Birth-control pills do much more than their names suggest. It’s easy to believe that the only reason to take them is to prevent pregnancy. While that is primarily so, it turns out to have other benefits.
Today, about 14% of users of birth control take it for reasons other than preventing pregnancy.
Before discussing other benefits of birth control pills, let’s examine how your natural cycle happens and how contraceptives work.
The menstrual cycle
Naturally, your body produces two hormones that aid the menstrual cycle process – estrogen and progesterone. Your cycle is a two-part process. The first half occurs during ovulation when your body produces estrogen. This hormone helps the uterine lining grow and prepare itself for a possible pregnancy, and an egg is released.
In the second half, your body releases progesterone which puts a stop to the uterine lining growth. It prepares the uterine lining for implantation. If no pregnancy occurs, both hormone levels see a drop. The lining in the uterine starts to shed, and your period begins.
How birth control pills work
Some birth control pills contain progesterone and estrogen. They are called the combination pill. In contrast, the mini-pill contains only progesterone.
They are generally known as hormonal birth control options with synthetic progestin or a combination of progestin and estrogen. They are not limited to pills alone.
Other examples of hormonal-based options include, the shot, the ring and patch or the intrauterine device (IUD).
Combination pills require that you take the active pills (that contain the hormones) for 21 days and sugar pills or placebo ( without the hormones) for the rest 7 days. It is within these seven days you get to see your period. Mini pills, on the other hand, contain 28 tablets of just hormone pills without sugar pills. You need to take your mini pills every day around the same time to avoid getting pregnant.
Birth control pills have different methods of preventing pregnancy. Therefore, they work in different ways. The synthetic hormones in these pills may stop ovulation, inhibit the sperm from reaching eggs or thicken the lining of the womb to avoid the implantation of a fertilized egg.
As a result of the way they work, hormone-based birth control methods can benefit women in other ways. When you understand these details, it would help you maximize fully the benefit of using birth control pills as you would see in the following paragraphs.
Benefits of birth control pills
Regulates your period
As a result of the progesterone in birth control pills, it helps regulate the menstrual cycle. Hormonal imbalance can cause your menstrual cycle to fluctuate, but birth control pills can help to balance the hormone and make your periods more predictable. It means you don’t always have to carry tampons and sanitary pads about and keep thinking “just in case”.
Being specifically on combination birth control pills can help you dictate when and how you wish to have your period. Not just that, you can choose not to have it. With these pills, you can increase the time-lapse between periods. For Instance, you can decide to see your period four times in a year or less. All you need to do is take your active pills continuously ( without the sugar pills) from month to month until you are ready to see your period.
When you think it’s fine to see your period, switch to your sugar pills for one week and stop taking the active pills.
Some women go three months on active pills and see their period four times a year. This is good because it gives you a measure of control over your body.
Imagine you have an important activity like an exam, it is simple to put a hold on your “monthly visitor” and concentrate on what is most important.
Treats heavy flow
Heavy flow can be a big challenge for many women. Birth control pills with hormones can help women with this condition. They help lighten the flow by 60% and reduce the duration of the flow. The estrogen in birth control pills helps to clot the blood and slows down the flow.
Doctors sometimes prescribe hormone-based birth control options, like patches, implants, injections, and vaginal rings to help treat this condition, and it has worked for many women.
Treats Anemia
As an offshoot of treating heavy flow, birth control pills tackle the problem of anemia. Women who suffer chronic blood loss that leads to iron-deficiency anemia can use birth control pills to prevent menstruation from happening or lighten the menstrual flow.
Treats acne, gives clearer skin
We all get pimples from time to time. For some women, it comes close to their menstrual day. While for others, it is a constant battle they fight. The solution may just be in birth control pills.
The hormones in combination with birth control pills can help reduce acne. The pills decrease the circulation of the small number of androgens the female body produces.
High levels of androgen can trigger the production of sebum which causes acne. A review in 2021 concluded that pills containing both estrogen and progestin are effective against inflammatory and non-inflammatory acne.
Similarly, a 2018 review had earlier confirmed that the combined synthetic hormones in birth control pills are effective in reducing inflammation of acne.
Helps with menstrual cramp
Prostaglandin is a chemical that the body produces to help the muscles around the uterus contract. If the prostaglandins produced are high, it causes more contractions which translates to painful cramps. But with a balanced hormone level, cramps can be fewer once the production of prostaglandins hormone drops. This is what the combination pill achieves. Since these pills prevent ovulation from occurring, ovulation cramps are also put at bay.
