How Safe Are Contraceptive Pills?

With the advent of the birth control pill, a major medical landmark was achieved. It allows a woman to control childbearing effectively. It is one of the most widely used contraceptive methods.

Oral pills contain hormones (progestogen and oestrogen) and work by stopping ovulation and making the union of the sperm with an egg difficult by creating changes in the cervix (thickening of the cervical mucus) and the uterus (thinning of the uterine lining).

The health benefits delivered by the oral contraceptive pills are significant. These prevent the occurrence of ovarian and endometrial cancer, ovarian cyst (benign), pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) and irregular menstrual bleeding. Using the pill also reduces the incidence of ectopic pregnancy, fibroids, and endometriosis.

However, numerous researches have been done to find out the possible ill effects of the pills.

Some studies support the hypothesis of the association of oral contraceptive pills with breast and cervical cancer. These may also result in irregular bleeding in some women and may sometimes be less effective in controlling pregnancy. If a woman conceives, while on the pills, she must discontinue its use immediately so as to prevent the developmental defects in the baby.

Some women also report incidences of migraine and headache during the pill free period. Even weight gain due to increased appetite (progestogen effect), water retention and heaviness in the breasts are also the possible side effects of the high dose pills. Women using oral contraceptive pills are at high risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) due to the non-use of other contraceptive measures (like condom) during sex.

Women with underlying health disorders (such as hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol) and those who are obese and have history of liver disease, breast cancer, heart attack or some other cardiovascular problem should not use these pills. Also, women who are heavy smokers are at high risk of heart attack and stroke, if they consume these pills.

Apart from some unsettled safety concerns, for most healthy women the oral pills provide an effective and safe measure of contraception. As per the guidelines of FDA, any healthy woman under 40 years of age and a non-smoker can use this method of contraception safely until her menopause.