The Pros and Cons of Birth Control

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Women spend over 37 million dollars on birth control annually, making it one of the most prescribed drugs on the market. 10,540,000 women are currently on some type of orally ingested birth control. Although only a few side effects are harmful, there are some rare cases of death from birth control. 23 women in the United States died from the common birth control pill, Yaz or Yasmin, just in this past year. So how safe are women that take this? There are many different types of birth control. The most common type of birth control is the combination pill. The combination stops ovulation due to the hormones that it produces, estrogen and progesterone. Although its main purpose is to prevent pregnancy, it has also been known to lower the amount of periods from one every month, to one every three months. Even though this type of birth control is relatively safe, anyone over 35 and is a regular smoker should avoid using this because the amount of estrogen could cause blood clots. “Taking oral contraceptives (OCs) can slash your risk for both endometrial and ovarian cancer by more than 70 percent after 12 years; even just one to five years may lower your risk by 40 percent. They work by reducing the number of times you ovulate in your lifetime: Ovulation may trigger cell changes in the ovaries that can lead to cancer” (Janis Graham) The extended cycle pills are just like the combination pills but last longer. These pills are taken every day of the year but are very effective and lower the amount of periods drastically. With the extended cycle, you don’t have to take the pill at the exact same time every day. In the first three to six months, there may be random bleeding. Extended cycle pills raise your chances of getting b... ... middle of paper ... ...ion, 01 Aug. 2013. Web. 28 Mar. 2014. 3. Burnett-Watson, Katherine. "Is The Pill Playing Havoc With Your Mental Health?" Is The Pill Playing Havoc With Your Mental Health? Aphrodite Women's Health, 28 Oct. 2005. Web. 30 Mar. 2014. 4. "Contraceptive Use in the United States." Contraceptive Use in the United States. N.p., Aug. 2013. Web. 30 Mar. 2014. 5. "Emergency Contraception." - 12 Types of Birth Control. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2014. 6. Jaccard, James, and Patricia J. Dittus. "Adolescent Perceptions of Maternal Approval of Birth Control and Sexual Risk Behavior." American Journal of Public Health 90.9 (2000): 1426-430. Print. 7. Magazine, WebMD Feature from "Redbook" "Other Reasons to Take the Pill." WebMD. WebMD, 30 Dec. -0001. Web. 30 Mar. 2014. 8. "Progestin-Only Hormonal Methods (Mini-Pills, Implants, and Shots)." WebMD. WebMD, 03 May 2012. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.

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