Women who have recently given birth and are above the age of thirty-four or who a C-section should stay away from certain types of oral contraceptives, suggest new guidelines by administrative staff. The researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed that birth control pill containing estrogen could increase the risk of blood clot.
When these contraceptive pills are taken by some new mothers, they increase the risk of blot clot. Therefore all new mothers are advised not to take these sorts of contraceptives the first three weeks subsequent to delivery. Normally, the risk of blood clots in women of reproductive age is low.
If blood clots travel to the lungs or brain can cause serious complications, including shortness of breath, stroke or even death, explained Dr. Naomi Tepper, one of the guideline’s authors from the CDC’s division of reproductive health. Their team examined a host of latest studies to find out if birth control pill raised the risk of blood clot in new mothers.
The evidence of studied showed that the risk was really much higher than was thought formerly. The risk of blood clot goes up considerably when women are pregnant and stays high during the first six weeks subsequent to delivery. It is because pregnancy leads to changes in clotting factors, explained Dr. Beatrice Chen, an assistant professor and director of Family Planning at the University of Pittsburgh.
Pregnancy causes a fall in the body’s natural blood thinners and an increase in clotting, which is something, happens to all pregnant women. The risk of blood clots during the first six weeks after a baby is born goes even higher if women are older or have had C-sections, stated Dr Chen.
While adding extra risk factor of blood clots associated with estrogen use, then the risks to the new mother overshadow the benefits of using contraceptive pills to prevent pregnancy. It does not mean that women should skip birth control pill altogether. Both mother and baby do better if there is gap of one year between the birth one child and the conception of the next.
Dr Chen added if there is less than a year in between, you can have problems with the next pregnancy, including low birth weights and pre-term births.