Almost all types of hormonal birth control switch off ovarian function and, therefore, switch off the ovarian hormones estradiol, testosterone, and progesterone. Here’s a bit more about each method.
IUD
A discussion of the benefits and side effects of the copper IUD (ParaGard) and the hormonal IUD (Mirena).
Does Birth Control Cause Weight Gain?
Can hormonal birth control cause weight gain or impair metabolic health? If so, which types are more likely to do so?
The first thing to understand is that the ovarian hormones estradiol and progesterone tend to promote subcutaneous fat but reduce visceral fat, which is good because visceral fat is the bad fat tied to insulin resistance or metabolic dysfunction. The second thing is that hormonal birth control mostly switches off estradiol and progesterone.
Basic Body Literacy
Some basic body literacy:
A proper period or menstrual bleed is a bleed at the end of a natural ovulatory cycle. Any other type of bleed is either a pill bleed (a withdrawal bleed from stopping contraceptive drugs) or an anovulatory cycle (a bleed when there has been no ovulation).
A menstrual cycle is, therefore, an “ovulatory cycle,” in which ovulation is the main event.
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The Pros and Cons of the Copper IUD (ParaGard)
The copper IUD or coil (ParaGard) is a non-hormonal method of birth control. Its main advantage over hormonal methods is that it contains no contraceptive drugs and permits natural ovulatory cycles.