Oral contraceptive
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]
Overview
Oral contraceptives are medications taken by mouth for the purpose of birth control.
Types of Oral Contraceptives
Female
- Two types of female oral contraceptive pill are widely available:
- The combined oral contraceptive pill contains oestrogen and a progestogen, and is taken once per day.
- The progestogen only pill contains only a progestogen, and is also taken once per day.
- Other types of female oral contraceptive are experimental or only available in limited areas:
- Mifepristone is an antiprogestogen which has been used as a daily oral contraceptive in investigational clinical trials.
- Ormeloxifene (also known as Centchroman) is a selective oestrogen receptor modulator which is taken one to two times per week. Ormeloxifene is approved as an oral contraceptive only in India.
Male
- Male oral contraceptives do not currently exist, although several possibilities are in various stages of research and development.