Birth control pills

Hello,

Is there any truth to the claims that long-term usage of birth control pills will mess up your hormonal “balance”, ultimately leading to health problems?

Hi,

Unfortunately this is a relatively vague question that is difficult to answer for many reasons. There are differences between different types of birth control pills, there are differences in their impact on different health conditions, and there are individual differences among the people taking them.

In general based on my assumptions about the nature of this question I would say “no”, and in fact there are certain hormonal conditions that are effectively treated with birth control pills (i.e., they are improved by taking them), so it is certainly not true that they cause harm across the board. With that said, there are certainly specific situations where a particular type of birth control pill may not be a good option for a particular person, based on their medical situation.

I understand this may not be as satisfying as a simple “yes” or “no” answer, but these things are quite complex. Fortunately there are many, many different contraceptive options that can be used for nearly any medical scenario. If you have questions or concerns about the appropriateness of a specific contraceptive option, there are several online resources, or discussing with your primary care physician / gynecologist would be useful.

It is a bit more clear now, thank you very much for the explanation :slight_smile: