Let’s dive right in:

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 your brain NOT to make that typical rise and fall of hormones that signal an egg to be released.

So, when there is the daily intake of pills, there is no egg released, and little or no extra tissue layers build up inside the uterus in preparation for a pregnancy. If you could take a camera and look inside the uterus of someone on birth control pills, it often looks vacant like a moonscape. So at the end of the active pills, often, there may be nothing inside to slough off and come out as your period.

If this is you, count your lucky stars— less periods = less pain, less pads, less tampons, less fuss.

No. Nope, definitely NO.

Struggling with infertility is extremely stressful, so let’s set the record straight so you aren’t worrying unnecessarily.

If someone is going to struggle with infertility, it’s not related to birth control pills (even if they make your periods go away).

There is however a thing called post-pill syndrome. Post pill syndrome occurs rarely, but when it does, people stop their birth control pills and then for up to 6 months, they may not ovulate (release an egg) or have a period.

Again, this is one of those things that can really cause distress: if you are a planner like me, you may be planning to start trying to connive the month immediately after stopping your pills. If your periods don’t come back for 3-6 months, it can really be nerve racking.

I explain it like this: birth control pills taken for a long period of time can basically get your brain accustomed to not releasing the typical hormone signals to tell your uterus and ovaries to get ready for a pregnancy. In some women, after quitting their pills, it takes up to 6 months for their default rhythms to get reestablished.

The reason post-pill syndrome happens to some people and not to others is not yet known for sure.

Knowing this is a possibility in advance, reduces stress and helps with planning timelines for when to stop your pills if trying for a baby is in your future. Even if you do experience post-pill syndrome, once your periods resume your chances of getting pregnant return to baseline.

That’s a loaded question. One might gain weight on birth control pills, but it’s not the pill that’s the cause.

Tons of research has been done on birth control pills and weight gain. Everyone has a different experience. What no one wants to hear is that there’s no good data to show that taking birth control pills causes any weigh gain. None.

The hard truth to swallow is that weight gain that occurs while someone take pills results from activity level and the kind of food that person eats. One of the best explanations I’ve come across for why some people connect their birth control pills to weight gain relates to when in their life they are taking pills.

Going to college (freshman 15). After having a baby (baby weight). After ending a relationship (lifestyle change). During any highly stressful time in one’s life (stress eating of processed food and sugar).

So don’t worry about weight gain caused by the pill- just be mindful of eating well and exercising regularly and intensely.

NO! Neither was Yasmin, Ocella, Gianvi or any of the generic names for drospirinone containing pills.

Here’s the scoop: all birth control pills increase the chances we will get a blood clot (thromboemolism). There was one study that showed a higher chance of a blood clot occurring when people took drospirinone, the progesterone part of Yaz. For some context, check out these numbers:

For women NOT on birth control pills, there is a risk of about 3/10,000 for a blood clot to happen.

For women ON birth control pills that risk goes up to about 6 per 10,000. That’s double, BUT, still a really small chance.

The one study I mentioned showed about a 8-10 per 10,000 chance with Yaz-like pills.

These findings have not been replicated elsewhere.

To give perspective to all this, the risk of getting a blood clot while pregnant is much higher at 10-20 per 10,000 (and after delivery, this risk is even higher for a few weeks!).

I’m putting together a little video that covers these and other birth control pearls more in depth.
I’ll let you know via the email list when it’s complete. Until next time, take care!

Kristi Angevine