There are two kinds of birth control pills: traditional and extended cycle. Both come in a 28-day dispenser.
Traditional birth control pills make your reproductive system mimic a regular 28-day monthly cycle. For the first 21 days, you take active pills containing reproductive hormones. For the last seven days, you take a placebo (an inactive pill). While you are taking the placebo pills, you bleed vaginally as if you were having a regular menstrual period.
By contrast, extended-cycle birth control pills contain active hormones for every day of the month. The newest extended-cycle pill is a low-dose pill that is designed to be taken continuously for one year, with no breaks for hormone-free intervals. This type of pill is meant to suppress all menstrual bleeding.
| Traditional pill: 1. Most birth control pills are taken every day; it is recommended that a woman take her pill at around the same time each day. 2. For the first three weeks, a woman takes an “active” pill containing hormones. 3. The fourth week, a woman takes a pill without hormones. |
 |
| Extended-cycle pill: 1. Most birth control pills are taken every day. It is recommended that a woman take her pill at around the same time each day. |
 |