New hormone effects

The pill has been regarded as a reliable method of contraception for 40 years. But in the last few years, the focus has switched to improving aspects of the pill that relate to quality of life. In particular, how easy it is to tolerate.

The latest development is a new progestogen, drospirenone, which is closer to progesterone, a sex hormone produced naturally by your body, than any other currently used in pills.

Because drospirenone acts in a way that's more like natural progesterone, it has many positive effects. Before you can fully understand these effects, you need to know how hormones work.

What do pill hormones do?

What is drospirenone?