The wonder that is birth control, specifically the pill, is something that usually ends up being taken for granted. While most would simply choose to ignore the science behind it rather than understand how it works, every woman who takes a birth control pill should understand that there could be consequences to using the drug. These consequences often lie deep in the heart of how the medication functions, in how your typical birth control medication actually achieves its stated goal of preventing pregnancy. Having an idea of how the typical birth control pill works can go a long way to helping a person understand the risks involved in the use of such drugs.
The story behind how birth control medication works starts in the 1930s, when it was discovered that injecting progesterone was effective in preventing the onset of pregnancy. Progesterone, a hormone naturally produced by the body, is generally more prevalent in females than in males. Synthesizing the hormone was conducted, with the synthetic version of the chemical proving to be just as effective as the real thing. Research was later conducted into finding out whether or not the body can be induced to produce more of...