Birth control pill

For women with high blood pressure, methods with estrogen–the pill (except for the mini-pill), the ring, and the patch–may make their blood pressure even higher, increasing the risk of a heart attack or stroke. Fortunately there are lots of highly effective birth control options that are safe and estrogen-free like the IUD, the implant, or the shot. Talk to your doctor about your condition and what birth control is best for you.

Most women who use hormonal birth control–the pill, the ring, the shot, the patch, the implant, or a hormonal IUD–will have less painful periods than those who don’t. This is because these methods of birth control make the lining of the uterus thinner. There’s less tissue in the uterus to shed, so periods are lighter. One special note on the implant and the shot: for some women, these methods cause more days of spotting or bleeding, but periods become lighter and less painful overall.

Spotting, which can happen with a bunch of different methods, doesn’t make you lose that much blood, even though it might seem like it. We have a Provider Perspective article about it if you want to learn more.

The Mirena IUD, the shot, and the implant have all been shown to reduce menstrual bleeding for most women. You can also use the pill or the ring continuously to intentionally skip your period.

Some birth control pills can lighten blood flow during periods, and possibly reduce PMS symptoms and acne. They can also offer protection against some nasty health problems, like endometrial and ovarian cancer, iron deficiency anemia, ovarian cysts, and pelvic inflammatory disease.

Yes, you can. Whether you want to skip the occasional period for a special occasion or you want to stop your periods for a more extended length time, it’s safe and possible to use the pill to control your bleeding.

The pill’s effectiveness depends on how consistently someone takes it. When used perfectly, the pill is more than 99% effective. But most of us aren’t perfect, so the pill’s effectiveness tends to be closer to 91%.

In other words:

Of those women who use the pill exactly as directed, fewer than 1 in 100 will experience an accidental pregnancy during the first year of using this method.

Of those women who do not use the pill exactly as directed, about 9 in 100 will experience an accidental pregnancy during the first year of using this method.

If you’ve decided you want to use pills, the “best time” is whenever you want. How about immediately? As soon as you get the prescription—and you are sure you’re not pregnant—you can start. You don’t have to wait til Sunday and you don’t have to wait til your next period. Just use a back-up method for the first 7 days. That’s all there is to it.