Contraception Reviews

Natural family planning vs Mini pill

Natural family planning

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Mini pill

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Overview

Rated 3.0

5 reviews

Daily

Frequency

77% - 98%

Effectiveness

None

Blood clot risk

None

Effect on fertility

Rated 3.4

26 reviews

Daily

Frequency

91% - 99+%

Effectiveness

None

Blood clot risk

None

Effect on fertility

Natural family planning ingredients

Fertility awareness methods is an umbrella term for a method of birth control that works by being able to identify when in the menstrual cycle you are fertile through a range of factors.

Mini pill ingredients

Main hormones in Mini pill

progestin

What Lowdown reviewers say

Mood

29% no impact on mood

Bleeds

69% stopped periods

Sex drive

55% lost sex drive

Weight

48% gained weight

Skin

58% no impact on skin

Cycle return

38% don’t know impact

Mood

27% no impact on mood

Bleeds

39% stopped periods

Sex drive

42% no impact

Weight

50% no impact

Skin

42% no impact on skin

Cycle return

50% don’t know impact

Benefits: What this birth control can help with

There are no benefits that are recognised in scientific research or guidelines for this birth control

Period pain

Heavy menstrual bleeding

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Check out our latest reviews

Real life reviews from people like you

Natural family planning reviews

5 reviews

Natural family planning  
Used for 3 - 6 mo
Lowdown user
🇺🇸 US
  •  1 month ago

Breastfeeding (Lactational Amenorrhoea Method or LAM)  

So Great

Read more

Very positive mood

1 more effect

0 helpful

0 comments

Natural family planning  
Used for 18 mo - 3 yr
Lowdown user
🇺🇸 US
  •  28th Dec 23

Natural Cycles App  

Overall, I felt that this was a safer option. I only switched to the mini pill in an effort to get a handle on my PCOS pelvic pain.


Top side effects not reported

1 helpful

0 comments

Natural family planning  
Used for 3 - 5 yr
Lowdown user
🇺🇸 US
  •  25th Jul 23

Natural Cycles App  

I was previously on the contraceptive pill, and as soon as i came off it i was immediately more in tune with my body, could feel the sex drive boost around ovulation etc and lost the weight the pill had put on me.


Very positive mood

2 more effects

0 helpful

0 comments

Natural family planning  
Used for 3 - 6 mo
Lowdown user
🇺🇸 US
  •  1 month ago

Breastfeeding (Lactational Amenorrhoea Method or LAM)  

So Great


Very positive mood

1 more effect

0 helpful

0 comments

Natural family planning  
Used for 18 mo - 3 yr
Lowdown user
🇺🇸 US
  •  28th Dec 23

Natural Cycles App  

Overall, I felt that this was a safer option. I only switched to the mini pill in an effort to get a handle on my PCOS pelvic pain.


Top side effects not reported

1 helpful

0 comments

Natural family planning  
Used for 3 - 5 yr
Lowdown user
🇺🇸 US
  •  25th Jul 23

Natural Cycles App  

I was previously on the contraceptive pill, and as soon as i came off it i was immediately more in tune with my body, could feel the sex drive boost around ovulation etc and lost the weight the pill had put on me.


Very positive mood

2 more effects

0 helpful

0 comments


Mini pill reviews

26 reviews

Mini pill  
Used for 1 - 3 mo
Lowdown user
🇺🇸 US
  •  5 days ago

Slynd birth control pill  

Really love it! I can skip my periods, don't experience migraines and my acne cleared up!


Improved skin

1 more effect

0 helpful

0 comments

Mini pill  
Used for 12 - 18 mo
22 years old
🇺🇸 US
  •  3 weeks ago

Slynd birth control pill  

I gained 30 pounds after starting this birth control. Could not figure out what was going on with my body until I found a reddit thread where other people were experiencing the same.


