Well, I'm not a doctor but it works like this: you take a pill for 21 days, then stop for 7 days. During the seven days you may bleed, but it's not a period because no egg has formed. It's called a withdrawal bleed. The 7 day break is actually not necessary: it's designed for psychological reasons to mimic a period. I generally carry on without a break cos I don't see the point in a fake period.

I'm willing to be corrected on any of this cos I'm (allegedly) a scientist, not a doctor.

Thanks HappyDays. I'm obviously a bit nervous, but I'll give it a go. Should I bring my own stick or just find one lying on the floor?

Hiya Wickid, I recommend evening primrose oil and complex carbs to keep your serotonin levels up.

Richmond, the female human body is so NOT well designed for childbirth (more strong evidence against 'intelligent design')! Juno is right, the modern female body has a relatively narrow pelvis and newborn human babies have disproportionately large heads - go figure! It all went wrong when we became bipedal If and when, it will be an epidural for me (and an elective Caesar doesn't sound like a bad option either!). That said, splinters are damn painful too!

Good to see you spreading the word Happydays. Convert these heathen women. Soon they will see real pain and will not moan about PMT or child birth again.

About the pill. It prevents egg release right? Women have X number of eggs, which get all used up when they are 50 (they have a store from when they were a fetus) right? So on the pill you 'save' eggs. So does this mean that if you are on the pill until you are thirty you will have nearly 30 years worth of eggs to play with and so can get pregnant. That seems to make sense, but im not sure if it is true.

Oh, and is being on the pill like being in the menopause? Do you start to turn into men (which is what women seem to do after the menopause)? Grow body hair, get fat around the middle instead of the legs etc etc.

Richmond, people have speculated that being on the pill might be helpful in terms of preserving fertility but AFAIK, there is little or no evidence for this. As you correctly say, a female is born with all the eggs she will ever produce so time is the real factor (tick tock goes the biological clock). Recent research suggests that for women, the age of your mother at the time you were born will impact on your future fertility (with the older the mother, the more likely that the daughter will have fertility problems) - not good news when the average age for a first baby is increasing all the time.

I'm sure you realise that egg release only occurs from menarche (first period and beginning of reproductive life), so if you were on the pill until you were 30, then (if average age at menarche is 12), you'd 'bank' 18 years of eggs, not 30 . Also, not all contraceptive pills prevent ovulation; low dose progesterone-only pills inconsistantly prevent ovulation and their main mechanism of action is via thickening of cervical mucus to prevent sperm entry (possibly too much info for you there...)

Last biology lesson - re: the 'do you turn into a bloke when on the pill as during the menopause?'

No! On the contrary, being on the pill (combined pill) exposes a woman to much higher concentrations of oestrogen which is a 'feminising' hormone. This explains the common side-effect of breast growth! It also explains why certain contraceptive pills (e.g. Dianette) are used as a treatment for acne or unwanted hair growth (i.e. reversing or controlling the effects of a hormonal imbalance).

I see, well im not an expert in this. So what I was inferring makes sense, but there is not enough evidence. It will partly depend on the pill type you take.

I meant if you were on the pill from 20-50 when menopause kicks in you would accumulate and save nearly all your eggs (approx 30 years of eggs). Though obviously I didnt account for teenage life.

Interesting, who needs breast implants. Just pop 30 pills a day and double F's will be yours in no time.

Its been a long time since I looked at all this stuff. Last time I did the whole menstral cycle was in my first or second year undergrad. I think we even covered the pill in terms of hormone control (breifly). I just cant remember it now as I havent had to use it since then.

Maybe DJWickid should take some testosterone to help in the fire bulding.

Mistag: having been on the pill before, i can tell you a bit about its effect. You take it for 14 or 21 days depending on its type. I have taken both progesteron (14)pill and the normal 21 day pill. with the 14 day pill, you have bad periods.. the cramps are even stronger than normal. with the other pill - ordinary 21 day pill, you get cramps - not as bad as before, but they are still there. what gets worse is the mood swings.. you get very irritable. i wouldn't not believe your ex and juno, i disagree - consult your doctor on the effect that continuosly taking the pill can have on your ability to conceive in latter years. been there, done that... wouldn advice anyone to do it.

Childbirth: i think it is a very despicable thing that men should belittle childbirth to the extend that it has been on this forum. if you never respect a woman for anything, respect the fact that she gave birth to you birth - it isn't just a walk in the park, or a lighting of fires etc - my person opinion.

My housemate at uni used to have an injection, it lasted her for months. It was administered in the buttox tho - so bit painful ;)

I usually have about 10 minutes of crying and wailing every month then I'm normal...but then there's still the pain, spots and swollen melons to worry about...

Does being on the pill really stop your ability to conceive later? I've been on it 6 years and will likely be on it at least another 4 before I have babies - would that be bad? There's no option for me to come off it as I am super-fertile!

LOL @ superfertile

I haven't heard anything about it affecting your fertilty, but there are other health risks in long-term use with some pills