Prevents cancer
Studies have shown that women who took combination birth pills were 30-50% less likely at risk of endometrial or ovarian cancers. The risk of such cancers is significantly lowered according to the length of time they used the pill. It sums up as Longer use, lower risk.
However, it is still vital that you go for regular checkups and pap smears to keep you safe. The use of birth controls cannot take the place of other precautionary measures you need to take.
Treats premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD)
These pills stop ovulation. Consequently, symptoms of PMS may not occur because, in the real sense of it, there are no eggs released. What you see as a period is called withdrawal bleeding as a result of loss of hormones. This bleeding occurs because you stopped taking your active pills (sugar pills or placebo without the hormones).
Additionally, the steady hormones contained in these pills help to reduce mood swings, anxiety, and depression in many women. All these are symptoms of PMS.
PMDD, which is a higher form of PMS. It can be treated with a different combination birth control pill which contains drospirenone and Ethinyl Estradiol.
Treatment of endometriosis
Endometriosis occurs when the linen of the uterus grows outside the uterus. This can cause severe pain. A high level of progesterone hormone can inhibit the tissue lining growth and significantly reduce the pain associated with this condition common to women. When a woman suffering from this condition takes her active pills for 4weeks to prevent menstruation, it stops the growth that causes pelvic pain during menstruation.
Spotting
Combination pills help to stabilize the uterus lining through the estrogen hormone. When the uterus lining is stabilized, it can prevent spotting.
Helps with menstrual migraine
Migraines are very common amongst women because of hormonal changes. Experts have posited that a drop in estrogen and progesterone before the period begins is the cause of menstrual migraine. Hormonal-based birth control pills that help you skip your period can help stabilize the hormone drop that is experienced prior to seeing your period.
You must consult a doctor if you decide to be on any birth control pill. Combination birth control pills are not suitable for women who smoke and are above 35 years of age. While birth control pills have been proven to have other benefits, it still doesn’t work for everyone in the same capacity. That’s why you need to consult a doctor to get the best medical advice that suits you.
Benefits of Birth Control Pills Besides Avoiding Unplanned Pregnancy
Birth-control pills do much more than their names suggest. It’s easy to believe that the only reason to take them is to prevent pregnancy. While that is primarily so, it turns out to have other benefits.
Today, about 14% of users of birth control take it for reasons other than preventing pregnancy.
Before discussing other benefits of birth control pills, let’s examine how your natural cycle happens and how contraceptives work.
The menstrual cycle
Naturally, your body produces two hormones that aid the menstrual cycle process – estrogen and progesterone. Your cycle is a two-part process. The first half occurs during ovulation when your body produces estrogen. This hormone helps the uterine lining grow and prepare itself for a possible pregnancy, and an egg is released.
In the second half, your body releases progesterone which puts a stop to the uterine lining growth. It prepares the uterine lining for implantation. If no pregnancy occurs, both hormone levels see a drop. The lining in the uterine starts to shed, and your period begins.
How birth control pills work
Some birth control pills contain progesterone and estrogen. They are called the combination pill. In contrast, the mini-pill contains only progesterone.
They are generally known as hormonal birth control options with synthetic progestin or a combination of progestin and estrogen. They are not limited to pills alone.
Other examples of hormonal-based options include, the shot, the ring and patch or the intrauterine device (IUD).
Combination pills require that you take the active pills (that contain the hormones) for 21 days and sugar pills or placebo ( without the hormones) for the rest 7 days. It is within these seven days you get to see your period. Mini pills, on the other hand, contain 28 tablets of just hormone pills without sugar pills. You need to take your mini pills every day around the same time to avoid getting pregnant.
Birth control pills have different methods of preventing pregnancy. Therefore, they work in different ways. The synthetic hormones in these pills may stop ovulation, inhibit the sperm from reaching eggs or thicken the lining of the womb to avoid the implantation of a fertilized egg.
As a result of the way they work, hormone-based birth control methods can benefit women in other ways. When you understand these details, it would help you maximize fully the benefit of using birth control pills as you would see in the following paragraphs.
Benefits of birth control pills
Regulates your period
As a result of the progesterone in birth control pills, it helps regulate the menstrual cycle. Hormonal imbalance can cause your menstrual cycle to fluctuate, but birth control pills can help to balance the hormone and make your periods more predictable. It means you don’t always have to carry tampons and sanitary pads about and keep thinking “just in case”.
