Breaking Oral Contraceptive Myths
Women are often faced
with the responsibility of preventing accidental pregnancy by taking
oral contraceptive pills as a back-up to the conventional withdrawal
method or the usual condom being used by the male partner. But a lot
of women are scared of taking oral contraceptive pills because they
have heard myths concerning the use of pills. Here are some of the common
birth control pill myths and the truth behind the misconceptions:
Taking birth control pills will make you gain weight.
A lot of women do
gain weight while using pills, but the weight gain isn't because of
the oral contraceptive pills. Although the estrogen in pills can cause
women to feel bloated, it usually goes away after a while. Progestin
may cause an increase in appetite, thereby causing the pill to be faulted
for gaining weight. Some women can also experience water retention when
switching to a pill of a lower dose. Another thing you might want to
note is the fact that most women often start using the birth control
pill at a point in their life where weight gain is common.
Using oral contraceptives can cause birth defects.
Ever since the pill
was invented scientists have researched and studied about its side effects
and what health risks it can bring to its users. As it goes with other
medicines, there are side effects that go along with taking the pill,
but serious side effects are rare. There are no reported birth defects
caused by women accidentally taking the pill during early pregnancy.
Taking pills for a long time can affect a woman's fertility.
The truth is quite
the contrary, a woman's fertility goes back to normal once she stops
taking oral contraceptives. For women with irregular menstrual cycles
when they started using the pill, it may take a while for their fertility
to come back.
There are still other oral contraceptive myths out there that need to be straightened out. For more reliable information regarding the use of birth control pills and what side effects it may bring, talk to a licensed gynecologist or a sexual health professional.
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Comments
Very interesting. Thanks for the info!
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