Faith in birth control

[jazzysteffy.livejournal.com]

Hi girls,

I'm very skeptical. I'm one of those people that never believes what others say right away. I always need to see it for myself or find empirical evidence to back it up.

I'm on the pill. I take it pretty religiously (always within 15mins of the same time everyday). But "take this pill everyday at the same time and you will not get pregnant" isn't enough for me. I try to tell myself that millions of women take the pill BECAUSE IT WORKS. However, I'm impossible to convince. Clearly, I can't prove this to be true unless I stop using condoms, but I'm afraid to do that because I don't have enough faith in the pill by itself. I'm silly, I know.

Here's my question in an attempt to believe through understanding: What, exactly, is the biology behind the pill? What is this pill doing to prevent pregnancy?

I know it stops an egg or something.. but I need more than that.

Thanks very much!

Comments

[sd-nekojin.livejournal.com]

I think the short version of the story is that convices your body that you pregnant so you don't ovulate (release an egg) that month.

[orangewrath.livejournal.com]

Yes. And it also thins out the uterine lining so if you DO ovulate, the possible fertilized egg has less of a chance of implanting and it also builds up the cervical mucus so it makes it harder for sperm to even reach the uterus (hence why you might have had more discharge since you started the pill). So if one way fails, there's always a back up! :D When used correctly, less than one percent of women get pregnant on the pill.

:/ I know it's hard to trust anything at first. You definitely do not need to stop using condoms, but hormonal birth control was deveolped to be a sole means of birth control. You don't have to be comfortable with it, but if you're really worried about having sex right now, you might want to consider if you want to be having it at this point in your life. I'm in no way telling you not to have sex, I just don't want anyone worrying about it! It's an amazing thing that two people can experience together, and one thing that you shouldn't do is be worried about becoming pregnant while using the pill AND back up (if they're both used correctly), because it puts you at over 100% protected. Maybe you and your partner should talk about this? Your pill info should tell you why your pill prevents pregnancy. Maybe read it over again, but with him, and discuss if you want to have sex sans condom. You don't have to, but you shouldn't be worried about it so much. If you choose to stop using condoms (which could also cut back financially if you're not getting them free from a clinic or something), please don't worry about it! If you stress over it, you're period will probably be later than you usually get it, which will freak you out even more. It's a vicious cycle, but you really, really have little to worry over.

Don't worry, everyone feels doubt about it at first. I know I sure did. I decided to get on the pill because I had a pregnancy scare and I just so happened to have a check up the following month and asked for BC. Before that, my boyfriend and I had been using condoms. It's only $10 for a month of birth control, and depending on the place, we could spend that much in a week. We also had sex a lot. :P It was just a very good decision for us, and having condomless sex brought us a lot closer. We sat down and read my pill info together and HE was the one that needed to be reassured later on. We researched it online together and everything. Some good bonding times. :D

Anyway, best of luck!

P.S- I've decided I write too much.

[geminigirl]

The pill affects the production of certain hormones in your body (FSH and LH.) By doing that it does three things-it prevents ovulation-no egg released means no egg to fertilize, it thins the lining of your uterus, making it an inhospitable places for a fertilized egg to try and implant (and thus for most people, making periods lighter and shorter,) and it thickens the mucous at your cervix, making it much harder for sperm to get through and try to fertilize an egg.

[jazzysteffy.livejournal.com]

Nice icon.

That was great. Thank you.

[inkydragon.livejournal.com]

You can also find a lot of information on this topic on both google and the memories for this community! :-)

[mandaryn.livejournal.com]

I remember watching a video on how exactly hormonal birth control works. I've been googling, and can't seem to find it. =( I
It was quite convincing though, and did give the biological reasons and such.

[mandaryn.livejournal.com]

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/pill/sfeature/sf_cycle.html I don't remember for sure if this is what I'm thinking of, but it's pretty darn close. You can see how your cycle goes with and without the pill, and see what changes biologicaly/chemically in your body. =)

[-xdominox-.livejournal.com]

One thing i can't understand though, is how come its after 21 days you can take the placebos and not get pregnant? is it because after that point there's enough of that LH suppressing stuff to stop the egg being released? and that to less then that will not have enough?

sure is amazing!

[wingsoflace.livejournal.com]

You can take the placebos and not get pregnant because birth control prevents your body from releasing an egg. It is possible for you to get pregnant on your period because the egg may get fertilized before it's flushed out of your system- but since there's no egg to fertilize, you can't get pregnant. Despite not having horomones in your system, the birth control still prevented you from releasing an egg.

[citizengwen.livejournal.com]

this doesn't answer your question but it might help a bit. i'm in the complete opposite boat. i can't understand how you and millions of other women trust a piece of latex to stop you from becoming pregnant! i feel much safer knowing i'm biologically stopping myself from producing the egg, then using a barrier.