HORMONAL CONTRACEPTIVES: BENEFITS AND RISKS OF THEIR USE BY THE FEMALE POPULATION

Since the 1960s, hormonal contraceptives have been an advance in family planning for women, being the reversible method of contraception in order to prevent unwanted pregnancies. Hormonal methods of contraception, such as oral, injectable, transdermal and intrauterine, have similar aspects, with risks and benefits in their use. For this reason, this work aims to present the main methods of hormonal contraceptives addressing their benefits and risks of use as a primary method by the female population. The methodology used in this study refers to a descriptive and exploratory literature review. Synthetic contraceptive hormones have a similar effect to female hormones in the gestational period, keeping progesterone and estrogen levels constant, regardless of the hormonal contraceptive method used, all of which have the main objective of preventing an unwanted pregnancy. With the use of these methods as primary, among the benefits found the treatment of endometriosis and the convenience of use according to the method of choice stand out among the benefits, among the risks are thrombolytic events and myocardial infarction, which can be avoided with use of pharmaceutical guidance. Finally, it is observed that the female population needs guidance on hormonal methods in order to minimize damage and eradicate their use irrationally, ensuring adherence, in addition to therapeutic efficacy.