Methods of preventing pregnancy by changing the levels of female hormones in a woman’s body. Hormonal birth control methods include birth control pills, hormone implants or injections, an intrauterine device impregnated with hormones, and morning-after pills. Hormonal birth control methods are easy to use, highly effective, and relatively inexpensive. Hormonal methods work by preventing ovulation. They also cause changes in a woman’s cervical mucus and uterus that help prevent pregnancy. Hormonal birth control methods are relatively safe, but not every woman may be able to use them. Women with certain health conditions, such as high blood pressure or an inherited tendency to develop blood clots, may not be good candidates for using hormonal contraception. Hormonal methods do not protect against sexually transmitted diseases; they should be used in combination with condoms in a non-monogamous relationship.
The utilization of synthetic progestogen drugs by women, often in combination with synthetic estrogens, for the purpose of preventing conception, is a well-known practice. Hormonal contraception, particularly the combined pill, encompasses the presence of both an estrogen and a progestogen, and its mechanism of action involves the suppression of ovulation, which is the release of an egg from the ovary. Progestogen medications contribute to the thickening of cervical mucus, rendering it impenetrable to sperm. Moreover, they induce thinning of the endometrium, the lining of the uterus, thereby reducing the likelihood of successful implantation of a fertilized egg. Progestogens can be administered in the form of oral pills, contraceptive implants placed under the skin, injections, or they can be delivered directly into the uterus through certain intrauterine devices (IUDs).