Birth Control Pills (Drugs: The Straight Facts)

Every day, more than 100 million women swallow an oral contraceptive pill. In the United States, more than 80 percent of all women born after 1945 have taken birth control pills at some point in their lives. While pregnancy and childbirth do not normally pose an undue health burden for women in developed countries, this is not the case for less-developed nations. Family-planning methods, including the birth control pill, not only reduce the number of children born, but more importantly the number of pregnancies a woman has, decreasing the amount of overall risk, including iron deficiency anemia, gestational diabetes, and recto-vaginal fistulas.

An essential reference on this topic, Birth Control Pills presents the straight facts about this drug, both negative and positive. Birth control pills are increasingly prescribed for young women to correct hormonal imbalances that lead to heavy menstrual bleeding, painful menstruation, and policystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). However, as with any drug, birth control pills have their own set of health risks, including a slightly higher incidence of heart attack, stroke, and deep vein embolisms. This volume discusses every aspect of this drug while sharing helpful insights on a complicated subject.