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If you've ever started birth control primarily to manage acne, irregular cycles, or brutal cramps, you already know something that doesn't get said enough: birth control is a legitimate medical treatment, full stop.
According to research by the Guttmacher Institute, more than half of all birth control pill users rely on the method, at least in part, for reasons other than pregnancy prevention. And 1.5 million women use it exclusively for non-contraceptive purposes.
Based on survey from our users, the most common reasons for using birth control are:
● Preventing Pregnancy (85.2%)
● Improving Skin (25.9%)
● Other (18.4%)
● PMDD (7.4%)
Twentyeight Health was built for exactly this reality — to give you support from a licensed health provider who can support your woman’s health and help you find the right method for your goals, Paired with Oura Ring's continuous body tracking, you get something most people never have: real data on how your body is responding, week by week.
That cluster of breakouts along your jawline in the week before your period isn't random. During the luteal phase, androgen levels rise, which triggers excess sebum production and, for many people, predictable hormonal acne. It's one of the most common reasons people seek birth control outside of pregnancy prevention — and there's solid clinical backing for using it.
The FDA has formally approved combined oral contraceptive pills for acne treatment for specific brands. These combined pills lower circulating androgens, which is what actually clears the skin over time. Most providers recommend giving it about three full cycles — around 90 days — before evaluating how well it's working.
How Oura can Help Connect the Dots
In the Oura app, you can create a custom tag for “Acne” or “Breakout” and log it each time it appears. Over a few months, you'll start to see exactly where in your cycle those breakouts show up, and once you connect with your Twentyeight Health Provider, you can discuss any changes that are out of the ordinary.
Your Readiness score, which reflects how much physiological stress your body is under, may also improve as skin inflammation calms.
Your Twentyeight Health provider will review your medical history before recommending a method — including any history of migraines, blood clots, or other conditions that affect which formulations are safe for you specifically.
Talk to a provider about birth control for acne →
PMOS affects roughly 1 in 10 people with ovaries of reproductive age, yet it often goes undiagnosed for years. The symptoms — irregular or missing periods, excess androgens causing acne or unwanted hair growth, ovarian cysts — vary a lot from person to person, which makes it easy to dismiss or misread.
Combined oral contraceptives are considered the first-line pharmacological treatment for managing menstrual irregularities in PMOS, offering protection of the uterine lining in addition to contraception. Hormonal methods — the pill, patch, or ring — work by suppressing the androgen excess that drives many PMOS symptoms, and by regulating your cycle so your uterine lining sheds consistently.
For people with PMOS tracking their cycle with Oura, the ring's temperature data can give you a window into what's actually happening hormonally. Oura's hormonal health features include cycle tracking that reads your basal body temperature trends — useful for identifying if and when ovulation may be occurring in a natural cycle.
For your Twentyeight Health provider, this data adds real context to your medical history. Instead of describing your symptoms from memory at a 10-minute consult, you can share months of temperature and sleep patterns that tell a more complete story.
Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) is more than bad PMS. It's a recognized condition involving severe mood shifts, anxiety, depression, and sometimes physical symptoms that reliably appear in the luteal phase and lift once your period starts. For many people, it takes years to connect the timing and get a diagnosis.
One clinical option worth discussing with your health provider is continuous birth control — taking your pill without the placebo week, or using a method that delivers consistent hormone levels without a monthly “drop.” By keeping estrogen and progesterone levels more stable, some people experience significantly less of the mood crash that comes with the luteal phase hormone shift.
Oura's HRV data is particularly supportive for people managing PMDD. Heart rate variability is a sensitive marker of your nervous system's stress load, and many Oura users notice a measurable dip in HRV during their most symptomatic days. Once you start a stabilized hormone regimen, comparing those trends month over month gives you something concrete. We're talking more than just “I feel better,” but data that reflects it.
Your Twentyeight Health provider can use that information to help you fine-tune your method or timing.
Period migraines and endometriosis are two conditions that are distinct, but they share a common thread: pain that's severe enough to derail your day, your work, and your relationships. And both have real clinical options.
For period migraines, the culprit is often the estrogen drop that happens during the placebo week of a traditional pill cycle or at the start of menstruation. Estrogen-stabilizing methods — including low-dose continuous pills or the hormonal IUD — can prevent that withdrawal drop and reduce the frequency of hormone-triggered headaches.
One important note: if you have migraine with aura, estrogen-containing methods are generally avoided due to increased stroke risk. Your Twentyeight Health provider will ask about this specifically and can recommend progestin-only options or other treatments that are appropriate for you.
For endometriosis, hormonal methods work by thinning the uterine lining and reducing or eliminating the heavy, painful bleeding that characterizes the condition. Progestin-only pills may offer particular benefits for endometriosis because progestins have demonstrated reductions in pain and can suppress the extent of endometriotic lesions. The hormonal IUD and the shot are also commonly used for endometriosis pain management.
Oura's body temperature data can be a useful reference here. A persistently elevated baseline temperature during your most painful days may indicate inflammation, and documenting that pattern gives your health provider data to work with rather than a subjective pain description alone. Logging symptoms as custom tags directly in the Oura app, alongside your temperature and sleep data, creates a timeline that's genuinely useful at your next visit.
As a Twentyeight Health member, you get 10% off Oura Ring 4* — shop through our exclusive link at ouraring.com/twentyeighthealth.
A 10-minute telehealth consultation can accomplish a lot when you come in knowing what you want to address. Your Twentyeight Health provider will review your full health history, including any contraindications like migraines with aura, cardiovascular history, or existing diagnoses. Based on this, they will then recommend a method that treats your specific symptoms.
Twentyeight Health is available across all 50 states, accepted by 100+ insurance plans including Medicaid, and prescriptions ship in 3 to 5 business days. You can access unlimited health provider messaging with Complete Care, meaning you can simply send a message to your health provider for any questions and concerns related to your woman's health. For more provider-vetted reading on related topics, the Sex + Health Guide covers acne, PCOS, PMDD, endometriosis, and more in depth.
*Offer valid limited time only and only on Oura Ring 5. While supplies last. Excludes all other products, styles, and finishes. Oura reserves the right to discontinue or modify this offer at any time. Offer not valid on gift cards, e-gift cards, taxes or shipping; other restrictions and limitations may apply. In the event of a return, refund shall not exceed amount paid. Offer may not be combined with other offers or discounts except as provided herein. Not transferable. Available in the United States only. Available online only at ouraring.com. Oura Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy apply. More details available at Oura Terms and Conditions and Oura Privacy Policy.
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