The Top 4 Questions I Get About Birth Control Pills

The Top 4 Questions I Get About Birth Control Pills

by | Jan 21, 2015 | Gynecology, Ob-Gyn | 2 comments

The top 4 questions about birth control pills are: 1. Is it normal for my periods to go away or be really light when taking birth control pills? 2. I’ve heard birth control pills can make you infertile…is this true? 3. Will I gain weight on them? 4. Wasn’t Yaz recalled? Let’s dive right in: 1. Is it normal for my periods to go away or be really light? Yes! One of the most common side effects to birth control pills is light or absent periods. This often freaks people out if they don’t know to expect it, but please know, it’s totally normal. The reason behind why this happens helps it make sense. When you’re not on birth control pills, if you normally have a period monthly, then prior to your period, your body has this rise and fall of a few different hormones that prep your body to release an egg from your ovary near the middle of your cycle. This rise and fall pattern of hormones makes a lining of tissue in the uterus build up in preparation for a pregnancy. I like to think of it as if the tissue is building up layers that an embryo will burrow into if you were to get pregnant. These layers of extra tissue build gradually and if at the end of your cycle, you haven’t gotten pregnant, this tissue sloughs off and comes out the blood you see during your period. When on birth control pills, you’re taking in the same amount of hormone every day in the form of the pill. The pills work by telling...