Birth Control Health Center

Features Related to Birth Control

The New No-Period, No-PMS Birth Control Pills

In the beginning, there was Seasonale -- the continuous birth control pill that offered women four periods a year. Women grabbed the chance to opt out of their periods. If you don't need it, why put up with it? Today, "the pill" has been finessed even more, with lighter-period or no-period birth con
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No More Periods

Karen Manser hated her periods. "I just had a horrible time. They made me miserable. Sometimes I would lay curled up like a little ball in the bed in pain." So she did something drastic: she stopped her periods cold. At 44, she hasn't menstruated in 10 years. Now, women are quickly catching on to wh
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Long-Term Birth Control: New Implants and Patches

Birth control pills aren't for everyone. If you've forgotten your pills too many times -- or can't take them -- there are plenty of options. The birth control patch (Ortho Evra), vaginal ring (NuvaRing), and three types of birth control implants (Mirena, Implanon, and Essure) offer long-term birth c
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New Birth Control Options: What's Right for You?

If you're ready for new birth control options, start here. A new wave of birth control pills, patches, and implants has hit the market in recent years -- offering women more types of birth control than ever before. While these birth control methods are certainly geared toward preventing pregnancy, t
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Plan B: 11 Questions, 11 Answers

Here are 11 questions and answers on the emergency contraceptive Plan B and its FDA approval for over-the-counter sales to women aged 18 and older. Plan B is an emergency contraceptive pill taken by mouth after unprotected sex. It is used to prevent pregnancy. It is not for routine contraceptive use
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Other Reasons to Take the Pill

By Janis Graham The Pill isn't just for birth control: Did you know that it can also protect against certain life-threatening cancers, plus help relieve some painful period symptoms? Here, experts explain the top seven health benefits of taking the Pill and how to make them work for you. Taking oral
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The New Birth Control Options

It was the early 1960s and tent dresses, white go-go boots, and Vidal Sassoon haircuts were all the rage. But what captured the attention of most women was the "pill" -- a new method of pregnancy pregnancy protection that promised to revolutionize a woman's sex life. And it did. Today there are more
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A Pill Is Born

I'm just a pill. Yes, I'm just a pill. And I'm sitting here ... Oh, hi. My name is Nupil. I'm a new drug, or at least I hope to be. Right now, the FDA is deciding whether to approve me. See that big office building? That's the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. It's as important as it sounds.
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The Pill and Desire

Q - Can birth control pills diminish my sex drive? A - Some birth control pills can decrease the intensity of sexual drive and sensations and some can increase it. The effects depend in part on the chemistry of your body and the formulation of the hormones in the pill you take. The formulations that
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The No-Period Pills

Let's face it, many women dread getting their monthly period. So take a minute to imagine this: What if you could take a birth control pill that reduced your periods from 13 to 4 each year? What if you could schedule life's big events - vacation, a wedding, family gatherings - around your "spring" p
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