Birth Control Pills With No Oestrogen

by Colleen Barrett 15

While the pill celebrates 50 years of blocking sperm, a new study says it makes women more possessive and paranoid about their partners' fidelity.

I'm not down with women using periods as an excuse to behave badly — or men using it to dismiss emotions — but anyone who's ever had a bad birth control experience would probably agree it can ambush the mood. The study does illustrate one worthwhile fact: pills with more oestrogen are more likely to cause emotional upsets than pills with less or none. None sounds like a delightful amount, so what pills are oestrogen-free? Find out below.

Of course, there are nonhormonal birth control methods, but another option is progesterone-only pills. Often called the minipill, the brand names are Micronor, Nor-QD, Ovrette.

On the negative side, it's even more critical to take minipills at the same time every day than pills with both oestrogen and progesterone; however, they're equally effective. Eight out of every 100 women get pregnant (the ratio drops to 3/1,000 when taken correctly) while taking either type.

Have you tried it?