Freya is a type of birth control known as a combined oral contraceptive (COC). It contains two hormones, estrogen and progestin, and when taken reduces the chances of pregnancy.

In the case of Freya, the specific hormones are desogestrel and ethinyl estradiol.

Birth control pills such as Freya help reduce the chances of pregnancy in two ways. Firstly they inhibit the monthly release of an egg(s) by your ovaries. Secondly, studies suggest that changes in both the endometrium (lining of the womb) and the mucus produced by the cervix (opening of the uterus) occur with the use of birth control pills.

This makes it less likely that a sperm will penetrate an egg, or for an egg to implant on the wall of the uterus.

If you’re using the 21 day pack of Freya, then take one pill daily at the same time of day for 21 days, then do not take any pills for 7 days. After 7 days begin the next pack. Some women prefer to skip their period by taking the 21 day packs back-to-back, which is acceptable.

If you’re using the 28 day pack take one pill daily. The last seven days are sugar pills, and that’s when your period will occur.

You can start taking your birth control pills on any day, at any point in your cycle.

Make sure to keep track of when you begin and what time you take your pill each day. Also reference the packaging of your birth control pills because it will tell you what day you are on, whether you use a 21- or 28-day pack.

Read more about when to start birth control here.

When taking Freya, please monitor for a rare but serious side effect of blood clots: shortness of breath, chest pain (particularly with deep breathing), coughing up blood, persistent leg pain, or redness, swelling, or warmth in your lower legs (usually one-sided) can all be indications of a blood clot in the legs or lungs, and should never be ignored.

Please seek medical attention promptly if this occurs, in the emergency department.

You should not take Freya if you are pregnant. In addition, if you have experienced any of the following conditions: Blood clotting disorders, high blood pressure, heart disease, liver disease, breast disease, circulation problems, migraine with aura, or unexplained vaginal bleeding.

Smokers over 35 should not take Freya.

Yes. All low dose combination pills can be used for the treatment of acne. Most often, your practitioner will recommend a standard, low dose combined birth control pill like Alysena/Alesse, Mirvala/Marvelon or Tricira Lo.

There are some newer formulation of combined pills with progestins that are possibly better for acne. In some studies, combined birth control pills containing drospirenone (like Yaz) performed better at reducing acne. However, this form of birth control has possibly been correlated with increased risk of blood clots.

You can read more about how birth control can help with acne here.

There are many different options for birth control. You can learn more about deciding which option is right for you here.

Freya is a combination pill, meaning it contains both estrogen and progestin. This makes Freya a combined estrogen-progestin oral contraceptive (COC), which is what people typically refer to when they talk about “the pill” or birth control pills. In the case of Freya, the specific kinds of estrogen and progestin are ethinyl estradiol and desogestrel. These hormones work together to reduce the likelihood of becoming pregnant in two ways. The first effect of the hormones is to inhibit the monthly release of an egg by your ovaries. If no egg is released, there can be no pregnancy. The second effect is that the lining of the womb, known as the endometrium, and the mucus of the cervix become thicker reducing the chance that the sperm can reach an egg or that an egg can implant into the uterus wall. Since Freya is a monophasic combination pill, all of the pills contain the exact same dose of each hormone. This means you can choose to skip the inactive pills or the week off between packs and go right into your next pack if you wish to skip your period.

Freya is available in Canada with a prescription. You can get a Freya prescription through a licensed healthcare practitioner. If you have a family doctor, they will be able to prescribe you Freya or a different oral contraceptive of your choosing. A walk-in clinic in Canada will also be able to provide a Freya prescription. The doctor might as you when your last pap smear was, and if you’re overdue for one the doctors may only give you a prescription for a few months, encouraging you to get your regular pap smear and then come back for a longer prescription. By far the easiest way to get Freya in Canada is through an online healthcare provider like Felix. Your prescription will still be written by a licensed healthcare professional, as is legally required in Canada, but you don’t need to visit their office in person to get it. Instead, you can set up an online consultation, provide the necessary information about your medical history and anything else that may be relevant, and get your Freya prescription without having to leave your home. You can then have your Freya prescription delivered directly to your home by Felix, so you can skip the pharmacy trip, too.  

Freya is an effective form of oral contraception for preventing unplanned pregnancies. Like other estrogen-progestin oral contraceptives (COCs), Freya is over 97 per cent effective at preventing pregnancy when taken as directed. To be taken as directed, the pills in your pack should be taken at the same time every day. If you have the 21-day pack, you can take a one-week break between packs, or jump into your next pack if you want to skip your period. If you have a 28-day pack, you can take the 7 placebo pills before starting your next pack, or skip them and begin a new one. When taken correctly, a 97 per cent effectiveness rate means that if 100 women take Freya correctly for a year while being sexually active, only three will get pregnant per year. This makes Freya a very effective method of birth control. To compare to the baseline likelihood of becoming pregnant, if no birth control is used, somewhere between 60 to 85 women out of 100 will become pregnant in a year. Using condoms, between 2 and 12 women out of 100 will become pregnant in a year. A combination estrogen-progestin oral contraceptive like Freya, provided it contains at least 20 micrograms of estrogen, will only result in less than three women becoming pregnant, making it a very effective choice.