{"id":178597,"date":"2018-05-21T10:00:38","date_gmt":"2018-05-21T14:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=178597"},"modified":"2020-12-02T15:59:53","modified_gmt":"2020-12-02T21:59:53","slug":"dangers-hormonal-birth-control","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/dangers-hormonal-birth-control\/","title":{"rendered":"Ten dangers all women should know about hormonal birth control"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Hormonal birth control has long been touted as healthy for most women to take in order to avoid pregnancy. In fact, hormonal birth control is even viewed as a human right<\/em> among some abortion advocacy groups — and these groups want insurance companies to cover the full cost for every woman who uses them. However, even free hormonal birth control comes with a heavy price tag. The health risks are real. These risks are associated with the wide range of hormonal birth control products including pills, IUDs, the shot, the ring, and the patch. Here’s what every woman needs to know:<\/p>\n

1. Increased risk of depression and suicide<\/strong><\/p>\n

Researchers in Denmark have found that hormonal birth control causes a 70 percent increased risk of depression<\/a>. Those same researchers, in a study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, found that women who use hormonal birth control, including pills, the patch, the ring, and hormonal IUDs, have up to three times the risk of suicide as women who have never taken hormonal birth control. The risk for suicide was highest with use of the patch,\u00a0followed by an IUD, the vaginal ring, and pills.<\/p>\n

2. Increased risk of blood clotting<\/strong><\/p>\n

While some newer birth control pills have decreased the amount of estrogen than in the past, thereby reducing the risk of blood clots<\/a>, combination hormonal birth control pills that contain desogestrel or drospirenone contiue to increase the risk of blood clots. These blood clots are likely to occur in the legs or lungs. A clot in the leg can travel through the circulation system and cause a pulmonary embolism which can cause damage to the lung if it is a small clot. Death can be caused if it is a large clot.<\/p>\n

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3. Increased risk of heart attack<\/strong><\/p>\n

Blood clots<\/a> caused by birth control put women at an increased risk of heart disease and heart attacks. Many medical professionals say that women who smoke or are over age 35 should not take combination hormonal birth control because they are at an even higher risk for heart disease.<\/p>\n

READ: Women deserve better than risky hormonal contraceptives<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

4. Increased risk of stroke<\/strong><\/p>\n

According to Cleveland Clinic neurologist Dr. Irene Katzan<\/a>, the risk of deep vein blood clots were once the same for men and women, but thanks to hormonal birth control, women now have an increased risk. Hormonal contraceptives increase the risk of ischemic strokes<\/a> caused by blood clots by 1.9 times. In addition, combination hormonal birth control pills can cause migraines — and migraines with aura increase the risk of stroke.<\/p>\n

5. Increased risk of breast cancer<\/strong><\/p>\n

A recent study<\/a> published by the New England Journal of Medicine found that women who use hormonal birth control have a 20 percent increased risk of developing breast cancer. In addition, older women who use birth control — as well as women who use birth control for 10 years or more — have a 38 percent increased risk of breast cancer. What this boils down to is that for every 100,000 women using hormonal birth control, there are 68 cases of breast cancer each year, compared with 55 cases among women who don’t use hormonal birth control.<\/p>\n

On a related note, abortion has also been shown by certain studies to increase a woman’s risk of breast cancer, due to the hormonal havoc abortion causes in her body. Recently, pro-choice filmmaker, Punam Kumar Gill<\/a>, reported on her stunning confirmation that abortion scientifically increases a woman’s risk for breast cancer. Three specific facts Kumar Gill learned in her research for her documentary, “Hush,” are detailed here<\/a>.<\/p>\n