If you only consider the dry statistics, its clear that the oral contraceptive pill (known as “the pill”, not unlike “the boss” or “the secret”) is the most effective method of reversible contraception. Even though it has become lower and lower in hormone dosage since it appeared in the 60's, it has also become safer with close to zero failure rates (under ½%) when used reliably.
So the safety of the pill depends on your unshakable memory and the creation of a solid habit. In comes the human factor that just cannot be understated; after all, habits break down when circumstances change and memory is only as dependable as your state of concentration and motivation.
Different oral contraceptive pills have different mechanisms to help the users remember them tirelessly. Today, they tend to have week days (Monday, Tuesday, etc.) written alongside each pill, so you can know if you have taken your daily pill yet or not. Now this may seem insane to someone who has never taken the pill before, but everyone who has had the experience knows it is absolutely necessary. Doing a very simple daily action becomes so automatic that some days you simply have no recollection of actually having done it.
There are manufacturers who use the 28-day pill, which means that 7 of the pills of placebos, or sugar pills, which are meant to keep a woman in the pattern of taking a daily pill even during her 7 days around the period when she does not use hormonal pills. In order to keep in tune with the days when you have a 28-day pill, you have to start your first pill on the Monday after the start of a period, and then you have to wait for your cycle to synchronize itself.
There are then a few interesting gadgety pill boxes, some provided by the contraceptive companied when you buy your pills. They have extra reminders, like a cyclical box which tells you where you are in the calendar or menstrual month, in addition to which day of the week it is. Of course, sometimes you need a reminder to check the pill box in the first place.
Finally, there are the individual tricks: some women put reminders on their cell phone for the same hour every day. Others take their pill along with a specific daily activity that they never go without – morning coffee, brushing your teeth or before bed. Another original plan is to make it the responsibility of your really pregnancy-adverse partner to remind you.
Cont... So what is the solution?
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