Here's a brief look at the history of birth control. Although pills are very much in demand to avoid getting pregnant for women, these are also causing quite a stir.

The reason for this is because birth control pills are known for one side effect. More and more women are complaining that the pills cause them to gain weight. For the ladies who use the pill just to avoid the risk of pregnancy, this is definitely not good news.

When a woman gains weight because of the pills, it causes her to look at the other options. But not everybody is affected of this kind of side effect. Some women don't have weight issues regarding the use of birth control pills.

But for the women who are prone to such effect, there are other forms of birth control that they can choose to use. They can go the natural way or the rhythm method. This is where the partners will become involved in a sexual act only when the female is not fertile.

There are methods that are being injected and inserted to the women's genitals to obtain same effect as the pills. And among the popular ones is through the use of condoms. Nowadays, both men and women have condoms suited for their private parts.

The History

The oldest form of birth control can be the sexual abstinence. But aside from it, the withdrawal effect can also be considered as one.

Coined as the coitus interruptus, this means that the penis of a man will withdraw from the woman's genitals before the ejaculation. This prevents him from transmitting into the lady or his partner any vital sperm that may cause pregnancy. But this requires a lot of self-control on the part of men.

It was also believed that Egyptian women have used suppository for their vaginas on old ages. The term for this type is pessary. This contains oil and other lubricants that will kill the sperm once the woman becomes involved in a sexual act.

The equivalent of today's female condoms at the time is a cervical cap for Asian women. This is like oiled paper. And for the same goal, Europeans have used beeswax. It was not until the 17th century that a condom was invented. When it was first introduced, it wasn't as popular as today. And it was intended not only to avoid the risk of pregnancy but also to avoid acquiring sexually transmitted disease like syphilis.

Throughout human history, there are various abortifacients that have been used. But the effects vary and those that were proven effective caused a lot of side effects. In the developing years, the herbal medium was used to act as a contraceptive.

The 20th century introduced the rhythm method or the natural way. It is still being applied today and can be as effective as the birth control pills but will also require a lot of control from both concerning partners.

In 1960, the FDA approved the pill that is now known as birth control. It was in 1972 that the pill became available for married ladies and singles ones who are over the age of 21. This was part of the 26th Amendment.

This brief history of birth control shows you its popularity through time. Although, it is also known to cause added weight, people rely on one or two types in hopes of not risking getting their partners pregnant at the time that they are still not ready for it.

In making a comparison of birth control pills, it should be known that oral contraceptives have been around the market for over 45 years. It was first tagged as the pill when it was first approved by the US Food and Drug Administration or FDA. This form is the most reliable that women turn to when they want to get pregnant.

Weight Gain

But another side to oral contraceptives is how they affect a woman's body to gain weight. It really is dumbfounding because you will hear such stories from many women who have used the pill for the obvious reason of avoiding pregnancy.

But despite the fact that it causes additional pounds, the celebrity status that birth control pills have been know for have not diminished through time. Women still relay on these for such purpose, whether they gain weight or not.

This really depends on the body type of a person. Some women do not have problems of this sort. But the ladies who belong to such lucky classification have also not been fighting over the weighing scale, as they were growing old. The ones who are prone to gain weight from the pills are those who accumulate fats easily through food and whatever they intake.

For this reason, when a woman gains weight from the pills, she must also be ready to counteract it by having the proper diet and right amount of exercise. You must treat it like your ordinary weight gain. This is for you to be able to trust the pill and likewise, not to risk pregnancy when you are still not ready for it.

You must not fear the drug because of the side effect on your weight. Those can be worked out on. Unlike with unexpected pregnancy, you have to live with that for the rest of your life.

A Brief Comparison of the Pills

There are actually many types of this pill available for you to choose from. The POP or Progestin-only pills have no estrogen. This is usually called the mini-pill. It primarily works to thicken the cervical mucus so that the sperm won't be able to enter the uterus. This kind must be taken consistently at a certain time everyday to achieve great results.

Combination pills, meanwhile, are those that have estrogen and progestin. The many kinds under this type are said to prevent women from having ovarian cancer as well as endometrial cancer.

The third most popular are the ECPs or emergency contraceptive pills. This must be taken after 120 hours of committing unprotected sex. The drug will prevent you from impregnating as the cause of the act. This shouldn't be taken regularly though. It is only when needed that one should subject her to this type of pill.

The important thing to remember when choosing the type of pill that will suit your body is to consult your doctor about it. They know about what will work best for you in terms of this condition because they have scientific knowledge about the field.

This is just a brief comparison of birth control pills. There are a lot more available in the market. And for sure, a lot more will be discovered and developed as time passes by.

