Family planning is essential for allowing individuals that want to be responsible when it comes to having children. Birth control is one of the most effective forms of family planning, but it is poorly understood by many individuals. This can lead them to make poor or ineffective decisions in regards to using birth control.

Myth: Birth Control Will Make You Fat 

A common assumption that many people will have concerning birth control is that it will cause them to gain substantial amounts of weight. While some women will gain a small amount of weight from their birth control, this will often fade as the body adjusts to the hormones from the birth control.

These effects can often be minimized or avoided by pairing women with the right type of birth control for their body type. This can be rather tricky as each person will respond to these hormones in their own way. As a result, it can be common for women to need to change birth control types a couple of times before they find one that is ideal for their needs.

Myth: Birth Control Is Effective Immediately

Another misleading assumption about birth control is that it is effective as soon as it is taken. Unfortunately, it can take up to several weeks for the birth control to reach peak effectiveness. Additionally, the effectiveness of the birth control can be compromised by taking it in an erratic manner as it is necessary for the body to receive a steady amount of the birth control hormones to prevent pregnancy.

Furthermore, you should be aware that some medications can interfere with the effectiveness of birth control. Therefore, it can be wise to discuss your current medications with your doctor so that they can prescribe a birth control option that will be compatible with your current medication.

Myth: Taking Birth Control Will Prevent You From Getting Pregnant In The Future

Starting a family may be something that you want to do sometime in the future. For those that are open to the idea of having children at some point, it can be easy to assume that the birth control will make this impossible or greatly increase the difficulty of conceiving. Luckily, this is not the case as women will find that they can conceive relatively soon after stopping this medication. The exact time frame can vary as it may take several weeks for the hormone levels to dissipate enough for the menstrual cycle to resume.