Birth Control

Birth Control Pills - The Excellent Emergency Contraceptive Pill

Executive summary about Birth Control by  Ajay Dumasiya

The emergency birth control or contraceptive pill, commonly known as the morning after pill or post-coital pill, are medicines that can be used by women to prevent unwanted pregnancy after having unprotected sex. Most emergency contraceptive pills can be used up to three days (72 hours) after having unprotected sex. Emergency birth control  pills typically contain a female hormone type called levonorgestrel which works to prevent your ovaries from releasing an egg.

How to Get Birth Control

What is ellaOne? 

ellaOne is a new and innovative emergency birth control pill that can be used up to 5 days (120 hours) after unprotected sex to prevent pregnancy.

How do I take ellaOne?

ellaOne emergency contraceptive pill is a prescription only drug and should therefore be taken only on the advice of your doctor. The medicine is available in the dosage strength of 30mg pill.

Things to be noted when taking ellaOne for emergency birth control

ellaOne will not work if you have unprotected sex after you have taken the tablet. ellaOne is an emergency contraceptive pill only; it does not protect you against sexually transmitted diseases

The Safe Dose Birth Control Pills

Executive summary about Birth Control by  Carole Pemberton

Reducing the side effects of birth control pills (cheers in the gallery!) led to the reduction of the amount of synthetic hormones, estrogen and progestin, that they contained and to the development of the 'new generation', low dose birth control pills.

Generic brands in low dose birth control pills are also available.

Birth control pills with the very lowest amount of estrogen, that is 0.02mg of estrogen (usually ethinyl estradiol) are classed as 'ultra low dose' contraceptive pills. 0.020mg of estrogen is sufficient for contraception but the side effects of spotting and breakthrough bleeding are more common with these types of ultra low dose birth control pills than with low dose pills containing 0.030mg or 0.035mg of estrogen.

Here are some brand names of the "ultra low dose" birth control pills on the market. The estrogen component is listed first and the progestin component second.

• Alesse (Aviane,Lessina,Lutera,Sronyx) contains 0.02 mg ethinyl estradiol and 0.1 mg levonorgestrel
• Mircette contains 0.02 mg ethinyl estradiol and 0.15 mg desogestrel

If you are a fan of triphasic pills, here are some low dose ones: Cyclessa

• Phase 1: ethinyl estradiol 0.025 mg and desogestrel 0.1 mg
• Phase 2: ethinyl estradiol 0.025 mg and desogestrel 0.125 mg
• Phase 3: ethinyl estradiol 0.025 mg and desogestrel 0.15 mg

YASMIN and YAZ are two more low dose birth control pills containing 0.03 mg and 0.02 mg respectively of estrogen but they have a different type of progestin from the other pills called drospirenone (3.0 mg).

Nursing Moms

Micronor contains 0.35 mg norethindrone and NO estrogen whatsoever. One common pill is Preven -each blue film-coated pill contains 0.25 mg levonorgestrel and 0.05 mg (that's MILLIGRAMS not micrograms) of estrogen - usually you take 2 doses, 12 hours apart. Plan B is a 'morning-after' pill that contains only one hormone, progestin (Levonorgestrel) Tablets, 0.75 mg.

Check out my other article on Planned Parenthood.