At first, taking birth control pills to cure the problematic acne is totally a ludicrous idea. It turns out that the idea is not as far fetched as we thought at first. Birth control pills, depending on the situation, can help teenage girls handle a terrible acne problem.

For teenage girls, or even older women, acne problems can be a source of embarrassment. There are several remedies for acne. Doctors, of course, can help determine what kind of medication is necessary and appropriate for each individual in order to solve their acne problems. Medications can range from acne creams to antibiotic, and to the occasional birth control pills.

Birth control pills seem to work on teenage girls since the pills contain synthetic hormones that help balance the already fluctuating hormones inside their body brought about by puberty. These hormonal fluctuations are seen as one of the causes of acne problems. Doctors have prescribed the use of birth control pills to control acne for years. Although, the pills are not labeled to be of such use, the effectiveness of them to some people is notable. Fortunately, the FDA has begun approving the use of some birth control pills as alternative medications to treat acne.

Even though FDA has already approved the use of oral contraceptives for acne treatments, doctors often prescribe their use only after several medications and treatments were tried and were found to be ineffective. It is also common that oral contraceptives are used alongside other conventional acne medications. This method has been proven to be more effective than using it alone.

All birth control pills contain synthetically produced progestin and estrogen hormones. These two are responsible for preventing the ovulation of eggs in the woman's ovary. Oral contraceptives reduce the production of testosterone in the female body. When the production of testosterone is reduced, the amount of oil produced by the skin is also reduced. Consequently, the skin has a lower chance of experiencing pore blockage due to the decrease of the oil being produced.

Some oral contraceptives, meanwhile, contain progesterone that helped reduce the androgen hormones in the body. By doing this, the breakout activity of acne can be reduced.

However, some brands of oral contraceptives actually increase the levels of testosterone in the body and instead of preventing acne, it can result to a possible major outbreak. This is why it is important to consult your doctor before taking matters into your own hands. There's only so much you can read from the labels of the drugs and read in the Internet. Professional opinion is still a valued one and should be asked for every time situations like this arise.

It is common for doctors to prescribe a daily dosage of birth control pills for a period of three weeks. Afterwards, you will have to take placebo pills to induce the normal menstruation cycle. Don't be too impatient and begin taking more pills that what was prescribed. It is normal to see any noticeable effects only after the third month that you began taking the pills.

The use of birth control pills as a cure of acne is not without side effects. The most common side effect includes weight gain, nausea, mood swings, breast tenderness, and menstrual spotting. There are situations where the side effects are very serious.

Stroke, headaches, gallstones, increase blood pressure, blood clots, and even depression, are some of the observed serious effects of using oral contraceptives for acne control, although, these effects are very uncommon.

People who are not ready to raise a family or don't want to have any more kids should practice birth control. For those who use birth control pills, you should be alarmed by a new study that shows that women who have taken it for a long time are at risk for developing cervical cancer.

Cervical cancer happens to about 15,000 Americans. Of that that number, a little over a third will die from this disease while the rest can be treated thanks to its early detection using Pap tests.

Women get cervical cancer from an infection known as the human papilloma virus or HPV through sexual intercourse. Most of the time, the body is able to fight it but researchers have discovered that more than half of the test group that has used oral contraceptives for more than 5 years is at risk of this disease.

You won't see any symptoms during the early stages of cervical cancer. This will only be seen later on as you experience continuous vaginal discharge that may be bloody, brown, pale, pink and foul smelling. It is also possible that there is abnormal vaginal bleeding when you have a period, after intercourse or during post menopause. Another possibility could be heavier and longer lasting periods.

The researchers who conducted the study did not really explain why or how pills increase the risk of this form of cancer. It merely said it did and when other people read the findings, the only conclusion they could think of was the fact the since the women in the study were on the pill, this made them more sexually active.

There is nothing wrong with being sexually active but if you have multiple partners, there is a chance that one of them could be a carrier of this kind of sexually transmitted disease.

But there are those who disagree with the findings. Other studies have shown that the practice of birth control especially the use of pills decreases the chances of women from ever being diagnosed with ovarian cancer.

To be safe, women are advised to undergo regular screenings like the Pap test. Women under the age of 30 should go to the clinic annually while those who are older should have this done every two to three years.

Birth control methods also have other risks aside from cervical cancer. These include high blood pressure, liver tumors, and breast cancer.

The more common side effects that you will encounter are nausea, breakthrough bleeding or spotting, breast tenderness, mood chances, decreased sex drive, weight gain, vaginal discharge, cervical changes and gallbladder disease.

But not all birth control methods available do have side effects. Abstaining and outer course which is the opposite of intercourse are still considered to be the most effective as the sperm never meets the egg.

For those who can't control their urges and want to get physical, they can rely on the condom since the only possible problems could be skin irritation and if your sexual partner is allergic to the latex version.

