So which Pill should I choose?

Regrettably, very few women do actually choose their own brand of Pill. The choosing is mainly done by doctors or nurses. (The main exception to this occurs when a woman asks to go ‘on the same Pill as my friend’ – or ‘the same as my Mum!’)

And unfortunately, a lot of doctors who don’t know much about contraception do tend to pick Pills more or less at random from the 22 currently (2007) available. If you want a more informed choice, go to a doctor who has training in Family Planning.

My advice to you is to ask for:

a low-dose Pill

a ‘second generation Pill.

The reason for preferring a ‘second generation’ Pill is that the ones which came after them in the late 1980s (the ‘third generation Pills’) carry a minutely increased risk of thrombosis.

Admittedly, this increase in risk is very, very tiny indeed.

I strongly advise you not to pay any attention to newspaper stories or broadcasts which suggest that any particular brand of Pill is ‘wonderful’ or ‘better than all the rest'. These tales usually originate from the PR companies employed by the manufacturers!

It is believed that a continuous Pill will be available in late 2007 or in 2008. You take this every single day without breaks – which means that you don’t have to be bothered with periods at all. It’s provisionally titled ‘Lybrel’.

Finally, you may be interested to know that in the UK, 6 out of 10 women are on the formulation contained in the low-dose, second generation Pills called Ovranette and Microgynon, which have been around for many years.