A woman tends to choose birth control based on what she considers to be the most convenient and effective method for her. However, it's important to weigh carefully the risks and side effects of each method.

Contraceptives were used during the month of conception in 48% of unintended pregnancies.¹

• Male Condom: 82-98% effective at preventing pregnancy,⁵ 60-79% effective at preventing STDs.²
• Female Condom: 79-95% effective at preventing pregnancy.⁵
• Diaphragm or Cervical cap: 84-94% effective at preventing pregnancy.⁵
• Birth Control Pill: 91-99% effective at preventing pregnancy.⁵ Multiplies risk of heart attack by up to 2.3 and risk of stroke by up to 2.2.⁶ A World Health Organization Class 1 carcinogen for increasing risk of breast and liver cancers.⁷
• Depo-Provera Shot: 94-99% effective at preventing pregnancy.⁵ Associated with decreased bone mineral density, weight gain and increased risk of breast cancer.⁸
• The Patch: 91-99% effective at preventing pregnancy.⁵ Multiplies risk of stroke by 3.2.⁶
• Implant: 99% effective at preventing pregnancy.⁵ 47% implant users experience adverse effects, including severe acne and weight gain.⁹

HPV is the most common sexually transmitted virus in the United States.³ It can lead to cervical, oral, and/or rectal cancer. Incidence of HPV–related oral cancer has increased by 225% from 1988 to 2004.⁴ No method of contraception provides total protection from HPV.

Providers often will not furnish a full range of facts when prescribing Combined Oral Contraceptives (COC), basing the information given on their own professional opinion rather than a well-balanced presentation of the data available.  Ultimately, it’s your responsibility to read the fine print.

Types of Oral Contraceptives
There are two main types of oral contraceptives: Progestin Only Pills (POP) and estrogen-progestogen pills (COC, or combined oral contraceptives).  Of these, COC’s are far more commonly prescribed. “Worldwide, more than 100 million women – about 10% of all women of reproductive age – currently use combined hormonal contraceptives”.¹

How COC’s Work
Combined oral contraceptives are blend of synthetic estrogen and progesten.  Unlike other forms of contraception that prevent sperm-egg contact, COC’s use a very different, 3-fold approach to birth control. The Physician’s Desk Reference states, “although the primary mechanism of [combination oral contraceptives] is inhibition of ovulation, other alterations include changes in the cervical mucus, which increase the difficulty of sperm entry into the uterus, and changes in the endometrium, which reduce the likelihood of implantation.”²  In other words, if the pill’s first two methods - inhibited ovulation and thick cervical mucus - fail to deter fertilization, its final measure of defense will cause any fertilized eggs to be prematurely aborted.

Efficiency Ratings
The pill is 92–99% effective at preventing pregnancy with perfect use.³  With typical use, 8 out of 100 women using a COC will become unintentionally pregnant each year.⁴  Common medications can decrease the effectiveness of oral contraceptives, including certain types of antibiotics and particularly, St. John's wort. COC Health Risks One thing your doctor probably didn’t tell you is that the estrogen in COC’s is a known human carcinogen, listed among such cancer-causing agents as arsenic, tobacco and asbestos.⁵  According to the National Cancer Institute, COC’s “increase a woman's risk of cervical cancer, breast cancer, and liver cancer."⁶  The prevalence of HPV, a leading cause of cervical cancer, is also found to be higher among oral contraceptive users.⁷

Smoking while using COC’s increases your risk of heart attack, blood clots and stroke, especially in those over 35 years of age.  You are up to 8 times more likely than a non-user to develop a blood clot, even if you don’t smoke.  The risk is up to 3 times greater for those who use COC’s containing a progesterone called drospirenone.⁸

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Despite the advocacy of condom use to reduce your risk of acquiring an STD, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) states, “there's no absolute guarantee even when you use a condom”.  Even the CDC does not embrace the term safe sex, calling it “less risky” sex instead.1

What they also fail to mention is what “risky” really means.  As determined by the National Institutes of Health, “overall, the condom's effectiveness at preventing HIV transmission is estimated to be 87%, but it may vary between 60% and 96%”.2  These numbers don't even factor in the element of exposure over time.

In an International Planned Parenthood Federation Medical Bulletin, the author, Willard Cates, states that, “the risk of contracting AIDS during so-called ‘protected sex’ approaches 100 percent as the number of episodes of sexual intercourse increases.”  According to the graph submitted by Cates below, you will inevitably, eventually contract HIV/AIDS, even with perfect condom use.

Risk of contracting HIV) vs. Exposure (the number of sexual encounters). Note how the right side of the ellipse (“protected sex”)
rises to meet the left (“unprotected sex”) at a point which represents 100% risk.3

HIV is one of over 25 sexually transmitted infections that can have a serious impact on your future reproductive and overall health, especially if left untreated.  Pregnant women are particularly at risk.  The only way to avoid contracting a potentially deadly infection is to abstain from sexual activities.

Find out more about common STD’s and their related conditions here.

Concerned about your sexual or reproductive health? Schedule your free consultation.