For the countless women who use it regularly, birth control is a lifesaver. Not only does it prevent us from getting pregnant, which in and of itself it huge, it has other major benefits. Women use birth control to regulate irregular periods, lighten heavy flow, clear skin, and ease the pain of endometriosis or something similar. And now, it turns out that birth control can save our lives in yet another way. If you have used combination birth control and any point in your life, there's a chance that you've reduced your risk for ovarian cancer, which is incredibly important.

Combination birth control is the pill that contains both estrogen and progestin. A study published in the journal BMJ discovered that women who were on the combination pill, even if only briefly, showed fewer instances of ovarian cancer versus women who have never used birth control pills. Some people might be skeptical, but the numbers speak for themselves. According to the research, using hormonal birth control prevented 21 percent of ovarian cancers within the control group. Additionally, the longer a women uses this kind of birth control, the more they are further reducing their risk.

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This long and exhaustive research used data from the Danish Sex Hormone Register Study in Denmark. The data is extensive, it chronicled women who were between the ages of 15 and 79 years old between the years 1995 and 2014.

Even though it's not a huge component, it is worth mentioning that the risk is only reduced for women who took combination pills. If they took a progestin only pills, which are also called "mini pills," there was no information in protection from ovarian cancer.

Initially, it seemed that only birth control that was manufactured in the 1980s made any sort of difference in preventing cancer. But now, we know that the assumption isn't totally true. But if you switched to the mini pill from the regular sized pill for whatever reason, know that you will still have your chances of ovarian cancers reduced.

While we know that all birth control's were not made equal, and that we must choose the ones that are right for us, this is wonderful news.

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