Harm of birth control pills. From the loss of libido to cancer!

Harm of birth control pills - does it really exist? The risk of the disease with which cancer reduces birth control pills, and how much they increase? The harm of birth control pills in reducing libido, but the benefit in reducing the symptoms of premenstrual syndrome. How do birth control pills affect fertility? The harm of birth control pills in increasing the risk of thrombosis and the benefit in reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases. How do birth control pills affect weight?

Harm of birth control pills. The most important questions.

We will only talk about oral contraceptives, i.e. it is about oral contraceptive pills, and vaginal contraceptives in general and vaginal birth control pills in particular, we will not consider.

It is said that birth control pills cause cancer, but there is an opinion that they also protect against it. They prevent unwanted pregnancies, but also reduce libido. Is there any harm to the pill? Too many serious questions are caused by some small pill. In this article we answer the most important of them.

In the UK, 3.5 million women take birth control pills - this is the most popular form of contraception in the United Kingdom. With the correct intake (strictly individually selected by the doctor dosage and time of reception), such combined contraceptives (a mixture of estrogen and progestogen) are effective by 99%, and the harm of birth control pills, we emphasize again, it is with proper reception - is minimal. In this case, the contraceptive pill also has some curative effect and guarantees minimal harm from various metabolic disorders.

For the first time, birth control pills were approved for sale in 1960 in the United States. Those pills that we buy today contain only 1.2% of the hormones from the original dose, there is also documented evidence that the use of these birth control pills is good for health. But science and medicine do not stand still. According to a number of recent studies, most women experiment with more than two types of oral contraceptives before they find tablets suitable for them. Often, women are faced with the fact that they suffer from contraceptive pills in the form of various side effects. For example, there is a significant weight gain, there are sharp mood swings, there is a strong loss of libido, and sometimes more dangerous effects, which are discussed below.

The fact is that a lot of questions remain related to a number of more serious problems of women's health that arise when taking oral contraceptives. In particular, there are data that the harm of birth control pills manifests itself in certain types of cancer and affects fertility (the ability to conceive). Is it really? Let's figure it out, carefully weighing all the pros and cons.

Harm of birth control pills. Risk of cancer.

This may seem strange, but according to a recent study by the University of Aberdeen, regular intake of birth control pills actually reduces the risk of cancer, especially in the premenopausal period. One of the largest studies of this kind has shown that the overall risk of cancer decreased by 12% in women using this method of protection from pregnancy, and this effect persists for 15 years after their reception was discontinued. The exception is those women who took contraceptives for more than 8 years (about 25% of subjects), for them the harm of birth control pills manifested, on the contrary, in increasing the risk by 22%.

Birth control pills annually save more than 3000 women a year in the UK and Europe, protecting them from ovarian cancer. These results are supported by the study of the British Journal of Cancer, as well as by a major study of the Center for Comprehensive Cancer Research at Duke University. It showed that all forms of birth control pills reduce the risk of the disease by 50%, with the greatest effectiveness demonstrated oral contraceptives containing the highest percentage of progestogen. Thus, the harm of the pill in relation to the ovaries is not established in this study.

According to Italian researchers, women who take birth control pills have a 20% lower risk of developing colorectal cancer (cancer of the colon and rectum). Scientists attribute this to estrogen, contained in tablets, and reduces the amount of bile acids, the increased content of which causes cancer.

But, unfortunately, women who take birth control pills are at risk of developing cervical cancer, according to a new study published by the journal Lancet. The risk of getting such a dangerous harm of birth control pills increases, the longer you continue taking them. Those women who take oral contraceptives for a long time, the probability of developing cervical cancer is twice as high as those who have never used a pill. But this risk decreases when you stop taking birth control pills, and in 10 years it becomes the same as for women who never used them.

An extensive study in the United States, recently conducted, showed that women with postmenopausal women who took birth control pills before the birth of their first child had a 44% higher risk of breast cancer than women who had never used them. It is believed that this is due to the amount of estrogen contained in combined oral contraceptives.

Harm of birth control pills. Weakening PMS and loss of libido.

Studies conducted in the US showed that the physical and emotional symptoms experienced by many women a week before menstruation (as a result of hormonal disorders) were significantly reduced in those who took Yasmin, contraceptive pills that use the form of progestogen, different from other tablets. The study involved 700 women, 72% of whom complained of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) before the test. After taking the drug, the number of complaining that PMS has a negative effect on their daily activities has decreased almost half, from 30% to 16%. These contraceptive pills also helped to reduce puffiness, mood swings, tearfulness and depression.

But, unfortunately, the harm of contraceptive pills is that they lead to a gradual loss of libido. Look at the side effects of tablets of any brand, and you will see that the loss of libido will be at the top of this list. Contraceptive pills interfere with the production of testosterone, which affects our sexual desires. These drugs also increase the level of globulin that binds the sex hormone, which blocks testosterone. This dulls passion and reduces the likelihood of orgasm. Until now, it was believed that these processes are reversible, but a recent study in the United States showed that of the 120 women with low libido, 102 had contraceptive pills. Studies also found that the sex hormone level was 3 or 4 times higher in women who stopped taking oral contraceptives than women who never took them.

Harm of birth control pills. Impact on fertility.

A new study in the United States showed that women who stop taking birth control pills do not take longer to get pregnant, compared to women who never used oral contraceptives. Of the 2064 women who participated in the study, 21% were pregnant 1 cycle after the end of taking birth control pills. From the calculation for the cycle, this is comparable to the indicators of the natural probability of pregnancy, which is from 20 to 25%. A year later, after the end of taking oral contraceptives, 79% of women were pregnant.

But, unfortunately, the harm of contraceptive pills is manifested in the fact that they guarantee you a "false" regular menstrual cycle, so a number of factors that affect fertility may go unnoticed. The most common of these, according to Dr. Marilyn Glenville, a doctor specializing in women's health, is polycystic ovary syndrome, which for years can not be diagnosed in women taking birth control pills.

Anemia, cardiovascular disease and thrombosis

About 8% of women suffer from anemia due to a lack of iron, one of the main causes of which is a large loss of blood during menstruation. Because combined birth control pills make menstrual periods shorter and less abundant, you lose less blood each month, so that your iron stores are not depleted.

For many years, women believed that birth control pills increased blood pressure (hence the advice to monitor blood pressure every six months if you drink contraceptives), but a recent study showed that women who took birth control pills had a 8% chance of developing cardiovascular disease . Researchers believe that this is due to the estrogen present in these drugs and prevents the formation of plaques on the walls of the vessels.

But, unfortunately, the harm of birth control pills is that they increase the risk of developing thrombosis. Although this risk is very low, those who do not use oral contraceptives diagnose 5 cases of vein thrombosis per 100,000 women per year. For those receiving these drugs, this indicator can be increased to 25 cases per 100,000 per year. Smoking with the simultaneous adoption of contraceptive pills is a very negative factor, which increases the likelihood of thrombosis 30 times.

Harm of birth control pills. Excess weight.

Another harm of contraceptive pills is that they contribute to weight gain. Researchers show that taking oral contraceptives leads to excess kilograms, so doctors often recommend to their patients funds with a low estrogen content to not get better.