Birth control is a very controversial topic that many are not that well versed with. Owing to the lack of education surrounding the same, it is often hard for a number of people to have a better perception of the benefits and the risks that come along with the intake of the birth control. If you have been on a similar boat, it is time to make better choices in life. By the end of this article, you will know all the things to know about birth control that not many are aware of all the more.
Birth control methods include barrier methods, hormonal birth control, intrauterine devices (IUDs), sterilization, and behavioral methods. They are used before or during sex while emergency contraceptives are effective for up to five days after sex.
There are birth control options for any lifestyle. Some have added benefits or might be easier to commit to using. Find out what to expect when looking at your choices.
While the basic statistics about birth control and even the normal prospects surrounding the same are quite extensive, it is important that one knows and has the basic idea when it comes down to the birth control facts to have a clear idea about everything surrounding it.
1) Age isn’t a Factor When it Comes to IUD
IUD, otherwise known as the Intrauterine devices are quite an effective form of birth control which more or less last you for 10 years and can be reversed at any time through that time.
Owing to the 99% fail safe, this is considered as one of the best forms of birth control that one can opt for without having any kind of regrets whatsoever. While women before had this notion that the insertion of the IUD could end up causing infections, doctors now have clarified that the same is safe to use and doesn’t impose any possible risk associated with the pelvic infections beyond the insertion window.
If you have a monogamous relationship, IUD is actually quite safe to use and doesn’t cause any risk of infection as such.
2) Lots of women take birth control incorrectly
If women follow the exact instructions for taking birth control pills — every day, at the same time — they prevent pregnancy in 99 percent of all cases. But lots of people don’t do that. In real life, birth control pills have a 9 percent failure rate. That means nine of every 100 women using birth control pills as their only means of contraception become pregnant in any given year.
It’s hard to actually [take the pill at the same time every day] when you’re living a busy life. If you take these pills every single day, the chances of getting pregnant is 1 percent. But typically, the chance is much higher than that, because people miss pills. This isn’t just true with birth control pills. It’s true with any prescription medication.
Birth control pills have a higher failure rate than other contraceptives, like intra-uterine devices (IUDs) or birth control rings. The main difference: Pills have to be taken every day, which leaves more room for human error.
3) Can make periods more comfortable
Yet another one of the amazing facts about birth control is the fact that it can make one’s period a lot more comfortable and less painful. While the hormones present in the oral contraceptives are predominantly targeted to help alleviate the condition associated with the prevention of pregnancy, the same has been found to have beneficial impacts in handling pregnancy too.
Apart from controlling the flow of the blood, it has also been found to have beneficial in handling the accessory symptoms like managing the cramps and the weakness that one feels as well.
4) Missing a period on the pill doesn’t mean something’s wrong
Missing a period while on the pill doesn’t indicate anything abnormal, as long as you have been taking the pill consistently and correctly each day. It’s not dangerous not to have your period while on the pill. What happens is, over time, the uterine lining can become very thin if you take the pill regularly. All that means is if you stop bleeding on the pill, the lining has become so thin that you don’t have anything to bleed from.”\
This is not permanent: When a woman stops taking birth control pills, the ovaries start making more estrogen, the uterine lining gets thicker, and women start to bleed again.
Missed periods after taking your pills incorrectly, however, could indicate a pregnancy. In that situation, it’s worth taking a pregnancy test.
5) We don’t know whether most antibiotics make birth control less effective
There are two antibiotics that researchers have found make birth control pills less effective: griseofulvin, an antifungal used to treat athlete’s foot and ringworm, and rifampicin, which is typically used to treat tuberculosis.
The reason that happens is that these drugs speed up the liver’s metabolism, which makes the liver metabolize the hormones in the birth control faster. As a result, hormones leave the blood stream faster and are unable to adequately affect the ovaries to prevent ovulation or the cervix to prevent thickening of the cervical mucus.
Lots of antibiotics, not just the two listed above, come with warnings that they’ll make birth control ineffective and suggest using a backup method of contraception. While a backup method is never a bad idea, there’s actually sparse evidence that these other drugs make birth control less effective.
6) Can Boost Overall Health
Yet another one of the things to know about birth control is the fact that it does have impacts in boosting one’s overall health for the better. These birth control measures, especially the pills, provide with benefits which surpass the normal spectrum of just preventing the pregnancy.
Apart from the pregnancy, it has a number of positive benefits, on your overall health, like helping relieve the pain symptoms of periods and even helping cure the acne on the face and body.
Birth control has also been found to have beneficial impacts in preventing the risks of certain forms of cancer, especially ovarian cysts and cancer, colon cancer and even endometrial cancer as well.
It has other accessory health benefits including regulation of the fibrocystic breast changes and the salient ones altogether.
7) Helps Prevent a Number of Diseases
One of the most important facts about birth control is that it helps in not just preventing pregnancy but also a number of other serious diseases as well.
Cancer is one of the most common forms of disease that is effectively prevented if you have been taking your birth control from time to time. Statistics suggest that women who are on their birth control are 50% less likely to develop the risks associated with ovarian cancer.
Additionally, it also reduces the risks of endometrial cancer and colorectal cancer by 30% and 20% respectively.
The same has also been found to have beneficial impacts in preventing the risks associated with the condition of rheumatoid arthritis by 19% as well.
8) Male Birth Control are in progress
Hormonal contraception has been a matter of grave importance for the male individuals as well and researches have been conducted over time to find the possible impacts altogether.
Over 40 years of research has gone into this specific subject to find a solution that would actually show some fruitful results in the long run. Majority of the trial medications that the researchers developed were found to be testosterone blockers which weren’t necessarily the ideal prospect.
