On July 13, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) finally allowed women to access one birth control pill over the counter. The FDA signaled in May that this was likely to happen after an advisory panel recommended that the agency approve over-the-counter marketing of the progestin-only oral contraceptive Opill, manufactured by the Dublin-based Perrigo Company. Progestin-only oral contraceptives have been around since 1973. Dubbed the "mini pill," these contraceptives have their limitations.
For example, women must take the pill at the same time every day, within a three-hour window. If they miss the window, they must discontinue the pill and begin again with the next cycle. With standard birth control pills that combine estrogen and progesterone, women who miss a daily dose can double up the next day. Women who take progestin-only pills have a slightly lower risk of developing blood clots that can break off and travel through the body (venous thromboembolism, or VTE) than they do with combination pills. But the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), which has for decades advocated making all hormonal contraceptives available over the counter for women of all ages, states the risk of VTE "with combined oral contraceptive use is small compared with the increased risk of VTE during pregnancy and the postpartum period."
