How True is the Myth of Weight Gain with Contraceptive Pills?
The medical explanation behind the connection of weight gain and contraceptive pills:
It is a common complaint of women using hormonal contraceptive pills (also known as combined oral contraceptives) that they gain weight, though the rate of weight gaining may differ from person to person. Physicians have also supported the fact but they are of opinion that weight gaining for women on hormonal birth control pills is not a constant process. Generally it occurs during the initial days of using pills only and once a user’s body becomes habituated to the composition of the medication, it gradually returns to normal.
It has further been stated that increased body weight can also be pill-specific, which means your weight gaining may not be same with all contraceptive pills. According to the medical rationale, weight gain due to hormonal birth control pill can be caused due to two factors: a) the rate of synthetic progestogen used in the pills and b) fluid retention caused by the pill. Many other sources, however, have stated that weight gain with combined oral contraceptives is actually a myth. The newer pregnancy prevention pills mostly don’t cause this problem and even if it happens, the amount of weight gained is generally much less.
How did the myth start?
Hormonal birth control pills were introduced for the first time in the market during early 1960s but the hormonal composition of those pill used be different than that of the recent ones. It has been found in the clinical studies that the combination of oestrogen and progestogen found in the earlier pills was almost 1000 times more than the recent ones. It is quite normal that the huge amount of artificial hormones that your pills supply to your body would cause weight gain. As the recent pills contain a far lesser proportion of hormones, compared to the earlier ones, the chances of weight increase with Microgynon and Yasmin pills are significantly less.
Why Yasmin and Microgynon?
Microgynon and Yasmin pills are currently the most popular combined oral contraceptive pills available in the UK. Both these pills contain artificial oestrogen and progestogen that are quite similar to the natural ones that are produced in a woman’s body. However, compared to most of the oral contraceptives currently available, the amount of synthetic progestogen used in these pills are low. Naturally the chance of weight gain and fluid retention in your body lessens. Taking these two pills as instructed would ensure continuous supply of artificial oestrogen and progestogen in your blood.
The artificial hormones would imitate the function of natural ones and also will override the actual hormonal cycle of your body. They stop you from conceiving as they stop ovulation or release of egg in the ovary. Moreover, they also obstruct sperm from entering the womb by making the cervical fluid, which is generally found at the neck of an ovary, thick. Finally the protection of Microgynon and Yasmin pills keep you safe from all risks as it doesn’t allow a fertilised egg to grow in the womb by changing the womb lining.
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