The Pill
The Pill has been actively in use since the 1960s. There are many different types of birth control pills (or oral contraceptives).
Combination pills give both estrogen and progesterin hormones. Mini-pills, or Progestin-only-pills, offer only progestin and no estrogen.
Combination Pills
Monophasic pills offer one dosage throughout the entire 28 day cycle. Monophasic pills typically come with 21 days of hormone pills and 7 days of placebo pills. You can expect your period during the days of the placebo pills.
Even though you are taking placebo pills for one week, you are still protected from getting pregnant. These placebos help women maintain their routine so that they remember to take their pill at roughly the same time every day.
Multiphasic pills offer a different dosage each week. Multiphasic pills can sometimes be called biphasic or triphasic because they offer two or three varying dosages of hormones. Multiphasic pills, like monophasic pills, offer protection from pregnancy. Multiphasic pills are designed to lessen the side effects sometimes associated with birth control, such as spotting or cramps.
Combination pills are the most common type of birth control pills. They offer ethinyl estradiol as an estrogen hormone. They offer varying types of progestin hormones. These need to be taken within a 12 hour period that is the same each day.
Progestin-only Pills
Progestin-only Pills need to be taken within a 3 hour window each day. If you are considering progestin-only pills, see our page with more information on progestin-only pills.
All Pills
The Pill, in general, with perfect use can be more than 99% effective in preventing pregnancy. However, because it takes dedication and devotion to use the pill properly, with normal use the figure can be as low as 92% effective.
See our birth control pill chart for more information on birth control. The other pages that offer more information include: what to do if you miss a pill, who can take birth control pills, how hormonal birth control works, possible side effects, risks of oral contraception, the drug interactions, and a page on the brand Yasmin.
