Birth Control Options: Side Effects, Effectiveness & Safety

For individuals selecting a contraceptive method, understanding the balance between effectiveness, hormonal impacts, and potential side effects is critical for long-term health.

How to Get Your Period Back After Birth Control

Post-pill amenorrhea is a condition where a woman does not get a menstrual period after going off birth control pills. This typically isn't a cause for alarm, and usually occurs because the body needs time to adjust back to its natural hormonal levels.

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Can You Take Plan B With Caffeine?

Plan B is one of the brand names of emergency contraception pills, or ECPs, available in the U.S. market as of 2011. Although it originally required several doses, the manufacturer is phasing that option out to focus on "Plan B One Step," a single-dose regimen.

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The Safety of an IUD During Exercise

When your doctor implants an intrauterine device to prevent pregnancy, he will provide you with after-care instructions, including when you can resume normal exercise. As soon as the IUD is in place, the FamilyDoctor website reports, you can resume swimming and your normal exercise routine.

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Period Symptoms Associated With Plan B

Women who have had unprotected sex can limit their risk of becoming pregnant by taking an emergency contraceptive called Plan B. This over-the-counter medication contains the synthetic hormone levonorgestrel, which prevents pregnancy by disrupting egg release and fertilization in women.

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Pros and Cons of Giving Birth Control to Teenagers

As a parent, it's tough to decide whether to give birth control to your sexually active teenager. Even though birth control is a proven method for preventing sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancy, some parents struggle with moral and ethical implications surrounding the issue.

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Mum, What

How to Ask Mom for Birth Control

Talking about sex with your parents isn't easy. But when you decide you are interested in learning more about birth control, your mother can be a valuable source of information and support. Starting the discussion is difficult, but being able to discuss difficult topics with your mom is important.

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Healthy Apple Medicine

Does Vitamin C Make Birth Control Less Effective?

Birth control pills are contraceptives that use female hormones to alter a woman's normal menstrual cycle. The pill prevents pregnancy by blocking ovulation, so your ovaries do not release an ovum that can be fertilized and lead to pregnancy.

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Acne & Levonorgestrel

Dermatologists believe hormones cause acne, and teenagers who get acne as their hormones awaken in puberty probably would agree. But teens aren't the only ones to suffer from pimples--adult women often see breakouts prior to their menstrual periods or when they get pregnant, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

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How to Lose Weight While on the Depo Shot

Many women who take Depo Provera experience weight gain, according to Virginia Commonwealth University. Since this contraceptive only contains progesterone, which can increase your appetite, you may eat more than usual and then extra pounds can sneak up on you.

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Causes of Swelling After a Vasectomy

A vasectomy is a surgical procedure that involves snipping or blocking the vas deferens, the tube that transmits sperm from the testes to the urethra. When successful, this will prevent pregnancy. A vasectomy is typically performed in the surgeonโ€™s office with local anesthesia.

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Ferrous Sulfate & Birth Control Pills

Iron deficiency frequently occurs in women of childbearing age. Women of reproductive age have higher iron requirements than post-menopausal women or men, because they lose blood every month during their menstrual periods.

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Birth Control Pills

List of Generic Brands of Birth Control

Birth control pills, or oral contraceptives, contain female hormones that suppress ovulation--the monthly release of an egg from the ovary. Suppressing ovulation prevents pregnancy because without an egg, conception cannot occur.

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How to Get Birth Control Pills Without Insurance

Birth control pills can be obtained easily without insurance, but the cost may be high. Having health insurance can reduce the cost of the cervical exam that is performed once per year before a prescription for birth control is provided. Health insurance can also reduce the cost of the pills themselves.

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The Effects of Birth Control Taken While Pregnant

Birth control methods include hormonal contraceptives, such as pills, shots and patches. Each method and brand has a unique mixture of estrogen and progestin and delivery molecules that can potentially affect a fetus.

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How Do Spermicidal Condoms Work?

Condom use for pregnancy prevention and to reduce the risk of sexually transmitted diseases dates back to ancient times. While modern condoms bear little resemblance to their historical counterparts, contraception and disease prevention remain the primary purposes for condom use. Condoms come in many varieties.

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How to Take Yaz Birth Control Pills

Yaz is a prescription birth control pill containing drospirenone and ethinyl estradiol. The medication works to prevent the ovary from releasing an egg during the menstrual cycle and changes the lining of the cervix and uterus so a fertilized egg will experience difficulty implanting in the uterus.

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Side Effects of Using Birth Control Pills to Delay Your Period

Approximately 99 percent of obstetricians and gynecologists believe that suppressing a menstrual period through the use of birth control pills is safe, according to a 2003 Gallop survey conducted by the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

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