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Many unplanned pregnancies occur because women lack information on the possible consequences of combining antibiotics and birth control pills. You can read a lot on antibiotics and birth control now thanks to the development of the Internet, but there are some very resilient myths out there. Scientific reality is nevertheless a bit different, and here are a few things that may help you better understand how things stand.

Clinical studies indicate that only one antibiotic is proved to impair the action of the hormonal pill: rifampin, yet exceptions do exist. Generally speaking, when antibiotics and birth control are used in parallel, the efficiency of the contraceptives gets lower in for a limited number of women. It is because of this incidence, even if small, that doctors recommend the use of a supplementary birth control solution such as condoms. It is impossible to tell who will experience decreased efficiency, until it is too late.

Modern hormonal products seem to be more affected by the interactions between antibiotics and birth control. The problem is that modern birth control products have very low hormonal combinations for a reduction of the side effects. Besides rifamin, you should also be cautious when using amoxacillin, penicillin, sulfonamide, ampicillin, minocycline, tetracycline and barbiturates.

Antibiotics and birth control pills represent an inconvenient medical combination because of the synthesis of the compounds in the liver. The antibiotics accelerate the breaking down of estrogens, and since these compounds are the main ingredients of birth control pills, the level of hormones in the blood will be lower. Although the situations when unplanned pregnancy appears in such conditions are not that numerous, caution is the best course of action.

All drug manufacturers will therefore mention the potential interference of antibiotics and birth control pills with the decrease of efficiency for the latter. It is also important to talk to the doctor whether you have to continue using the extra birth control method after the cessation of the antibiotic treatment or not.

It is not a solution to stop using birth control pills while taking antibiotics, because you will put the body through great stress by causing hormonal imbalances. Talk to the health care provider before taking any drug specifying the fact that you are on birth control pills. There are lots of other drugs that could impair the efficiency of birth control. It’s better to seek information than be sorry later.

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The birth control pill represents one of the most efficient contraceptive methods available. It is administered by women and it consists of a combination of hormones that control the release of the eggs from the ovaries into the uterus. Here is how it works:

-It combines estrogen and progesterone, the two hormones that inhibit ovulation. Pregnancy cannot appear without ovulation.

-It thickens the cervical mucus preventing the sperm from entering the uterus.

-It changes the lining of the uterus, thus preventing the nesting of the egg.

The birth control pill has to be taken daily, preferably at the same hour, for twenty one days. There is no administration for the last seven days of the menstrual cycle, and it is within this interval that the period appears. The pills are available either in 21 or in 28 pill packages. The last seven pills in the 28-pill package are inactive as they contain no hormones.

As for the advantages of the birth control pill, they are pretty numerous.

-The monthly bleeding is less intense.
-The pre-menstrual discomfort disappears.
-Fertility is preserved, and it is totally reversible when you stop taking the pill.
-It solves hormonal imbalances.
-It prevents some forms of cancer.

There is one special kind of birth control pill that contains active hormones for 12 weeks and then inactive pills for a week. This means that you will have a bleeding once every three months.

Yet, another type of birth control pill is the mini-pill. It contains progesterone only, and it requires continuous administration daily, on the same hour, without the monthly break. The efficiency of the mini-pill has been reported as inferior to the combined birth control pill.

The normal efficiency of the birth control pill is very high, with only 8 couples out of 100 reporting a pregnancy during the treatment. When taking the pill at random hours or when forgetting to use it daily, the efficiency drops. Plus, the efficiency of the medication also depends on some individual factors too.

For example, the birth control pill may not work properly when drugs or herbal supplements are administered in parallel. Moreover, the incidence of side effects should not be overlooked. Read carefully about the possible adverse reactions to the birth control pill, as well as the health conditions that make the use of the pill very risky. Stick doctor’s orders for the administration of the birth control pill!

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