Yes, Blisovi Fe is a combination birth control pill. It contains two hormones: a progestin (norethindrone acetate) and an estrogen (ethinyl estradiol). This puts it in the same category as other combination oral contraceptives, as opposed to progestin-only “mini pills” that contain just one hormone.
What’s Inside Each Pill
Blisovi Fe comes in a 28-day pack with two types of tablets. The first 24 are white, active pills containing the two hormones. The last 4 are brown placebo pills that contain no hormones at all. You take one pill per day, cycling through the entire pack before starting a new one.
Blisovi Fe is available in two strengths:
- Blisovi Fe 1/20: 1 mg norethindrone acetate and 20 mcg ethinyl estradiol per active pill
- Blisovi Fe 1.5/30: 1.5 mg norethindrone acetate and 30 mcg ethinyl estradiol per active pill
The numbers in the name refer to the hormone doses. The 1/20 version is the lower-dose option, while the 1.5/30 delivers slightly more of both hormones.
What “Fe” Means in the Name
The “Fe” stands for iron, specifically ferrous fumarate. Each of the 4 brown placebo tablets contains 75 mg of ferrous fumarate. This iron is there mainly to keep you in the habit of taking a pill every day, reducing the chance you’ll forget to start your next pack on time. The amount of iron is small and doesn’t provide meaningful supplementation, though it does deliver a trace of extra iron during the days you’re most likely to be menstruating.
How It Prevents Pregnancy
Like other combination pills, Blisovi Fe works through multiple mechanisms. The primary one is preventing ovulation. The two hormones signal the brain to stop releasing the hormones that trigger egg release each month. As a backup, the pill also thickens cervical mucus, making it harder for sperm to reach an egg, and thins the uterine lining, making implantation less likely.
Having two hormones working together is what makes combination pills more effective at suppressing ovulation compared to progestin-only pills, which rely more heavily on cervical mucus changes.
How to Start a Pack
You have two options. With a Day 1 start, you take the first white pill on the first day of your period. With a Sunday start, you take the first pill on the first Sunday after your period begins. Either way, once you finish all 28 tablets (24 active plus 4 placebo), you start a new pack the very next day, on the same day of the week you started the first one.
Common Side Effects
The most frequently reported side effects are nausea, vomiting, spotting or bleeding between periods, weight changes, breast tenderness, and difficulty wearing contact lenses. These are typical of combination pills in general, not unique to Blisovi Fe, and many of them improve after the first two or three cycles as your body adjusts.
Other reported effects include bloating, abdominal cramps, changes in menstrual flow, headaches, mood changes, and skin darkening (melasma) that can sometimes persist. Some people notice lighter periods or lose their period altogether while on the pill, which is not harmful but can be unexpected.
Who Should Avoid Combination Pills
Because Blisovi Fe contains estrogen, it carries the same cardiovascular considerations as all combination pills. Estrogen slightly raises the risk of blood clots, stroke, and heart attack. For most younger, healthy people, this risk is very small. It increases significantly, however, for anyone over 35 who smokes. Combination pills are contraindicated for that group entirely.
Other factors that raise concern include a history of blood clots, uncontrolled high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, and certain types of migraines. If any of these apply, a progestin-only pill or non-hormonal method is typically a safer choice.