Birth Control Patch Linked to Higher Fatality Rate
According to data obtained by the Associated Press, about a dozen women died last year from blood clots believed to be related to use of the birth control patch. Dozens more survived strokes or other clot-related problems. Most of these were in their late teens or early twenties – normal, healthy young women.
For nonsmoking women under the age of 35, the risk of developing a nonfatal blood clot while on the pill is 1-3 in 10,000. The risk of death is 1 in 200,000. The birth control patch carries a higher risk: about 12 in 10,000 users will develop nonfatal blood clots, and 3 out of every 200,000 women will die.
Is it really worth risking death or serious injury to avoid getting pregnant? Especially when there are other methods of preventing pregnancy – such as the fertility awareness method – that are scientifically proven to be as effective as contraceptives and don’t carry that risk. True, they may not be as convenient as popping a pill, but it beats dying. The problem is that most women on contraceptives are not even aware of the risks they carry or that there are other alternatives. These are tragic, needless deaths.
read the article here
We are a pill-popping, drug-loving society, and it is foolish for us to think that we can try to manipulate our bodies like this without facing serious consequences. How many women on contraceptives are truly informed about the risks they entail, or about safer alternatives for preventing pregnancy? Very few I would guess. Tragic.
Laura
Comment by lking — July 18, 2005 @ 9:30 am