Kurt Strazdins/mctBlood clots, heart problems and stroke are health risks that millions of girls face each day while on “the pill.”
The commonly used oral birth control pill that prevents pregnancy has serious effects that are often over looked.
Women who think they are protecting their body are extremely misinformed. Every medication has a list of major and minor side effects; with oral birth control being taken over years many of its users forget the dangers that may affect some of them.
As the body adjusts to the hormonal change that happens while taking birth control women experience more frequent side effects, such as weight gain, nausea and irregular bleeding. Cigarette smoking dramatically increases the risk of serious cardiovascular problems; many doctors will not prescribe the pill to a smoker. With a list of side effects so harmful to the body I wonder why so many girls turn towards oral birth control as a contraceptive.
Becoming pregnant is a top concern among sexually active women. Some females believe once on the pill it is no longer necessary to use condoms. Oral birth control does not protect against sexually transmitted infections, including HIV or AIDS. Women who have unsafe sex are putting both themselves and their partner at risk.
Certain antibiotics, anti-seizure and migraine medication can reduce the effectiveness of the pill. Women have to be extremely careful while taking other medications, and using another method of contraceptive is necessary. The product St. John’s Wort remover is also known to interfere with the effectiveness of the pill.
Taking birth control can decrease the libido of a woman and raise potassium levels.
The pill will not be effective forever. Doctors say that between six and eight years of continuious use that the body becomes immune to the drug. Start taking birth control at the age of 17 or 18, and by the time you’re 26 you must stop using the product. Many women find this fact devastating. A woman in her late 20’s who is in a loving and committed relationship, not looking to have children must use another method of birth control.
Doctors advise many of their female patients to start taking an oral contraceptive to help with other health problems. The pill does have its advantages, easing PMS symptoms and helping clear up acne. The simple convenience of taking a tiny pill once a day is why so many women choose oral birth control as their contraceptive. In my eyes the negative effects seem to outweigh the positive. I would much rather protect myself in another way than take a drug everyday that has such serious side effects.
I think that birth control is abused and over used. Women believe that once on the birth control pill that it is acceptable to have sex with no consequences. The purpose of the pill was so that women who are not seeking to have children could experience a healthy sexual relationship. The purpose of the pill is not so that a whole generation can behave promiscuously.
