Women today have come to regard birth control as their most essential prescription. Sexually active, career-minded women who are waiting to get married and have children have to practice some form of contraception.
A number of women choose their birth control method based on its convenience or their individual preference but they don’t research the side effects or potential long-term damages specific birth control methods can bring. There’s a plethora of contraceptives to choose from, and an exhaustive amount of research behind every one. It’s time every woman learned what the safest and most dependable method is for her.
Birth control pills prevent pregnancy by releasing artificial hormones, usually estrogen and progestin, into the body in order to suppress ovulation and thicken cervical mucus to prevent sperm from entering the uterus. These hormones can cause an array of side effects, depending on the woman. Some minor effects of most methods include weight gain, an increase or decrease of acne, loss of libido, depression and headaches or nausea. Recent studies found that some methods should be avoided at all costs. Third-generation birth control pills such as Yasmin and the Ortho Evra patch along with desogestral, can double the risk for crippling or even lethal blood clots, according to Public Citizen, a nonprofit organization that filed for an FDA ban on third-generation contraceptives. Public Citizen advocates the use of older, second-generation methods such as Lo/Ovral, Alesse and Ortho-Novum, which have been found to contain chemical combinations less harmful but just as successful.
Regardless of the type of birth control, women increase risks for blood clots, stroke and heart attack by smoking cigarettes. For those who smoke, stick to the bare minimum while prescribed the pill.
Contraceptives must be safe, but they must also be effective. While non-prescription methods such as the female condom and diaphragm, seem to be the safest to female health, these also have the highest risk for failure. The FDA reported a little less than 25 out of 100 women per year become pregnant using these methods. Combination oral contraceptives are ranked No. 1 for popularity, having a failure rate of only 3 to 8 percent. Progestin-only pills are slightly less successful. Shots, injections, and intrauterine device methods have the lowest failure rate, with less than one out of 100 women becoming pregnant during use.
In the case of contraceptives, it seems the fewer chemicals we put into our bodies, the less protection we have against pregnancy. Next time your birth control is in need of a refill, remember to do your own research and talk to your doctor until you find the safest method for you.
