pregnancy and birth control pills

The contraceptive pill is a drug developed in 1956 by the American doctor Gregory Pincus. It was introduced in Europe in 1961 and in Italy in 1972.

It is a pill to be taken for 21, 22 or even 24 days. Contraceptive drugs are made up of two hormones (an estrogen-l '-ethinyl estradiol and a progestin) can inhibit ovulation of the woman and cause thickening of cervical mucous. The amount of hormones in the pill have been gradually reduced, over the years, but increased security (the risk of getting pregnant using the pill correctly shall be void) for more decreased side effects.

The birth control pills should be started on the first day of menstruation (before the recruitment began from the fifth day). The pill is effective immediately.

The time of birth control pills should be the same in those days set aside, there is a tolerance in this respect, but you should at least respect the time slot.



Sometimes you forget about taking a pill, if not gone more than twelve hours of non-recruitment, we can take the pill without any problems at the level of contraceptive security. If, by contrast, have spent more than twelve hours after taking the contraceptive failure, it becomes necessary to use extra precautions, it is not necessary to take the candy instead of forgotten. It could happen in the following days to observe the blood loss due to quantitative reduction of the hormones made, but these losses are not considered problematic.

The concomitant use of other drugs should always be carefully considered because some medicines can have adverse effects on the level of effectiveness of the contraceptive pill. Sporadic recruitment of drug (an analgesic, a tranquilizer, etc..) Do not create problems, but if you are taking regular medication you should check carefully that they do not interact with the contraceptive pill. The loss of contraceptive efficacy may also be caused by malabsorption. A typical case is vomiting, if you take the pill and you have an episode of vomiting before the pill is completely absorbed (usually 5 hours of time) you must take a new pill within twelve hours. Diarrheal episodes may also create problems in terms of contraceptive efficacy, diarrhea can cause problems up to 8-10 hours from the moment he assumed the product. The risk is not easily quantifiable, but in case of doubt, we recommend taking another pill.

Many gynecologists, before a woman begins taking the product, they usually require a series of blood tests (transaminases, alkaline phosphatase, gamma-GT, bilirubin, antithrombin III, PTT, fibrinogen, prolactin dosage, etc..) If on this point there is total sharing, all are basically in agreement that requires regular blood tests during the period of drug intake contraception.

The pill can be taken even by women who are over 35 years of age, but only if they are smokers. Of course, abstaining from smoking is always advisable, regardless of providing birth control pills (see our article Smoking: Why quit!).

Additional checks are recommended to all women who have a family history of vascular accidents, hypertension, gestosis and autoimmune diseases. Generally, a familial predisposition to thrombotic events is advised to avoid taking the pill.

Regular monitoring of blood pressure is always advisable when taking the pill.

The contraceptive pill should be discontinued if you have a persistent headache and severe pain in the legs. Symptoms such as irregular bleeding, breast tenderness or swelling, nausea etc.. would only result in time and is therefore not required discontinuation of treatment.

Alternative forms of contraception are transdermal patches, vaginal rings and subcutaneous implants.