Health Risks involved when taking Birth Control

I know it seems strange seeing the words birth control pills on a blog about infertility, I'm sure you are thinking I am trying to have a baby, why the hell would I take birth control pills. Hey, I am totally with you on that! I will never take birth control again, god knows I don't seem to need them. But it's very common for women going through fertility treatments, espically IVF, are prescribed birth control pills. So knowing the risks involved is espically important.

I was talking to a friend of mine today who is under the age of 30 and is recovering from her second stroke within a five year period. She told me today that she was told by her doctor that because she is a smoker and is on birth control as well as suffering from high blood pressure she was at risk to have a stroke. She also thinks that stress had something to do with her stroke.

A recent study confirmed that women were at and increased risk of having a first-time heart attack by 30 times when they smoke 25 cigarettes or more a day and
take a daily, low-dose birth control pill.

Lynn Rosenberg, an epidemiologist at Boston University School of Medicine
in Brookline, Mass., and her colleagues, conducted the research to find out
whether the newer, low-dose birth control pills that contain less than 50
micrograms of estrogen per dose are safer than the oral contraceptives of the past.
Based on her findings, Rosenberg says that in terms of causing cardiovascular disease, today's low-dose contraceptives "do very little, except in a heavy smoker."
Light smokers and non-smokers do not seem to be putting themselves at greater risk of developing heart problems by taking low-dose oral contraceptives, Rosenberg states in her report.

High dose birth control pills had risks even in non smokers, so the important of talking to your doctor and making sure that you are on a birth control pill that has a lose dose of estrogen is very important. Most women would rather not take birth control then stop smoking, because they feel that it is too hard to quit smoking.

According to the American Lung Association 22.4 million women smoke and about 10 million of them take birth control pills annually.

Rita Redberg, a cardiologist at the University of San Francisco, agrees with
Rosenberg's findings that today's low-dose birth control pills do little harm to
the heart. The study's findings show there is no reason why women should
not take oral contraceptives, says Redberg. The risk of having a heart attack
from low-dose birth control pills is very low, if any, especially if the woman is
under 35 years of age, doesn't smoke heavily, and doesn't have high blood pressure or diabetes. Experts do agree that blood clots and high blood pressure rise in women over the age of 35, so a heavy smoker who is still taking birth control over the age of 35 is raising her chances of having a heart attack. Remember, differenent ages, different risks.

So when you hear an ad for birth control or look on the package and its urging you not to smoke, listen to it, your heart may just thank you one day.

I am not in the least advising you to not take birth control bills, but just be careful listen to the doctor and do your best to live a healthy lifestyle.
Many of us dealing with infertility will turn to birth control during fertility treatments in order to regulate our bodies or will turn to birth control for family planning after we have children its just important to be careful and watch the health risks.