Ortho-Cept

About this product:
ORTHO – CEPT is a combination pill of estrogen and progestin. It is available in a 21 or 28 day pack. The first 21 pills contain the same amount of estrogen and progestin. The 21-pill pack is taken daily for 3 weeks with no pills taken for 1 week. The 28-pill pack is taken daily for 3 weeks with the last 7 "reminder pills" taken for 1 week. The reminder pills contain no active ingredients and are there to keep you in the routine of taking Ortho-Cept every day. The estrogen part of the Pill tricks your body into thinking it is pregnant so that it doesn't release an egg. The progestin prevents ovulation. ORTHO – CEPT also thickens your cervical mucus to stop any movement of sperm. The cervical mucus acts as a backup to prevent pregnancy even if an egg is released. If taken correctly on a daily basis, ORTHO-CEPT is as much as 99% effective in preventing pregnancy, but there is still a 1% chance that you could get pregnant. Furthermore, missing a pill or taking a pill a few hours later than normal can decrease the effectiveness. Certain medications like antibiotics are also known to increase the chance of your birth control pill failing.