Alesse

About this product:
ALESSE is a combination pill of estrogen and progestin. It is available in a  28 day pack. The first 21 pills contain the same amount of estrogen and progestin.

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 the Pill 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. ALESSE 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, ALESSE 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.

See Birth Control Statistics for frequently asked questions about Alesse.