Why is oestrogen used in contraceptive pills

Oral contraceptives are usually started on the first or fifth day of your menstrual period or on the first Sunday after or on which bleeding begins. Your doctor will also tell you whether you need to use another method of birth control during the first 7 to 9 days that you take your oral contraceptive and will help you choose a method. Follow these directions carefully.

You will probably experience withdrawal bleeding similar to a menstrual period while you are taking the inactive tablets or the low dose estrogen tablets or during the week that you do not take your oral contraceptive.

If you are taking the type of packet that only contains active tablets, you will not experience any scheduled bleeding, but you may experience unexpected bleeding and spotting, especially at the beginning of your treatment. Be sure to start taking your new packet on schedule even if you are still bleeding. You may need to use a backup method of birth control if you vomit or have diarrhea while you are taking an oral contraceptive.

Talk to your doctor about this before you begin to take your oral contraceptive so that you can prepare a backup method of birth control in case it is needed. If you vomit or have diarrhea while you are taking an oral contraceptive, call your doctor to find out how long you should use the backup method. If you have recently given birth, wait until 4 weeks after delivery to begin taking oral contraceptives. If you have had an abortion or miscarriage, talk to your doctor about when you should begin taking oral contraceptives.

Oral contraceptives will work only as long as they are taken regularly. Continue to take oral contraceptives every day even if you are spotting or bleeding, have an upset stomach, or do not think that you are likely to become pregnant.

Do not stop taking oral contraceptives without talking to your doctor. Oral contraceptives are also sometimes used to treat heavy or irregular menstruation and endometriosis a condition in which the type of tissue that lines the uterus [womb] grows in other areas of the body and causes pain, heavy or irregular menstruation [periods], and other symptoms.

Talk to your doctor about the risks of using this medication for your condition. This medication may be prescribed for other uses; ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information. If you miss doses of your oral contraceptive, you may not be protected from pregnancy. You may need to use a backup method of birth control for 7 to 9 days or until the end of the cycle. Every brand of oral contraceptives comes with specific directions to follow if you miss one or more doses.

Carefully read the directions in the manufacturer's information for the patient that came with your oral contraceptive. If you have any questions, call your doctor or pharmacist. Continue to take your tablets as scheduled and use a backup method of birth control until your questions are answered. Oral contraceptives may increase the chance that you will develop liver tumors. These tumors are not a form of cancer, but they can break and cause serious bleeding inside the body.

Oral contraceptives may also increase the chance that you will develop breast or liver cancer, or have a heart attack, a stroke, or a serious blood clot. Talk to your doctor about the risks of using oral contraceptives. Some studies show that women who take oral contraceptives that contain drosperinone Beyaz, Gianvi, Loryna, Ocella, Safyral, Syeda, Yasmin, Yaz, and Zarah may be more likely to develop deep vein thrombosis a serious or life-threatening condition in which blood clots that form in the veins, usually in the legs and may move through the body to the lungs than women who take oral contraceptives that do not contain drosperinone.

However, other studies do not show this increased risk. Before you begin taking oral contraceptives, talk to your doctor about the risk that you will develop blood clots and about which oral contraceptive or other method of birth control may be the best choice for you. Oral contraceptives may cause other side effects.

Call your doctor if you have any unusual problems while taking this medication. Keep this medication in the packet it came in, tightly closed, and out of reach of children. Store it at room temperature and away from excess heat and moisture not in the bathroom. Unneeded medications should be disposed of in special ways to ensure that pets, children, and other people cannot consume them. However, you should not flush this medication down the toilet.

Instead, the best way to dispose of your medication is through a medicine take-back program. It is important to keep all medication out of sight and reach of children as many containers such as weekly pill minders and those for eye drops, creams, patches, and inhalers are not child-resistant and young children can open them easily.

To protect young children from poisoning, always lock safety caps and immediately place the medication in a safe location — one that is up and away and out of their sight and reach. In case of overdose, call the poison control helpline at If the victim has collapsed, had a seizure, has trouble breathing, or can't be awakened, immediately call emergency services at Keep all appointments with your doctor and the laboratory.

In our bodies, estrogens help control different processes—including puberty, the menstrual cycle, conception, and pregnancy. Scientists have been able to harness and manufacture chemical hormones, including synthetic estrogens, that bind and influence estrogen receptors across the body, allowing us to alter and control aspects of our reproductive health.

Estrogens produced within your body are called endogenous estrogens , while estrogens that are administered as a medication are often called exogenous estrogen or synthetic estrogen if it is pharmacologically made or altered. Synthetic estrogens differ from endogenous estrogen slightly in chemical structure. These slight differences cause them to be absorbed, metabolized broken down , and excreted differently by the body.

They also activate estrogen receptors differently. This is the type of estrogen that drives the menstrual cycle, and binds the most strongly with estrogen receptors 1.

Since combined hormonal contraceptives are always given as a combination of both estrogen and progestin, it can be difficult to determine which component and which relative dose and combination is responsible for each side effect. Combined hormonal contraceptives and synthetic estrogens can cause positive and negative side effects, including:. Unscheduled bleeding, increased or decreased bleeding, and bleeding pattern disruption 3,4.

Increases in blood clot risk 5,6. Slight increased risk of breast cancer and cervical cancer 7, Slight decreased risk of endometrial 10,13,14 and ovarian cancer 10,15, The side effects—both negative and positive—can depend on the amount of estrogen, the type of progestin, and individual level factors.

Synthetic estrogen in menopause and perimenopause therapies can cause the following side effects:. Increased risk of blood clots and stroke, though non-oral forms may be less of a risk Synthetic estrogens are most commonly used in hormonal contraceptives and as part of hormone therapy for people during menopause to mitigate unwanted side effects. Estrogens are used in combination with progestins , in combined hormonal contraceptives , like the pill, the patch, and the ring.

But the hormone that prevents pregnancy is actually progestin—it does this by suppressing ovulation and inhibiting the secretion of stretchy, fertile mucus 19, The purpose of estrogen in combined hormonal birth control is to make bleeding predictable Progestin-only methods can cause changes in menstrual bleeding 3, In the United States, the most common type of synthetic estrogen used in combined hormonal contraceptives is ethinylestradiol 2.

When taken by mouth, ethinylestradiol is very bioavailable —this means that the medication can be absorbed into the body to more readily produce a desired effect. Estradiol valerate E2V.

This type of synthetic estrogen is newer on the market and only available in a handful of oral contraceptives. Once estradiol valerate is taken by mouth, it is altered by enzymes in the gut.

Formulas containing estradiol valerate are combined with a strong progestin and have only two days of placebo pills People taking these contraceptives experience less menstrual blood loss than those who are not taking hormonal medication.

For this reason, estradiol valerate may also be used to treat heavy menstrual bleeding 25, The oral contraceptive, which is known as the pill, contains oestrogen or progesterone or a combination of both hormones. These hormones inhibit the production of FSH , and eggs cannot mature. Oestrogen at low levels stimulates the release of eggs. However at high doses, oestrogen will inhibit FSH production.