The pill protects

From painful periods⁷
The pill can have quite a dramatically beneficial effect on your menstrual cycle. In most women it makes their periods less painful, more predictable, lighter and more manageable. It usually means the end of stomach cramps, heavy blood loss and an irregular, unpredictable cycle.

From heavy periods⁷
If you suffer from heavy periods, the pill can help by making them much lighter, more predictable and easier to cope with. Many women are prescribed the contraceptive pill, not just for birth control, but to prevent problems associated with heavy blood loss such as iron deficiency anaemia.

From irregular periods^7,9
One of the pill's main benefits is that it regulates the menstrual cycle so that you know exactly when your period will come every month. Many women choose the pill as their birth control method because they don't like having an unpredictable cycle.

From unpredictable periods^7,9
Not everyone has a period for the same number of days every month. Sometimes it can vary from as little as two days one month, to as many as seven or eight the next. Being on the pill normally means that your period will last for the same number of days every month.

From pre-menstrual tension²
Many women find that the pill helps to reduce symptoms of pre-menstrual tension such as a bloating, water retention, tender breasts and stomach cramps. Lots of women find that the symptoms of PMS improve when they're on the pill.

Protection from ovarian cancer⁵
The longer women use oral contraceptives, the greater the reduction in ovarian cancer risk.  This reduction in risk persists for more than 30 years after oral contraceptive use had stopped.  Studies have found that oral contraceptives have already prevented some 200 000 ovarian cancers and prevented some 100 000 deaths from ovarian cancer, and over the next few decades, the number of cancers prevented, will rise to at least 30 000 per year.

Protection from womb cancer⁹
The pill reduces the risk by almost 50%. Consequently, hysterectomy, (removal of the womb and/or the ovaries) is much less common than it used to be because so many women now take the pill.

Benign ovarian cysts⁹
It is quite common for women of all ages and at all stages in their life to have cysts (small lumps) on the ovaries which are usually not cancerous. They can still cause discomfort. The pill usually shrink the cysts, which reduces the discomfort and decreases the risk of further development.