Being specifically on combination birth control pills can help you dictate when and how you wish to have your period. Not just that, you can choose not to have it. With these pills, you can increase the time-lapse between periods. For Instance, you can decide to see your period four times in a year or less. All you need to do is take your active pills continuously ( without the sugar pills) from month to month until you are ready to see your period.
When you think it’s fine to see your period, switch to your sugar pills for one week and stop taking the active pills.
Some women go three months on active pills and see their period four times a year. This is good because it gives you a measure of control over your body.
Imagine you have an important activity like an exam, it is simple to put a hold on your “monthly visitor” and concentrate on what is most important.
Treats heavy flow
Heavy flow can be a big challenge for many women. Birth control pills with hormones can help women with this condition. They help lighten the flow by 60% and reduce the duration of the flow. The estrogen in birth control pills helps to clot the blood and slows down the flow.
Doctors sometimes prescribe hormone-based birth control options, like patches, implants, injections, and vaginal rings to help treat this condition, and it has worked for many women.
Treats Anemia
As an offshoot of treating heavy flow, birth control pills tackle the problem of anemia. Women who suffer chronic blood loss that leads to iron-deficiency anemia can use birth control pills to prevent menstruation from happening or lighten the menstrual flow.
Treats acne, gives clearer skin
We all get pimples from time to time. For some women, it comes close to their menstrual day. While for others, it is a constant battle they fight. The solution may just be in birth control pills.
The hormones in combination with birth control pills can help reduce acne. The pills decrease the circulation of the small number of androgens the female body produces.
High levels of androgen can trigger the production of sebum which causes acne. A review in 2021 concluded that pills containing both estrogen and progestin are effective against inflammatory and non-inflammatory acne.
Similarly, a 2018 review had earlier confirmed that the combined synthetic hormones in birth control pills are effective in reducing inflammation of acne.
Helps with menstrual cramp
Prostaglandin is a chemical that the body produces to help the muscles around the uterus contract. If the prostaglandins produced are high, it causes more contractions which translates to painful cramps. But with a balanced hormone level, cramps can be fewer once the production of prostaglandins hormone drops. This is what the combination pill achieves. Since these pills prevent ovulation from occurring, ovulation cramps are also put at bay.
Prevents cancer
Studies have shown that women who took combination birth pills were 30-50% less likely at risk of endometrial or ovarian cancers. The risk of such cancers is significantly lowered according to the length of time they used the pill. It sums up as Longer use, lower risk.
However, it is still vital that you go for regular checkups and pap smears to keep you safe. The use of birth controls cannot take the place of other precautionary measures you need to take.
Treats premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD)
These pills stop ovulation. Consequently, symptoms of PMS may not occur because, in the real sense of it, there are no eggs released. What you see as a period is called withdrawal bleeding as a result of loss of hormones. This bleeding occurs because you stopped taking your active pills (sugar pills or placebo without the hormones).
Additionally, the steady hormones contained in these pills help to reduce mood swings, anxiety, and depression in many women. All these are symptoms of PMS.
PMDD, which is a higher form of PMS. It can be treated with a different combination birth control pill which contains drospirenone and Ethinyl Estradiol.
Treatment of endometriosis
Endometriosis occurs when the linen of the uterus grows outside the uterus. This can cause severe pain. A high level of progesterone hormone can inhibit the tissue lining growth and significantly reduce the pain associated with this condition common to women. When a woman suffering from this condition takes her active pills for 4weeks to prevent menstruation, it stops the growth that causes pelvic pain during menstruation.
Spotting
Combination pills help to stabilize the uterus lining through the estrogen hormone. When the uterus lining is stabilized, it can prevent spotting.
Helps with menstrual migraine
Migraines are very common amongst women because of hormonal changes. Experts have posited that a drop in estrogen and progesterone before the period begins is the cause of menstrual migraine. Hormonal-based birth control pills that help you skip your period can help stabilize the hormone drop that is experienced prior to seeing your period.
You must consult a doctor if you decide to be on any birth control pill. Combination birth control pills are not suitable for women who smoke and are above 35 years of age. While birth control pills have been proven to have other benefits, it still doesn’t work for everyone in the same capacity. That’s why you need to consult a doctor to get the best medical advice that suits you.
