Birth Control Pills Question: Are birth control pills safe? What are the long term effects of using them?
Birth control pills (BCP’s) come in a variety of strengths and have a variety of dosing schedules and medication (hormone) content. Essentially, birth control pills contain the hormones your body produces normally. These hormones, as supplied in BCP’s, inhibit ovulation (release of the egg from the ovary), by preventing a part of the brain from producing another hormone required for the ovulation process to take place. They also cause changes in the cervix and uterus that make passage of sperm and successful implantation of the egg less likely. There are risks involved in taking any medication, and BCP’s are no exception. Among the possible problems is a relatively uncommon condition where clots (“thrombus”) may form in vessels in the body, possibly leading to organ injury. A lower dose of estrogen in the medication lowers this risk. The risk is increased in patients taking BCP’s who also smoke. High blood pressure, or hypertension, gallstones, as well as benign liver growths, are also
