Caption

Packet of oral contraceptives a method of female birth control known as the minipill. Oral contraceptives are preparations consisting of one or more synthetic female sex hormones, which prevent ovulation, or the monthly release of the female egg cell. Most brands of the pill (as opposed to the minipill) combine oestrogen, which suppresses ovulation, with progestogen, which acts on the pituitary gland to block the normal control of the menstrual cycle. The minipill, on the other hand, contains only progestogen.