Birth control, also known as contraception, involves using various methods, medications, or devices to prevent pregnancy. A common question arises regarding the effectiveness of birth control once it has passed its labeled expiration date. Understanding the purpose of expiration dates on all medications, including contraceptives, is important for ensuring their intended function.
Why Medications Have Expiration Dates
Medication expiration dates are not arbitrary; they reflect the period during which a product is guaranteed to maintain its strength, quality, and purity. Pharmaceutical manufacturers establish these dates through rigorous stability testing. This testing involves monitoring drug batches over time to ensure they meet established standards throughout their shelf-life.
Beyond the expiration date, the chemical composition of a medication can change. This can lead to a reduction in its effectiveness. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires manufacturers to provide data supporting the proposed expiration date during the drug approval process. This regulatory oversight helps ensure that medications remain stable and perform as expected until their expiration.
How Expiration Affects Birth Control
Birth control methods like pills, patches, and rings rely on precise doses of active hormonal ingredients, primarily estrogen and progestin, to prevent pregnancy. These hormones work by suppressing ovulation, thickening cervical mucus to block sperm, and altering the uterine lining. Over time, the active ingredients in these contraceptives can degrade.
This degradation directly leads to a reduction in the medication’s potency. Even a slight decrease in hormone levels can compromise the birth control’s ability to consistently prevent ovulation or sufficiently thicken cervical mucus. Consequently, the effectiveness of the contraceptive in preventing pregnancy is diminished. Birth control’s efficacy is highly dose-dependent, making adherence to expiration dates particularly important.
Potential Outcomes of Using Expired Birth Control
The main outcome of using expired birth control is an increased risk of unintended pregnancy. Because the hormonal components may have lost their full potency, the medication cannot be relied upon to prevent conception. Relying on an expired product for contraception does not guarantee pregnancy prevention and should be avoided.
While less common, there is a risk of altered side effects if the degraded hormones behave differently within the body. However, the main concern remains the failure of the contraceptive to perform its intended function of preventing pregnancy.
What To Do With Expired Birth Control
It is important to never use birth control that has passed its expiration date. If you discover your birth control is expired, it should be properly disposed of immediately. The FDA recommends using drug take-back programs, which are often available at pharmacies or police stations. If a take-back option is not readily available, most medications, including birth control, can be disposed of in household trash.
To do this safely, remove the medication from its original container and mix it with an unappealing substance like dirt, cat litter, or used coffee grounds. Place this mixture in a sealed plastic bag or other closeable container before throwing it into the trash. It is important to avoid flushing most medications down the toilet unless specifically instructed to do so on an FDA flush list, as this can introduce pharmaceuticals into the environment. Always contact a healthcare provider to obtain a new, unexpired prescription and discuss any immediate contraceptive needs.