Question

A woman has certain queries as listed below, before starting with contraceptive pills. Answer them.
a) What do contraceptive pills contain and how do they act as contraceptives?
b) What schedule should be followed for taking pills?

Answer 1

For women, contraception pills are a method of stopping pregnancy. Women administer the pill by mouth to avoid conception, and it is up to 99.9 percent successful when administered properly.

Complete answer:
Birth control pills are drugs you administer by mouth to avoid conception, also called oral contraceptives. They're a powerful birth control tool. Combination tablets contain the hormones estrogen and progestin in artificial (man-made) forms. The majority of pills are active in each cycle, indicating that they produce hormones. The remaining tablets are inert, which implies there are no hormones in them.

a) Contraceptive pills include combinations of progesterone, estrogen, progesterone-estrogen.
As contraception, they work through:
- Ovulation inhibition
- Implantation preventing
- To avoid or hinder the entrance of sperm from affecting the consistency of the cervical mucus.

b) Oral contraceptive pills can be administered for 21 days on a daily basis, usually during the first 5 days of the menstrual period.

Note: No sexually transmitted infections, like HIV (the virus that causes AIDS), are prevented by the pill. The greatest protection from most STDs is provided by the latex male condom. The pad and the vaginal ring are other forms of combination progestin and estrogen hormonal contraceptive.