Until private companies are able to develop a better birth control pill or device that does not have side effects or increase the risk of cancer or any other disease, these are things that both men and women have to live with when they want to get some action.

Menorrhagia better known as heavy period is a common problem for women. This is because the person may suffer from severe anemia and the only way to save her life is through blood transfusions. There are several causes such as hormonal imbalance, uterine fibroids, polyps, and dysfunction of the ovaries, adenomyosis, IUD's, medications, pregnancy complications and cancer. Of those mentioned, two are directly linked to birth control.

Hormonal imbalance happens may occur when you get too much estrogen and progesterone in your system. You have to remember that the body produces these two hormones and when you take pills that also carry this ingredient, a hormonal balance occurs. This is prevalent among adolescent girls and women who are nearing menopause.

Another is by using intrauterine devices or IUD's.  Just like pills, this T-shaped plastic device is either wrapped in copper or contains hormones. Both are effective in preventing pregnancy but if ever you experience heavy bleeding, you need to remove it.

If you experience heavy bleeding as a result of either of the birth control methods, it is best to see a doctor immediately and tell that person when this happened.

Your doctor will ask you questions about your medical history before a physical exam will be done. These include blood tests, an endometrial biopsy, Pap test and ultrasound scan. 

Should there be additional tests needed, you may undergo a sonohysterogram, a hysteroscopy or dilation and curettage otherwise known as D&C. This is done of course to rule out other menstrual disorders.

Treatment for heavy period is based on your current health and medical history. If it has been found that birth control devices are the culprits, you may have to switch to another device so this will never happen again.

Often recommended by doctors are oral contraceptives because it has been proven to help regulate ovulation and reduce episodes of heavy periods. Since this may not go away right away, the doctor may also prescribe NSAID's or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs to reduce the heavy period. They are also known to relive painful menstrual cramps.

There are two types namely combination birth control pills and progestin only pills. You should keep in mind that there are certain side effects in using them and if this is a problem, you should ask your doctor to reduce the dosage or recommend something else.

If birth control is not the reason and you are anemic, the answer will be to take iron supplements as part of your daily diet.

Should heavy periods still occur, this is the time that surgery may be the final solution. Some examples of these include Dilation and curettage or D&C, operative hysteroscopy, endometrial ablation, endometrial resection and hysterectomy.

Except for the last one mentioned, the others can be done on an outpatient basis. You can check in the hospital or clinic in the morning and be out by lunch or in the early afternoon.

The different birth control methods are effective in preventing pregnancy but not all of them can protect you from sexually transmitted diseases or STD's. Two of those mentioned above are directly linked to heavy periods or menorrhagia so if you don't want this to happen, you should be examined regularly by a doctor and consider other conventional birth control methods.

A migraine is a severe headache usually accompanied by symptoms such as nausea and vomiting. This can disable you for a few hours or even days. The level at which this happens or even its frequency varies.

A recent study shows that women suffer from migraines more than men. Although its exact cause is unknown, birth control devices happen to be one of the culprits.

An example of such a birth control device is the oral contraceptives. This is because its ingredients alter the woman's hormonal level and causes the migraine. The cause of course is too much estrogen, which is added to what is already naturally produced by the body.

Aside from migraine, oral contraceptives may cause medical abnormalities from uterine fibroids to breast cancer.

Sometimes, the migraine attack may occur before or after taking the oral contraceptive. If this happens regularly, you are advised to try another method of birth control. This can be avoided though if you take it with food or milk. You must take this at the same time daily and stick with the prescribed dosage that was given to you.

Women over the age of 35 and experience migraines as a result of using birth control pills and other devices are at risk of getting a stroke. This is another reason why some institutions strongly advice females to use something else if they don't want to get pregnant.

Those who are diabetic have high cholesterol levels and blood pressure is advised not to take oral contraceptives.

But there is hope. One of the newest oral contraceptives to date is Seasonal. This pill was introduced into the market in 2003 and since it makes females only experience a period four times in one year, this means fewer headaches for migraine sufferers.

But this oral contraceptive may not work for everyone. If you suffer migraines due to neurological problems, this won't do any good and you will have to find another birth control device.

Women may still choose to use oral contraceptives. This is only after the doctor examines them and if everything looks good, he or she will prescribe a lower dose of oral contraceptives. Talking to your physician may even prevent a full-blown migraine from happening since there is really no permanent solution to stop this from happening.

But there are some women who experience migraines even before they start using oral contraceptives. In fact, the frequency did not increase or decrease once they were on the pill but complained that the severity of the migraine got worse.

The severity of the migraine will also not go away overnight after you quit using oral contraceptives. Studies show that it will take a few months for your hormonal levels to normalize and only then will you be able to see an improvement.

