Birth Control Pills are an excellent means of contraception and are the most commonly used method of birth control used in the United States. Pills are used by 16 million women in the US. and by 60 million women world-wide.
Pills are one of the most extensively studied medications ever taken.
Not everyone can take pills, but they are safe for many, many women. These synthetic hormones mimic the effects of a woman's natural estrogen and progesterone produced by the ovaries. This constant, steady level of hormones feeds back to the pituitary gland, inhibiting its normal cyclic production of hormones that stimulate the ovaries to ovulate. Thus, if a woman does not ovulate, she cannot become pregnant. Many pill users experience some nuisance side effects such as nausea, spotting or even bleeding between periods.