Birth Control Pills for Effective Family Planning

It was on 9th of May, 1960 the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first commercial birth control pills. Over the years they changed the lives of generations of women all over the world, giving them the rightful choice of when and how to bear child. The influence of birth control pills was so long-lasting and pervasive that they went on to become a symbol of women's empowerment and generational change. But 50 years down the line, the small yet very powerful oral contraceptive for effective family planning still finds itself caught amidst a maze of controversies.

Proponents and opponents are divided on the effectiveness of birth control pills. While some vouch for their efficiency, others frown over their side effects. Moreover, there are millions of poor women all across the world who are yet to share the empowerment brought in by the birth control pills. Despite all these facts, popularity and acceptance of birth control pills as effective family planning device has been growing – and growing exponentially. Here's an overview of this amazing form of oral contraception that plays a significant role in family planning:

Birth control pills are hormonal contraceptives that affect the reproductive cycle or menstrual cycle of a woman and prevent unwanted pregnancy. There are two types of oral contraceptives that are effective in family planning: combination pills or combined oral contraceptives which contain both progestin and estrogen, and mini-pill which contains only progestin.

A traditional birth control pill makes reproductive system of a woman in her reproductive age mimic a regular 28-day monthly menstrual cycle. For the first 21 days, active pills containing reproductive hormones are taken on a regular basis followed by a placebo in the next seven days. While taking the follow-up placebo pills, a woman bleeds vaginally, as if she is having a regular period.

By contrast, an extended-cycle birth control pill is a hormonal contraception mode, which contains active hormones for all the days of a reproductive month. There are two more regimen types of this family planning method: Seasonale and Seasonique. With both birth control pills, one takes active reproductive hormone pills every day for three continuous months, and then takes one week of low-dose estrogen pills (Seasonique) or placebo pills (Seasonale).

Birth control pills, like all other family planning methods should be taken under the supervision of a medical practitioner, although there are many emergency contraceptives that are taken to do a damage control even without consulting a physician.

A regular, without-fail regime is followed for birth control pills for effective family planning. When taken as prescribed they are about 99% effective in assuring birth control. While most women do not face any problem with oral contraceptives some can rarely experience some kind of side effects such as blood clots and unusual bleeding. Strokes and heart attacks are very rare after effects of regular pills regime.

But these are not the reasons why birth control pills are looked down upon by many as family planning tool. Regular taking of oral contraceptives are thought to decrease sexual desire in women significantly. However, these are not backed by strong scientific evidence. So, like all other effective but imperfect family planning methods, birth control pills are going to gain further mass acceptance in the years to come.