The pill’s popularity and reliability, there is a catch. Never before
have women who were not sick taken a powerful hormonal drug each day.
The question, “Is the pill safe?” has generated more anxiety and more
controversy than has any other medication ever marketed.
Women who use it are threatened with unpleasant, even disastrous, side effects. Today, almost one of every two women believes that the pill increases the risk of breast cancer. Others suspect that at the very least it may cause them to lose hair, gain weight, and develop pimples.
Scores of scientific studies notwithstanding, the facts as to what is good and what is bad about the pill continue to be obscured by gossip, rumor and misinformation. To help dispel the fog, Mc Call’s consulted a wide range of experts, statisticians, family-planning specialists, gynecologists who prescribe the pill for their patients. Here, in summary, are their answers to the questions that most worry women.
Could I die from the pill?
In rare cases yes, but your chances of dying from childbirth or complications of pregnancy are more than ten times greater. About 18 women die among 100,000 who become pregnant, and the hazard rises with age. But when a woman avoids pregnancy by taking the pill, her mortality risk from blood clots falls to 1.5 per 100,000 if she is under 35 and 3.9 if she is 35 to 44
The death hazard stems mainly from the estrogen component, and 3 of the 12 brands now available have only 50 micrograms of estrogen or less compared with an original 150 micrograms.
Does the pill cause cancer?
Some doctors are even optimistic that the pill may protect women from some forms of cancer. Recent research, for instance, shows that women using the pill develop fibrocystic disease (benign breast tumors) less than half as often as women choosing other contraceptives. These non-malignant lumps in the breast have long been considered a possible precursor to breast cancer.
Cancer of the cervix is curable when it is spotted early, by the Pap smear. Only one woman in five gets a Pap smear annually, except for those on the pill, who return to their doctor at least once a year for a new prescription. The examination that a physician gives at that time, plus the Pap smear, is probably a woman’s best protection against cancer.
Abnormalities than the infants of women who never used the pill the British study – the largest scientific investigation of the pill ever made also analyzed unplanned pregnancies that started while women were taking oral contraceptives, and found no abnormal babies born as a result.
Should a woman use the pill? No drug is ideal, and the more powerful its effect, the greater the likelihood that some women will be hypersensitive to it, either physically or emotionally. Still, most decisions in life involve a trade-off of risk versus benefit. In making your decision, the conclusion reached in the massive study.
It is evident that there are disadvantages associated with the use of oral contraceptives, the risk of serious effects is small, and it seems that the estimated risk at the time of using the pill is one that a properly informed woman would be happy to take.
Women who use it are threatened with unpleasant, even disastrous, side effects. Today, almost one of every two women believes that the pill increases the risk of breast cancer. Others suspect that at the very least it may cause them to lose hair, gain weight, and develop pimples.
Scores of scientific studies notwithstanding, the facts as to what is good and what is bad about the pill continue to be obscured by gossip, rumor and misinformation. To help dispel the fog, Mc Call’s consulted a wide range of experts, statisticians, family-planning specialists, gynecologists who prescribe the pill for their patients. Here, in summary, are their answers to the questions that most worry women.
Could I die from the pill?
In rare cases yes, but your chances of dying from childbirth or complications of pregnancy are more than ten times greater. About 18 women die among 100,000 who become pregnant, and the hazard rises with age. But when a woman avoids pregnancy by taking the pill, her mortality risk from blood clots falls to 1.5 per 100,000 if she is under 35 and 3.9 if she is 35 to 44
The death hazard stems mainly from the estrogen component, and 3 of the 12 brands now available have only 50 micrograms of estrogen or less compared with an original 150 micrograms.
Does the pill cause cancer?
Some doctors are even optimistic that the pill may protect women from some forms of cancer. Recent research, for instance, shows that women using the pill develop fibrocystic disease (benign breast tumors) less than half as often as women choosing other contraceptives. These non-malignant lumps in the breast have long been considered a possible precursor to breast cancer.
Cancer of the cervix is curable when it is spotted early, by the Pap smear. Only one woman in five gets a Pap smear annually, except for those on the pill, who return to their doctor at least once a year for a new prescription. The examination that a physician gives at that time, plus the Pap smear, is probably a woman’s best protection against cancer.
Abnormalities than the infants of women who never used the pill the British study – the largest scientific investigation of the pill ever made also analyzed unplanned pregnancies that started while women were taking oral contraceptives, and found no abnormal babies born as a result.
Should a woman use the pill? No drug is ideal, and the more powerful its effect, the greater the likelihood that some women will be hypersensitive to it, either physically or emotionally. Still, most decisions in life involve a trade-off of risk versus benefit. In making your decision, the conclusion reached in the massive study.
It is evident that there are disadvantages associated with the use of oral contraceptives, the risk of serious effects is small, and it seems that the estimated risk at the time of using the pill is one that a properly informed woman would be happy to take.
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