Despite that, migraines will still happen and you will not blame it only on the pill but due to other factors such as the food you eat, stress at home or in the office, other medications that you may be taking, physical factors and changes in the environment.

So although there is a direct link between oral contraceptives and migraine, you cannot say that it is the only reason why women suffer from it more than men.

There are different types of birth control pills around. Before you start using any, you should consider the side effects.

Studies have shown that there are only two methods that do not have side effects. First is abstaining however, it may be hard sometimes to control the urge if both of you feel like doing it. The best thing to do then is outer course or masturbation so the sperm will never come into contact with the egg.

The second is with the use of condoms because it does not release any hormones into the body and it is simply used as a barrier that is disposed off after intercourse.

Spermicides come in different forms. There are creams, film, gel, suppositories and tablets. The side effects of using them include the risk of TSS and one of you will experience a burning or itching sensation. It rarely causes a skin rash but when it happens, this will only go away after some time.

Those who choose to use the diaphragm are at risk of bladder and urinary tract infections. If you have had this in the past, you are strongly discouraged to stop using it. There have also been cases of toxic shock syndrome or TSS but is also quite rate. This should not left in the vagina for more than 24 hours because there will soon be a smelly vaginal discharge, an inflammation or an infection could occur.

Birth control pills have a lot of side effects. These include breast tenderness, headaches, mood changes, nausea, spotting and weight gain. It may also contribute to blood clots, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, breast and liver cancer.

Apart from conventional birth control pills, there is a new one called Seasonale. Since it has been around for only 5 years, there have only been a few reported cases of blood clots in the legs or lungs, stoppage or rupture of a blood vessel in the heart and other organs, liver tumors and high blood pressure. However, those who have been taking it regularly complain of breast tenderness, weight gain, vomiting and difficulty wearing contact lenses.

The morning after pill is better known as an emergency contraceptive pill or ECP. This must be taken 120 hours after unprotected vaginal intercourse. Its side effects are similar to that of conventional pills but if you happen to vomit within an hour of ingesting the pill, it is advised that you call a doctor. Another thing to keep in mind is that this should not be used as a regular birth control pill.

The patch is another and this is applied to the skin. One patch is good for a week and this has to be placed for three consecutive weeks and can be placed anywhere in the body. On the fourth week, the female doesn't have to stick anything so she can normally go through her monthly menstrual cycle. Side effects include application site reaction, breast symptoms, headaches, mood swings and vomiting.

Injectables are injected into the body every three months. The side effects include irregular periods, weight gain and vomiting. Something similar to that are implants and those who use it may experience irregular bleeding, headaches, nausea, depression, dizziness, nervousness, weight gain or loss and hair loss.

Majority of the birth control methods around have side effects. If you don't want to experience any, perhaps not having sex at all is the answer to your problems.

Birth control methods were created to solve the problem countless families are encountering. Family planning is a method of spacing your children. Birth control methods also allow people to have the maximum number of children they can provide for.

The responsibility of family planning is not just in the hands married couples but also young people. Birth control methods and options should be known to them to prevent teenage pregnancy.

How many of us have dreamed of their perfect family? A lot of newly weds often say that they want a huge family with a lot of children. But as reality sinks in and gives them a wake up call they slowly realize that it is not always the more the merrier. The truth is most of the time it's the more the uglier, because of today's rapidly growing population jobs are becoming scarcer, urban areas are becoming smaller and more crowded and the world is running out of resources to meet the needs of the growing population of man.

It may have been said in the early years of the earth that we should go forth and multiply but up to what extent was not really discussed. Since that time people have not been looking into the adverse effect of a huge population and a small planet.

No one has even noticed that there are options for Birth control methods that are ready for them to use.

To solve this problem countless ways have been invented and promoted to encourage people to plan their family. Family planning is the method of spacing your children over a period of time to prevent yourself from having a hard time raising them.

For some people the main concern that they have is the age gap of the children but the number of children they have. Even if you are a hard worker if you have twenty mouths to feed it will drive you nuts just as having one child in the family and also having no job. It's a nightmare for some people to raise their family because there's just too many to take care of.

The age and number of the children largely outnumbers that of the disposable income of the household.

In fact some families resort to putting their children up for adoption not because they don't love them but because they do and they don't want them to suffer so much.

It is sad when you think about how it could've been prevented by simple family planning. Some people are afraid to understand family planning because there had been no real attempts to study how it works and for who it works for. Some people remain ignorant to the fact just can't say no. The responsibility of family planning not only falls into the hands of couples in marriage but also young people who engage in pre-marital sexual acts.

Birth control methods and options should be known to them to prevent teenage pregnancy.

Birth control should be more than just something that we use to prevent pregnancy.

It should also be a responsibility that we are willing to carry on until we retire and we should take part in educating children about the importance of proper spacing.