Prevention of pregnancy after intercourse
Prevention of pregnancy after intercourse
Oral contraceptives or birth-control pills are used for the prevention of pregnancy after intercourse. These pills have several effects that help prevent pregnancy. Drospirenone is part of certain birth control formulations. Drospirenone at 3mg, which can potentially cause hyperkalemia in high-risk patients, is comparable to a 25mg dose of spironolactone. Oral contraceptives should be used under strict medical supervision.
The compound is part of certain newer oral contraceptive formulations. For instance the Yasmin contains 3mg drospirenone and 30mcg ethinylestradiol per tablet. It is indicated for the prevention of pregnancy in women who elect an oral contraceptive. Yasminelle contains 3mg drospirenone and 20mcg ethinylestradiol per tablet and is used for contraception. Yaz contains 3mg drospirenone and 20mcg ethinylestradiol per tablet and is given for 24/4 days with the same indications. It has also been formulated in medication to manage menopausal symptoms.
Oral contraceptives, also known as birth control pills, contain artificially made forms of two hormones produced naturally in the body. These hormones, estrogen and progestin regulate a woman's menstrual cycle. When taken in the proper amounts following a specific schedule, oral contraceptives are very effective in preventing pregnancy.
For pregnancy to occur, an egg must become mature inside a woman's ovary, be released, and travel to the fallopian tube. A male sperm must also reach the fallopian tube, where it fertilizes the egg. Then the fertilized egg must travel to the woman's uterus (womb), where it lodges in the uterus lining and develops into a fetus. The main way that oral contraceptives prevent pregnancy is by keeping an egg from ripening fully. Eggs that do not ripen fully cannot be fertilized. In addition, birth control pills thicken mucus in the woman's body through which the sperm has to swim. This makes it more difficult for the sperm to reach the egg. Oral contraceptives also change the uterine lining so that a fertilized egg cannot lodge there to develop. Thus oral contraceptives help in the prevention of pregnancy after intercourse.
A woman who wants to use oral contraceptives should ask her physician for the latest information on the risks and benefits of all types of birth control and should consider her age, health, and medical history when deciding what to use. Birth control pills may cause good or bad side effects. For example, a woman's menstrual periods are regular and usually lighter when she is taking oral contraceptives, and the pills may reduce the risk of ovarian cysts, breast lumps, pelvic inflammatory disease, and other medical problems. However some women can also face bad side effects.