Are Oral and Hormonal Contraceptives Safe?

Good Morning, I hope all is well this week.

As we all know, contraception is an important women’s health issue. It seems to be a regular part of the daily routine for many of us. A question I am frequently asked about is whether oral or hormonal contraceptives are safe, especially in women over 35 or who have medical conditions.

Besides preventing pregnancy, women gain some real non-contraceptive benefits from combined hormonal contraceptives or CHCs. Some of these could be decrease of dysmenorrhea and menorrhagia (painful periods and heavy bleeding), regulation of timing and cycle length, decrease in problems with anemia or iron deficiency or improvement of symptoms of PMS and breast tenderness.

Women with PCOS, the most common hormone imbalance in younger women, may see benefits and find improvement in their acne and weight. Pills containing progestins such as drospirenone help with antiandrogen and antimineralcorticoid activity that may reduce water retention and hirsutism (abnormal hair growth). CHCs have been found to be safe in non-smoking women with well controlled hypertension, uncomplicated diabetes, migraines without aura, uncomplicated liver disease and connective tissue disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis without antibodies and lupus erythematosus.

There are options of non-hormonal contraception like the IUD, condoms, diaphrams, cervical caps, and spermicides. If used properly they are effective to prevent pregnancy. For women who have other health issues, you may feel more comfortable using these methods.

So this should make a lot of women happy to know that birth control is safe and can be beneficial in some ways. There are lots of options, so don’t get caught pregnant, wishing you would of done something sooner.