Scientists have developed a female contraceptive pill that is taken once a month. Its effectiveness is estimated at 99 percent. The pill is currently being tested. According to scientists, such a solution would provide women with better control over fertility.
Birth control pill once a month
Hormonal contraception is mainly directed at women. There are attempts to introduce a contraceptive pill for men on the market, but due to the number of side effects, it will not be available for sale soon. Until now, oral hormonal contraception was taken daily or with breaks for several days. Now scientists are testing a pill that is swallowed once every 30 days. How it works?
Scientists from Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed a prototype of a pill that stays in the stomach for a month after being swallowed and releases the right dose of hormones into the body. The prototype is in the shape of a star, packed in a soluble capsule, similar in size to the fish oil tablets. After reaching the stomach, the asterisk unfolds like a flower and gradually releases hormones.
When you are finished working, the pill will disintegrate and be expelled from your body. Scientists suggest that women taking the pill should not have problems digesting and excreting food due to the presence of the drug in the stomach.
The research has been published in the journal Science of Translational Medicine. Scientists have tested the pill in pigs and hope that human trials will begin within a few years. If the tests are successful, the pill regimen can be used with other long-acting medications.
Long-term hormonal contraceptives
Oral hormonal contraception should be taken daily. Its effectiveness is 99%, assuming it is properly taken. However, studies show that women often skip or forget to take a pill, which significantly reduces the effectiveness of this method of contraception.
In addition to the pills, women can also benefit from hormonal injections, which are taken once every three months, or the contraceptive patches that are replaced every seven days. Both of these solutions have their advantages and disadvantages. A contraceptive pill, which can be taken once every 30 days, would be a great help for many women and would allow more control over fertility.
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Source: bbc.com/news/health-50644485