Birth Control, Unborn Babies and Defects

[amyranth.livejournal.com]

This is more an "Out of curiosity" question than anything really.

How often are children who are conceived, even with the mother's use of birth control, born with deformities and/or health problems? Does it happen at all, or is it just a precaution that is printed inside the packaging and books so that if anything severe does happen that the companies can cover their own asses?

Does anyone have any information on this subject?

Comments

[throbinson.livejournal.com]

I wonder if you could clarify your question a bit, I'm not quite sure what you're asking. Thanks.

[faylette.livejournal.com]

"The pill does not cause birth defects or affect the health of future children — even if a woman becomes pregnant while taking the pill."

This is all Planned Parenthood will really tell me. D:

http://www.plannedparenthood.org/pp2/portal/files/portal/medicalinfo/birthcontrol/pub-contraception-pill-myths.xml

[free-me07.livejournal.com]

Yep - I've always heard that the pill (and EC) won't harm a fetus. They tell you not to take it if you're pregnant, because, well... there's no point in birth control if you're pregnant.

[queensugar.livejournal.com]

In this link (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/birth-control-pill/WO00098), the Mayo Clinic also suggests (but doesn't go into detail) that there may be some concerns to the woman with taking extra estrogen during pregnancy. However, I don't have any specific info on that. But yes, HBC doesn't cause defects (or has never been shown to, more specifically).

[queensugar.livejournal.com]

If your question is whether or not HBC can cause birth defects, the answer is no. HBC has never been shown to cause any birth defects in children conceived while using HBC. (You can scan down here (http://www.fredericton.ppfc.ca/hormonal.htm) to read about that). The Mayo Clinic confirms this (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/birth-control-pill/WO00098).

[adnara.livejournal.com]

Not sure on deformities, but I know a woman who has had two kids and now is pregnat with twins----all while on hormonal BC. The doc says it was actually acting as a fertility drug on her.

o_0

That worries me.

[hippiechick13.livejournal.com]

I didn't realize that was possible...fuck. Too bad they don't warn you about this stuff, huh?

[queensugar.livejournal.com]

The doc says it was actually acting as a fertility drug on her.

I would be skeptical of that -- do you happen to know if the doctor gave her any specific information as to how s/he feels this would have occured? Was s/he perhaps making a light joke? Or is the doctor just assuming because it's a multiple pregnancy?

It is true that some women are just biologically more likely to become pregnant than others, even when on the pill. As the above linked site says:

In fact, variation in follicular development is so great among women that some researchers feel that individual body chemistry can be a greater risk factor for pregnancy than missing a specific number of pills.

It could be your friend just falls into the tiny minority of women whose individual body chemistry means a higher risk of conceiving while on HBC. (http://www.infoforhealth.org/pr/a10/a10boxes.shtml)

[adnara.livejournal.com]

It could be. But she didn't sound joking.

[wholuvsya.livejournal.com]

One thing that can cause a defect is being on hbc and not having proper folic acid absorption...They say among women on hbc and a multi vitamin approximately 40% of those women are deficient in folic acid. Getting pregnant and not having enough folic acid in your system can cause spina bifida, the number one preventable birth defect in America. It's also the most common, our doctor told us that spina bifida is the most prevalent birth defect...I believe he said that 40% of pregnancies have spina bifida...note that I said pregnancies, not children. Alot of women miscarry when the fetus is not viable. I can provide links for this info if anyone is interested...I have a son with spina bifida and this is one of my "pet" causes :)

[sinisterf.livejournal.com]

I'm a BC baby, or as my mom says 'The Surprise Child', she was on BC when she conceived me, and I was born perfectly healthy and am still healthy now.

However I must note that she did not continue with BC very far into the pregnancy, she was actually due for a checkup to have her pills renewed when she found out that she was pregnant. So I can't speak for long term usage, however in her case conceiving on BC ended in a healthy child.

[sinisterf.livejournal.com]

I should edit this to say that she was on HBC specifically and not just BC in general.