Anticonception, and fertility control, is a method or device used to prevent pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times. There are many different methods of birth control including condoms, IUDs, birth control pills, the rhythm method, vasectomy, and tubal ligation.
Women can choose from many different types of birth control. Some work better than others at preventing pregnancy.
The type of birth control you use depends on your health, your desire to have children now or in the future, and your need to prevent sexually transmitted infections
Benefits of Birth control
– It regulates menstrual cycle.
Hormonal birth control methods may balance the hormonal fluctuations that happen throughout your cycle. This can help with a variety of menstrual issues, including irregular or heavy bleeding. It can even help with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) symptoms, including acne and excess hair.
While the various birth control methods work differently, most can make periods lighter and more consistent in their timing.
– Help With menstrual Cramps, and make periods less painful.
About 31 percent of women who use birth control pills cite menstrual pain as one of the reasons they continue to take them. Hormonal birth control prevents ovulation. When you don’t ovulate, your uterus doesn’t experience the painful contractions that cause cramps during ovulation.
If you have painful periods, hormonal birth control may also provide some relief for pain during menstruation.
– Relieve Endometriosis Symptoms.
Endometriosis is a painful condition that happens when the tissue lining your uterus, called the endometrium, grows in places other than inside your uterus. This tissue bleeds during your period, no matter where it’s located. When the tissue bleeds in places where blood can’t easily get out of your body, it causes pain and inflammation.
Hormonal birth control methods help because they allow you to skip periods. Continuous birth control pills and IUDs are usually good options for managing endometriosis.
– Lowers the risk of uterine cancer.
Hormonal birth control also has some long-term benefits. Women who take combination birth control pills are 50 percent less likely to get uterine cancer. These effects can last for up to 20 years after you stop taking the pill.
It can also reduce your risk of ovarian cancer.
– It reduces ovarian cysts
Ovarian cysts are small, fluid-filled sacs that form in your ovaries during ovulation. They aren’t dangerous, but they’re sometimes painful. Women with PCOS often have a large number of small cysts in their ovaries. By preventing ovulation, hormonal birth control can prevent these cysts from forming. They may also stop former cysts from regrowing.
– It can banish hormonal acne
Hormonal fluctuations are often major acne triggers. That’s why acne is usually at its worst during adolescence. By minimizing these fluctuations, hormonal birth control can help to tame hormonal acne.
Birth control pills that contain both estrogen and progesterone (known as combination pills) are the most effective acne fighters.
– It can help with menstrual migraine.
A migraine is an intense type of headache that affects almost 30 million Americans — 75 percent of those being women. This is partly because hormonal changes are a major trigger for migraines in some people.
Experts think menstrual migraines are linked to a drop in estrogen and progesterone just before your period starts. Hormonal birth control methods that allow you to skip your period, such as a continuous pill, implant, or IUD, can help to avoid this drop.
Birth control pill side effects may include:
Headaches
Breast tenderness
Nausea (sometimes with vomiting)
Bleeding between periods
Depression
Changes in libido (sexual desire).
Source: Verywellhealth
Written by: Sarah Amah.
