Guide to getting birth control pills in Singapore

Stuffy stigmas aside, birth control is fundamentally about empowering yourself with choice – the choice of exactly when or if you want children . While hormonal methods run the gamut from injections to IUDs, by far the most common option in Singapore is birth control pills.

If you’re just beginning to take charge of your sexual health, we’ve put together a guide to these oral contraceptives – the pros, the cons, and how to get them in Singapore.

How pills work

Birth control pills come in two kinds: Progestin-only, and more commonly, a combination of progestin and estrogen. In combination pills, the progestin and estrogen hormones work to halt ovulation, inhibiting the release of eggs from your ovaries and thus preventing fertilisation by sperm.

Meanwhile, progestin-only pills – aka minipills – thicken the mucus in your cervix to prevent sperm from reaching the egg. Which pill you take will be recommended by your doctor based on your health history.

When you’re on the pill, you’ll need to pop one pill a day on a monthly schedule. Combination pills generally come in either 21-day or 28-day packs, with a built-in week for getting your period each month.

Whereas you can take combination pills at any time each day, progestin-only pills must be taken at the same time each day, and only come in 28-day packs.

The pros and cons

The pill has a few major perks over other hormonal birth control methods like IUDs and shots – it’s easy to take and just as simple to reverse. Once you stop popping the pill, the hormones can be out of your system in a matter of days.

On the flip side, this means you’ll need to be careful about remembering to take your daily dose – pills are 99 per cent effective in theory, but around 91 per cent effective in practice if you leave room for slip-ups.

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Health-wise, birth control pills pack some surprising benefits as well.

Combination pills decrease our production of sebum and can hence reduce breakouts – there’re even certain brands approved for acne treatment.

Studies have also shown links between long-term contraceptive use and reduced risk of ovarian cancer.

Common side effects of the pill are relatively minor – they include nausea, headaches, lighter periods, and mood swings.

The exception is smokers, who have weakened blood vessels – since oral contraceptives thicken the blood, smokers will be at greater risk of blood clots, and subsequently, more predisposed to stroke and heart disease.

For this reason, smokers are usually advised to steer clear of pills.

Getting pills from GPs in Singapore

As you might expect, contraceptives can’t be obtained over-the-counter in Singapore – you’ll need to get a prescription from a general practitioner. Excluding consultation charges, the price per one-month pack of pills ranges around $25 to $40.

Most GP clinics should carry a couple of the most common brands like Yasmin and Diane-35. If you’d like a greater range of choice and more specialized advice, though, a women’s clinic is your best bet.

Dr Rosalind Chong, for instance, has been offering family planning and contraceptive services at her Clinic & Surgery for Women for three decades; for everything from oral contraception to IUD insertion, there’s also the Singapore Women’s Clinic .

Ordering pills online in Singapore

Heading down to a GP used to be the only route to getting birth control pills, but digital health startup Ease is blazing a new path.

Travelling physically to a clinic on the regular can be pretty time-consuming, not to mention uncomfortable – you might not want to bump into people you know, or deal with doctors not trained to handle sexual health sensitively. And that’s where Ease comes in.

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Working with doctors experienced in reproductive healthcare, Ease offers online consultations on your birth control needs and options.

After the call, Ease will process your prescription with local pharmacies and arrange delivery in discreet, unbranded packaging – all in as little as 24 hours. Subsequent orders get even easier – you’ll simply need to submit a renewal form for a refill.

Affordability is a big plus point as well – Ease’s birth control pill options start from $23 with free standard shipping. They also prescribe and deliver birth control patches (from $56) and emergency contraception (from $25).

It’s all the expert advice and trustiness of conventional consultations, enjoyed from the privacy of home.

This article was first published in City Nomads.