Birth control pills aren't recommended for women over age 35 who smoke because it increases the risk of cardiovascular disease. If you're 35 or older, and you smoke, you need to quit smoking before you can safely continue using your birth control pill.

If you continued taking your birth control pill because you didn't realize you were pregnant, don't be alarmed. Despite years of this accident happening, there's very little evidence that exposure to the hormones in birth control pills causes birth defects. Still, the birth control pill is a potent estrogen.

Scientific evidence suggests using birth control pills for longer periods of time increases your risk of some cancers, such as cervical cancer and liver cancer, but it also decreases your risk of other types of cancer, including ovarian cancer and endometrial cancer. The effect of birth control pills on breast cancer risk isn't quite clear. However, some studies do show a link between pill use and breast cancer.

Maybe. The birth control pills that are on the market today have very low levels of estrogen, or no estrogen at all. Although various studies have been conducted, it is currently unclear how birth control pills affect your risk for breast cancer (American Cancer Society and the National Cancer Institute). If you plan to be on birth control pills for five years or more, your risk may increase. This is something you should discuss with your doctor. No, none of the above causes breast cancer.

You can get accurate results from a pregnancy test while you're on the pill. Pregnancy tests work by measuring a specific pregnancy-related hormone — human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) — in your blood or urine. The active ingredients in birth control pills don't affect how a pregnancy test measures the level of HCG in your system.

Yes. Birth control pills are only prescribed to prevent pregnancy; pills do not prevent sexually transmitted infections.

Absolutely. However, you may not have anything the morning of your surgery. You may take your contraception when you return to your home after surgery.

Answer: If you miss a birth control pill, take it as soon as remembered and use back-up birth control measures for the rest of the cycle.

Some antibiotics can decrease the effectiveness of oral contraceptives. Please discuss this with your provider or pharmacist. If they feel there may be a decrease in effectiveness, use some other form of back up protection while on the antibiotic and for an additional 7 days.

Birth control pills need to be taken every day in order to prevent pregnancy. The pill is basically out of your system within 24 hours and that is why it is important to take it every day and at the same time each day. The birth control shot (Depo-Provera) is given every 3 months in order to prevent pregnancy. Most women who take birth control pills will get their periods every 28 days. Most women who get the shot will stop having periods after they have been getting the shot for a while.

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Slight nausea, mood changes, and occasional mild weight gain are common. Consult your health care provider if these symptoms occur. Serious side effects occur infrequently, especially if you are in good health and do not smoke. If you notice severe pain in chest, head, belly, or lower leg; sudden problems with speech; dizzines; yellow skin or eyes; or breast lump, call your health care provider immediately. ^ Contraceptive FAQ | ^ Top

Frequent use of bacteria-killing mouthwashes can disrupt the natural balance of mouth flora, causing fungi or chromogenic (color-changing) bacteria to collect and form a dark coating. blepharitis, which is a common inflammatory malady of the eyelids that interferes with tear-producing glands and irritates surrounding skin.

Saliva testing for DHEAS and cortisol is definitely beneficial for women taking oral birth control pills. If you and your medical professional decide to discontinue the medication, you should wait until your next menstrual period to collect. Count the first day of bleeding as Day 1 and then collect your sample on Day 20 of your cycle. Keep in mind, after discontinuing the pill, it may take approximately 7 weeks before you are able to collect your sample.

If you miss a birth control pill, take it as soon as remembered and use back-up birth control measures for the rest of the cycle. You might experience spotting later in the cycle.

Avoid smoking. Smoking greatly increases your risk of a heart attack, stroke, or blood clot formation.

Traditional birth control pills make your reproductive system mimic a regular 28-day monthly cycle. For the first 21 days, you take active pills containing reproductive hormones. For the last seven days, you take a placebo. While you're taking the placebo pills, you bleed vaginally, as if you were having a regular menstrual period. By contrast, extended-cycle birth control pills contain active hormones for every day of the month.

It's possible to use standard estrogen-progestin birth control pills for emergency contraception, but check with your doctor for the proper dose and timing of the pills. There is a special type of contraceptive pill that's specifically designed to keep you from becoming pregnant if you've had unprotected vaginal intercourse.

Birth control pills can affect cholesterol levels. How much of an effect depends on the type of pill you're taking and what concentration of estrogen or progestin it contains. The estrogen in birth control pills causes an increase in high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels (the "good" cholesterol), a decrease in low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels (the "bad" cholesterol) and an increase in your total cholesterol and triglyceride levels.

The effects of antibiotics on birth control pills may be overstated — except in the case of one antibiotic, rifampin. Studies clearly show that rifampin decreases the effectiveness of birth control pills in preventing ovulation. However, rifampin isn't a widely used antibiotic. Chances are you wouldn't be taking it unless you had tuberculosis or had tested positive for the disease.

The birth control pill usually contains 2 hormones, a synthetic estrogen and synthetic progesterone. These outside hormones turn off the woman's ovaries so her ovaries do not make an egg and cause the mucus of the cervix to thicken to prevent sperm from entering the uterus.

Consult your healthcare provider. Taking pills to skip all your periods is not approved by the FDA so you will need a special prescription and instructions. You can take to your healthcare provider the handout from our website on continuous birth control pill use and ask for a prescription like this sample prescription. You will need to buy more birth control pills/packages. Normally, with a period every 21 days for you need 13 pill packages for 1 year.

All combination birth control pills use estrogen, but they do not all use the same progestin. YAZ contains the estrogen ethinyl estradiol and the unique progestin, drsp, or drospirenone. Whereas other combination pills have a progestin that is made from the male sex hormone testosterone, the drsp in YAZ is made from spironolactone. Ask your healthcare professional about the unique properties of drsp and what that may mean for you.

Birth control pills can be used safely by most healthy women. Women who may not be able to take the Pill include those with conditions, such as heart disease or stroke, breast cancer, liver disease, severe or uncontrolled diabetes, severe or uncontrolled high blood pressure, certain types of migraines, and smokers 35 and older.

Women often blame the birth control pill for weight gain. But studies have shown that the effect of the birth control pill on weight is small — if it exists at all. However, the way the hormones in birth control pills act on tissues in your breasts, hips and thighs can make you feel as if you've gained weight. This is usually due to fluid retention and not increased body mass or fat.

Birth control pills may increase blood pressure. The risk of high blood pressure in women who take birth control pills also increases with age and the duration of use. If you take birth control pills, have your blood pressure checked regularly. If you already have high blood pressure, consider an alternative form of birth control. If you do choose to take the pill, have your blood pressure closely monitored by your doctor.