CONTRACEPTIVE PILL — WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
What are contraceptive pills?
Contraceptive pills are small tablets that you take every day to stop you from becoming pregnant, help regulate your menstrual cycle, or to help treat acne. The pills do this by using hormones to stop your body from releasing an egg (ovulating), and by making it harder for an egg to get fertilised by sperm and attach to the wall of the uterus during your menstrual cycle.
How do contraceptive pills work?
Contraceptive pills are tablets that you take every day, or for 21 days at a time. When used correctly, the tablets use hormones to stop your body from ovulating every month. If your body produced an egg as normal, it might become fertilised after sex and then result in a pregnancy.
The contraceptive pill also makes it harder for sperm to reach the egg, or for a fertilised egg to attach to the wall of the uterus.
Can contraceptive pills be used for other conditions?
Because they change your body’s hormone levels, the contraceptive pill can also be used to treat other conditions such as acne.