How are Yaz, Yasmin and Ocella Different from Other Contraceptives?

The oral contraceptive drugs Yaz, Yasmin and Ocella are combination contraceptives—birth control pills that contain two types of hormones: estrogen and progestin. Almost all birth control pills, including Yaz, Yasmin and Ocella, contain the same type of estrogen—ethinyl estradiol. There is another type of birth control pill called the mini-pill, which only contains progestin.

Fourth-Generation Birth Controls

The other ingredient in combination contraceptives, progestin, is where birth controls on the market differ. In 2001, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of drospirenone, a synthetic form of progestin, in birth control pills. Yaz, Yasmin and Ocella are the only oral contraceptive drugs on the market that contain drospirenone. These are fourth-generation birth controls. Birth control pills have evolved over the years as scientists developed new types or “generations” of synthetic progestins and used them in combination with estrogen to create new birth control drugs.

Monophasic Birth Controls

Yaz, Yasmine and Ocella are all monophasic combination birth control pills. Monophasic oral contraceptives all contain the same level of estrogen and progestin in each of the active pills. There are other monophasic birth control pills on the market, but other birth controls are biphasic, containing two levels of hormones, or triphasic, containing three. Some believe that Yaz, Yasmin and Ocella are more dangerous than all other oral contraceptive drugs on the market because they’re the only birth controls which contain drospirenone, a progestin linked to serious and sometimes fatal medical conditions. Are you taking one of these three drugs containing drospirenone?

Sources:
http://contraception.about.com/od/thepill/p/Progestins.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combined_oral_contraceptive_pill

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