How to use contraceptive pills

When people talk about birth control methods, one of the most well-know amongst them is a hormonal contraception method known as oral contraceptive pills.

A comprehensive study on women who use modern contraceptive by the Ministry of Health in 2010 found that, the pill was the most popular among all the modern contraceptive methods. However, some women are still unsure about how to correctly use the pill and when they should take them. We will guide you through some simple steps on how to take the pills correctly and prevent unwanted pregnancy.

There are two main types of oral contraceptive pills: combination pills which contains both estrogen and progesterone, and the other one is progestin-only pills which only contains progesterone.

In this blog post, we will be focusing on the more popular type of OCPs (oral contraceptive pills) in Cambodia, which is the combination pills.

How to take OCPs

Most combination pills come in a 28-day pack or a 21-day pack. When you buy oral contraceptives, they generally have instructions on the package on how you should take them, but they usually follow the following instructions.

For a 28-day pack, you usually have to take them for 28 days straight without a break. There are 21 active pills and 7 inactive or reminder pills. You must start another pack right away on day 29. Therefore, you have to buy them before you run out! Take care to know that you might bleed when you’re taking these reminder pills, but no worries, you’ll still be protected from unwanted pregnancy while you are taking reminder pills. Microgynon ED is a 28-day pack OCPs that is currently available for purchase in Cambodia.

For a 21-day pack, there are 21 pills in them. You have to take them for 21 days straight, then no pills are taken for the next 7 days in the 28-day menstrual cycle. Women usually bleed during those 7 days, but you won’t get pregnant during those bleeding days if you have sexual intercourse. Start another pack right away after having taken no pills for 7 days in order to stay protected against pregnancy.  These are the most common types of pills. Yasmin is a 21-day pack oral contraceptive pills.

Where to buy them

Pharmacies usually charge a slightly higher price for contraceptive pills than organizations like Marie Stopes. You can get birth control pills like OK, Diane, and Yasmin, Floris 35, and Desolon at Marie Stopes International Clinics at an affordable price.

If you have any questions about oral contraceptive pills or any other kind of contraceptive methods, consult with @MarieStopesKH now:
✓ Send a Facebook message
✓ Every day from 7 am to 5 pm
✓ 012 999 002 or 098 999 102
✓ Send a message via LINE, Viber, WhatsApp, WeChat 093 24 08 23
✓ www.mariestopes.org.kh/contact-us-form/

Sources:

• https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/birth-control/birth-control-pill/how-do-i-use-the-birth-control-pill
• https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/contraception/combined-contraceptive-pill/
• (2020). Retrieved 11 June 2020, from https://cambodia.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/In-depthanalysisofLevelsandTrendsofContraceptivePrevalenceandUnmetNeedforFamilyPlanninginCambodia1May13.pdf