If you are taking birth control pills, you are not alone. Many women rely on these pills, also called oral contraceptives or contraceptive pills, to avoid or delay pregnancy. As such, they are a very convenient tool for family planning.

Oral contraceptive pills are made using small amounts of estrogen and progesterone. But these hormones are also found naturally in your body. They play an important role in your reproductive system by regulating the menstrual cycle; besides, progesterone also supports the process of pregnancy.

When taken artificially in the form of a pill, these hormones prevent conception by suppressing ovulation, or the release of eggs from your ovaries. The progesterone in the pill also ensures some additional checks to rule out pregnancy. For instance, it thickens the cervical mucus, so that even if an egg is released, sperm would find it difficult to swim to the fallopian tubes to fertilize it. It also thins the walls of the uterus to prevent an egg, if at all fertilized, from implanting itself in the uterus. The result is that these pills, when taken properly, enjoy a 92 to 99.7 percent success rate in preventing pregnancies.

Mini birth control or contraceptive pills are made using only progesterone. They are useful if you cannot take estrogen for some reason; for instance if you are breastfeeding. You need to bear in mind, however, that mini pills are slightly less effective than combination pills.

Taking the pill
Typically, birth control pills come in packs of either 21 or 28 pills (tablets). Ideally, after consultation with your gynecologist, you are supposed to take the first pill on the first day of your period, though it is okay to start anytime between the 1st to the 5th day.  Thereafter, you should take one pill everyday for the next 21 days. At the end of this time, if you have a 21-pill pack, stop taking the pills for the next seven days. Then start the cycle again with a new pack.

If you are using a 28-pill pack, continue taking the last seven pills before starting with a new cycle. These extra pills are dummy pills without hormones. They are provided for your convenience, so that you don’t lose the habit of taking a pill daily.

Also view Slideshow: Yoga for conception