Contraceptives

Here’s a quick on line quiz on contraceptives to test yourself over a coffee. Here also are a couple of ‘myths’ about oral contraceptives that are FALSE:

MYTH 1. You get lighter periods when on the pill- NO, you do not get a true menstrual period at all while you are taking oral contraceptives, you get a withdrawal ‘bleed’ caused by the sudden drop off of synthetic hormones while you are taking the inactive or 7 day ‘dummy’ pills. Hormonal contraceptives trick the body into believing it is pregnant so, no egg release means no fertilization, means no preparation of the uterus lining to receive a fertilized egg, means no need for a ‘true menstrual period’, which is normally the shedding of a ‘prepared’ but ‘unused’ uterus lining after ovulation. Did you follow all that?

Seven consecutive active pills need to be taken to stop us females from ovulating.

Ovulation may occur if more than 7 days are missed so if in the heat of a passionate night we forget to use protection, an unwanted little surprise may be in store for us! The big ‘P’! The lengthening of the pill free interval is one of the most common causes of pill failure and is often associated with a woman starting her new pill packet late. If you’re not home for dinner, when you usually take your pill and you don’t carry your new packet in your purse, it’s SO easy to forget completely later.

MYTH 2. The most dangerous time to miss a pill is in the middle of the pack- NO, it is at the beginning or at the end of the pack. If you think ovulation occurs in the middle of your cycle when you are taking oral contraceptives, you are wrong. Women on hormonal contraceptives do not ovulate in most cases if they are taking the contraceptive correctly. Oral contraceptives keep your ovaries in a ‘resting state’ so eggs are not released. In fact, you can miss 7 active pills without the risk of ovulating (this is what happens when you take the ‘dummy pills’ for 7 days)

Ok head on over and see how you go with that quiz.

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