Review, 2005
Do birth control pills help with menstrual problems?
Yes. Birth control pills reduce heavy periods, painful periods, and irregular bleeding. Many women also see improvement in acne and excess hair growth.
What they did
A review of research on health benefits of oral contraceptive pills beyond pregnancy prevention, focusing on effects on menstrual and reproductive health.
What they found
Oral contraceptives relieve heavy periods, painful periods, and irregular bleeding. They reduce long-term risk of ovarian and endometrial cancer. Some women improve in acne and excess hair growth. They can treat heavy bleeding and endometriosis.
What it means for you
Birth control pills provide real relief from menstrual symptoms. The main limit is that this summarizes existing research rather than presenting new data, so effectiveness depends on the quality of studies reviewed.
About the study
- Original title
- Noncontraceptive health benefits of combined oral contraception
- Authors
- ESHRE Capri Workshop Group
- Journal
- Human reproduction update
- Year
- 2005
- Study design
- Review
- What was tested
- Combined oral contraceptive pills
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1093/humupd/dmi019
Topics
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