Birth Control & Pregnancy

[TooWorry]

Hello, two weeks ago i came on here asking about a late period & it still never showed up. I’m not pregnant so that’s not what I’m worried about. i guess i just have irregular periods. But my question is that if i get put on birth control to regulate my period and regulate ovulation, will it still protect me from getting unwanted pregnancies? Since it will be regulating my ovulation?

[al]

Hi there TooWorry,

You should check in with your provider to make sure that the dosage you're using will be effective as contraception, but yes, that's absolutely right. In most cases, that's all birth control is - hormones that prevent an egg from being released in the first place. And when there's no egg to fertilize, there's no pregnancy. Then, when you get to the last week of the pack of pills, and stop taking the "active" pills with hormones in them, it signals the uterus to shed its lining, giving (usually) lighter, more regular periods.

To learn more about how the pill (and other forms of birth control) work, check out Birth Control Bingo: The Pill.