74 Brochures Health Education
Tabled Paper 2134
Tabled Papers for 6th Assembly 1990 - 1994; Tabled Papers; ParliamentNT
1994-05-10
Tabled by Mike Reed
Made available by the Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory under Standing Order 240. Where copyright subsists with a third party it remains with the original owner and permission may be required to reuse the material.
English
Tabled papers
application/pdf
Copyright
See publication
https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2021C00044
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/292732
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/398406
i The Progestogen Only Pill (Mini Pill) This is a con tracep tive p ill w h ich con ta ins progestogen on ly and th is p rogestogen is in a ve ry low dose. There is no oestrogen in th is p ill a t a ll. It is thought to p reven t p regnancy m ain ly by causing changes to the w om en s ce rv ica l m ucus so tha t sperm cannot g e t th rough th is m ucus in to the uterus. How to take i t . . . Each packet conta ins 28 active horm one pills and no sugar pills. You can start taking th is pill anywhere in your cycle, but you are not protected from pregnancy until you have taken at least 1*4 pills. C ontinue to take a pill at the sam e tim e every day w hether you are having a period or not. Because it has such a low dose of horm one, it needs to be rem em bered and taken w ith in 3 hours of the appo in ted tim e e ve ry day. If th is is exceeded or your fo rg e t to take a p ill you w ill need to use ano the r fo rm of con tracep tion (e.g. condom s and sperm ic ide) fo r the next 14 days, in add ition to con tinu ing to take the pill. There are o ther c ircum stances tha t may e ffe c t the e ffectiveness o f th is pill; fo r in fo rm ation abou t these, see the fourteen day rule!, Advantages The m in i-p ill does n o t in te rfe re w ith the p roduction o f m ilk in w om en who are breast feed ing. If a wom an has noticed side e ffec ts If a woman has noticed side effects from the h igher dose com b ined p ill (e.g. nausea, w e igh t gain) then she m ay find tha t these do not occur on the m in i-p ill. A lso if a w om an is adv ised not to take a pill con ta in ing oestrogen because of s ide e ffec ts o r previous m edical prob lem s, then th is p ill m ight be m ore suitable. Disadvantages A com m on prob lem experienced by w om en taking th is p ill is irre g u la r and unpred ictab le periods. It can also be d iff ic u lt to take the p ill a t exac tly the same tim e eve ry day, i.e. w ith in a 3 hour margin. F inally, the m in i-p ill is no t so e ffec tive in p reventing p regnancy as the com bined p ill ( it has a 93%-98% success ra te which is a b o u t the same as an I.U.D.). The Pill and the Fourteen Day Rule (e.g. Missing a Pill) There are fou r occasions tha t you will need to use ano the r fo rm of con tracep tion (e.g. condom s and sperm icides). 1. When you start taking the pill fo r the firs t tim e you w ill need to use a no the r form of con tracep tion , un til you have taken 14 active pills. This is because it takes 14 days be fo re the p ill becom es e ffec tive . 2. If you miss a pill you w ill s till be protected if you rem em ber to take it w ith in 12 hours (o r w ith the m ini-p ill w ith in 3 hours of your regular time); if you do not take it w ith in these tim es you are not p ro tected aga inst pregnancy. H owever, con tinue to take the p ill but if you have sex you w ill need to have another fo rm of contraception , un til you have taken at least 14 active pills (no t sugar pills) o r un til you have fin ished the packet. 3. If you have a gastric (stomach) upset, e ithe r vom iting , d iarrhoea or both, the pill will p robab ly not have been absorbed and you w ill have to use ano the r fo rm of con traception un til you have taken at least 14 active pills or until you have fin ished the packet. 4 If you have been given antibiotics fo r any reason, you w ill need to use ano the r form of con tracep tion fo r the du ra tion o f the course of an tib io tics and fo r fourteen days fo llow ing the com p le tion of the an tib io tics course or until you have fin ished the packet. This is because an tib io tics can in te rfe re w ith the absorbtion of the pill.