do not think that it should be 'dished out' to absolutely everyone, without any need for a prescription. However, in 2007 there was a suggestion by medical experts that it should be provided 'over the counter'! This change is unlikely to occur soon.
So when you want to start on the Pill, you should see a doctor (or Family Planning Nurse) and have a short check-up.
The main purpose of this is to see if you have any 'risk factors' (see below) which would make you more liable to heart attacks or strokes.
What is the Pill?
Various different oestrogens and progestogens are used in the many different types of Pill which are available. There are currently 22 brands on the market in Britain.
What these two hormones do is to stop you from ovulating ('producing an egg') each month. And if you don't ovulate, you won't get pregnant.
In addition, the hormones thicken the secretions round your cervix – thus making it more difficult for sperm to get through. Also, they make the lining of your womb thinner, so that it is less receptive to an egg.
Is the Pill the same as the mini-Pill?
How effective is the Pill?
Put it another way: let's say that 100 women use the Pill for a year, and that all of them never forget to take the little tablet. It is likely that not a single one of them will get pregnant.
In contrast, if they were all relying on the condom instead, then probably about five of them would become pregnant. And if they used no contraception at all, then at least 20 of them would fall pregnant!
So the Pill is just about the most effective method of contraception there is, apart from sterilisation .
How do you take it?
It is stopping the Pill at the end of the pack that brings on the period.
After the week's break, you start on your next packet. So it's 'three weeks on and one week off' throughout the year.
If you want to, you can set your mobile phone so that it beeps at the same time every day, to remind you to take your Pill.
But how do I get started?
Practices vary in other countries, and their Pill packs may contain more than 21.
In the USA, it is extremely common for women to have packs containing 28 tablets – but seven of them are 'dummies.' These dummy tablets are taken during the week's break from the Pill, and the idea is to try and make it easier to remember to swallow a tablet at the same time every day!
If that idea appeals to you, then you can easily obtain 'dummy-containing' packets in Britain. They are referred to as 'ED' brands (ED meaning 'every day').
So is the Pill safe? Basically, yes. But very occasionally, it can have serious side-effects, which we'll deal with in a moment.
The Pill is a tablet containing two female-type hormones – an oestrogen (pronounced 'ee-stro-jen') and a progestogen.
It's very effective indeed — which is why so many millions of women rely on it. If you take it exactly as prescribed, then its effectiveness is likely to be almost 100 per cent.
In the UK, you're given a pack containing 21 Pills and you take one every day for three weeks. At the end of those three weeks, you 'break' for a week. During those seven days, you'll have your period.
Go to a GP or a Family Planning Clinic to get a prescription. In Britain, it is now the practice to take your first-ever Pill on the first day of your period. If you do this, you should be protected immediately – so you can have sex whenever you like.
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