Worse skin

2 more effects

0 helpful

0 comments

Mini pill  
Used for 6 - 12 mo
27 years old
🇺🇸 US
  •  21st Feb 25

Slynd birth control pill  

I’m hoping it gets better. Switched from Errin to Slynd 6 months ago. Hair loss stopped. Acne got better. Those were an immediate win. Month 1 - bled for 1 week. Month 2 - bled for 3 weeks. Month 3 - bled for 2.5 weeks. Month 4 - bled for 2 weeks. Month 5 - bled for 1.5 weeks. Month 6 - bled for 1 week. I naturally have a short cycle, and in the process of trying to force my cycle into a 30 day cadence, I’ve gotten 1-2 days per month of severe headaches before my period (thought my head would blow off without Tylenol) and minor dull headaches for ~1 week before each period. The headaches didn’t happen with Errin - but they are happening with Slynd (and also happened a few year back when I took the combo pill).


Top side effects not reported

0 helpful

0 comments

Mini pill  
Used for 1 - 3 mo
Lowdown user
🇺🇸 US
  •  5 days ago

Slynd birth control pill  

Really love it! I can skip my periods, don't experience migraines and my acne cleared up!


Improved skin

1 more effect

0 helpful

0 comments

Mini pill  
Used for 12 - 18 mo
22 years old
🇺🇸 US
  •  3 weeks ago

Slynd birth control pill  

I gained 30 pounds after starting this birth control. Could not figure out what was going on with my body until I found a reddit thread where other people were experiencing the same.


Worse skin

2 more effects

0 helpful

0 comments

Mini pill  
Used for 6 - 12 mo
27 years old
🇺🇸 US
  •  21st Feb 25

Slynd birth control pill  

I’m hoping it gets better. Switched from Errin to Slynd 6 months ago. Hair loss stopped. Acne got better. Those were an immediate win. Month 1 - bled for 1 week. Month 2 - bled for 3 weeks. Month 3 - bled for 2.5 weeks. Month 4 - bled for 2 weeks. Month 5 - bled for 1.5 weeks. Month 6 - bled for 1 week. I naturally have a short cycle, and in the process of trying to force my cycle into a 30 day cadence, I’ve gotten 1-2 days per month of severe headaches before my period (thought my head would blow off without Tylenol) and minor dull headaches for ~1 week before each period. The headaches didn’t happen with Errin - but they are happening with Slynd (and also happened a few year back when I took the combo pill).


Top side effects not reported

0 helpful

0 comments

Mini pill  
Used for 1 - 3 mo
21 years old
🇺🇸 US
  •  15th Feb 25

Slynd birth control pill  

It does what it needs to do, pregnancy prevention. Intense emotional fluctuations following the “usual” postpartum journey is definitely a downside


Very negative mood

3 more effects

0 helpful

0 comments

Mini pill  
Used for 1 - 3 mo
Lowdown user
🇺🇸 US
  •  31st Dec 24

Slynd birth control pill  

N/A


Top side effects not reported

0 helpful

0 comments

Mini pill  
Used for 3 - 6 mo
33 years old
🇺🇸 US
  •  29th Dec 24

Slynd birth control pill  

My experience thus far has been great with minor concerns for acne.


Worse skin

0 helpful

0 comments

Mini pill  
Used for 1 - 3 mo
Lowdown user
🇺🇸 US
  •  19th Nov 24

Norethindrone 0.35 birth control pill  

started taking it about a week and a half ago. i missed a day on sunday, so i took two on monday. today is tuesday and im having terrible cramps. other than that, emotionally its better than the combination pill.


Worse skin

1 more effect

0 helpful

0 comments

Mini pill  
Used for 12 - 18 mo
Lowdown user
🇺🇸 US
  •  2nd Nov 24

Norethindrone 0.35 birth control pill  

This pill improved my sex drive which had been very reduced by the combination pill. It allowed me to put on more muscle too! The weight gain was mostly muscle, which I was so happy about. It was just hard to take the same exact time everyday.


Somewhat positive mood

3 more effects

0 helpful

0 comments

Mini pill  
Used for 3 - 6 mo
Lowdown user
🇺🇸 US
  •  31st Oct 24

Slynd birth control pill  

Much better than other mini pills


Very positive mood

2 more effects

0 helpful

0 comments

Mini pill  
Used for 18 mo - 3 yr
Lowdown user
🇺🇸 US
  •  26th Sep 24

Slynd birth control pill  

10/10 highly recommend. Stopped my periods which increased my quality of life!


Very positive mood

2 more effects

0 helpful

0 comments

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