The following are concerns about the birth control pill dismissed in the following article by Planned Parenthood. Unfortunately, their dismissal is based on less than scientific fact. It's more like Planned Parenthood makes their big profit selling birth control pills and so they don't want YOU to know about health concerns or their profit margin (considered to be important for the health of Planned Parenthood) will be hurt!
Here are the so called 'myths' mentioned in this Planned Parenthood
article.
Myth #1: I've heard the birth control pill doesn't work very well.As you can see, they cover some real concerns about the pill. Let's look at each separately.
Myth #2: I've heard that women should "take a rest" from taking the Pill every nine months.
Myth #3: I've heard that women gain weight when they take the Pill.
Myth #4: I've heard that the Pill isn't safe.
Myth #5: I've heard that the Pill causes cancer.
Myth #6: I've heard that the Pill causes heart attack, stroke, and blood clots.
Myth #7: I've heard that the Pill causes birth defects.
Myth #1
I've heard the birth control pill doesn't work
very well.
The Truth According to Planned Parenthood:
Women who take the Pill consistently and correctly-without fail-have less than a one-in-one-hundred chance of becoming pregnant.
Compare the pill to using Natural Family Planning - a decision of both the mother and the father. Johns Hopkins Institute said that Natural Family Planning is 95 percent effective in preventing pregnancy but unlike the pill, it's 100 percent safe! That is it does not endanger the woman's health in any way!
Much to the consternation of Planned Parenthood, Natural Family Planning is free!
In all cases, if a family planning method is not used correctly, pregnancy may occur. However, Natural Family Planning with no pills to take and a simple checking process in the morning, can and has been easily taught to women in third world countries whereas the pill is something you must remember to take and pay lots of money to Planned Parenthood to buy!
Reference: Wilkes, ABORTION, QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Pharmacists for life faq on oral contraceptives
Merck Manual - estrogen
Myth #2
I've heard that women should "take a rest" from
taking the Pill after every nine months.
The Truth according to Planned Parenthood:
There is no medical reason to take a "rest" from the pill.
Taking a rest from the Pill is unnecessary because:
And there is every medical reason for 'resting' from the pill. Women who rest from taking the pill experience much less long term side effects in the way of heart attack, stroke and blood clots. Studies have suggested, the less time you take oral contraceptives, the lower your chance of breast cancer. Of course, the best rest from the pill is a permanent rest and selecting a safer form of family planning like Natural Family Planning!
Myth #3
I've heard that women gain weight when they take
the pill.
according to Planned Parenthood
Some women gain weight while using the Pill. Some women lose weight while using the Pill.Birth Control medication has generally been associated with weight gain (not weight loss!)Changes in workplace, exercise habits, lifestyle, and diet may also lead to weight gain or loss. It may not be possible to isolate one single cause.
Some women have temporary fluid retention during the first month or so after starting the Pill.
Some women gain weight as a side effect of estrogen use. This weight gain develops in the hips, thighs, and breasts. It is usually noticed after several months on the Pill.
The Pill may aggravate depression for some women. This may lead to increased eating.
reference: Merck Manual - estrogen
Myth #4
I've heard that the pill isn't safe.
The Truth according to Planned Parenthood
Having a child has twice the risk of death as using the Pill.
If the pro-lifers were to play the same statistical game, they should speak only of deaths from vaginal deliveries (1.1 per 100,000) and omit those from C-section deliveries (100 per 100,000).
Lanska et al., "Mortality from Abortion & Childbirth," JAMA, vol. 250, no. 3, July 15, 1983, pp. 361-362.
Another way Planned Parenthood is double talking
here is comparing deaths from taking the pill (immediate death) which are
virtually nil to deaths from the warped statistics above. Since
they don't acknowledge the medical facts that the pill can cause cancer
(breast cancer as well as endodemetrial cancer) and that the pill can cause
stroke, heart attack or blood clots, these deaths are not included in the
Planned Parenthood statistics for deaths from the pill!
Include the real deaths from the side effects of the pill and suddenly
it becomes clear that taking the pill is not only far more risky
than pregnancy, it's also a high risk act by and in itself!
Pregnancy, since a woman's body is made for it, is a rather low risk option. Additionally, several studies have shown positive advantages of pregnancy, including increased brain development!
reference: Merck Manual - estrogen
NOTE: the AMA has confirmed the danger of breast cancer from
the pill. Although this fact is not well known to the public, medical professionals
have known about it for years. See my article on oral contraception
Myth #5
I've heard that the Pill causes cancer.
according to Planned Parenthood
The Pill protects against cancer of the ovaries and cancer of the lining of the uterus.Most experts also agree that taking the Pill does not increase the overall risk of developing breast cancer-no matter how long a woman takes the Pill-even if she has a close relative with breast cancer.
Claims that the Pill causes cancer of the liver or cervical cancer have not been proven.
source:
Merck Manual (admits the possibility of a link)
article on oral contraception
More information on birth control meds including studies
Myth #6
I've heard that the Pill causes heart attack, stroke,
and blood clots.
The Truth according to Planned Parenthood
There is no increase in the risk of heart attack or stroke among healthy women who use the Pill and who do not smoke.There is a small increase in the risk of blood clots in the legs and arms. The risk increases from 5-20 per 100,000 women for a year to 15-20 per 100,000 women for a year.
I guess Planned Parenthood hopes you won't look in the Merck Manual!
Reference: The Merck Manual
Myth #7
I've heard that the Pill causes birth defects.
The Truth according to Planned Parenthood
The Pill does not cause birth defects or affect the health of future children even if a woman becomes pregnant while taking the Pill.
Where do
all these myths come from?
Some myths come from misunderstandings about side effects and the fact that only some women experience them.This statement is so typical of Planned Parenthood misrepresentation. Of course all side effects are not experienced by all women so they are not telling us anything new. They hope you misunderstand from that statement that 'some women' means only a few women. Forty percent (almost half) is also some women and in my book, these are not real good odds.
Some myths are rumors started by people and organizations that don?t want women to plan their families by using birth control.Here they hope you have been listening to the news and immediately link in, in your mind, the 'evil prolife movement'. Unfortunately, though, the side effects of the birth control pill and the dangers have been well documented in medical literature. Planned Parenthood hopes you don't research it and that you buy your birth control pills from Planned Parenthood!
Other myths are based on the experience of women who used "old-fashioned" pills that had very high doses of estrogen and progestin.Since the WHIS and HERS studies had to be halted, low dose "modern" birth control has been proven as unsafe as "old fashioned" estrogen.
Articles like the one quoted in this article (by
Planned Parenthood) often appear in popular literature - magazines and
news papers. They are not medically based and have only one goal
- to sell product. Although Planned Parenthood is 95 percent funded
by government monies, they do make a huge profit on selling birth control
to women and they do not wish to have this profit hurt. Of course,
the pharmaceutical companies work hand in hand with Planned Parenthood
to push women to take the birth control pill. We must realize that
the selling of product in our money driven society is far more important
to manufacturers and merchants than the safety and health of the consumer.