Stronger warnings on packages of a newer class of birth control pills and government ruling to restrict the availability of the morning-after pill may make women leery of birth control in general, which could increase the rate of unwanted pregnancies or abortions, some advocacy groups warn.
Why did an advisory panel of experts for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) not vote to ban the popular birth control pill Yaz and other pills of its generation containing the hormone drospirenone, instead opting to recommend that the pills carry a stronger warning for life-threatening blood clots?
A new study backs up concerns of previous studies that show birth control pills containing the hormone drospirenone, such as Yaz and Yasmin, are more likely to cause deadly blood clots than oral contraceptives made with older generation hormones.
Yaz, and other birth control pills made with the hormone drospirenone, have been shown in studies to put women at greater risk for developing deadly blood clots, yet generic versions of the drug are still being approved for sale in the United States. Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc. has just been granted approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Vestura, its generic version of Bayer’s Yaz.
Sid Wolfe, head of the Public Citizen Health Research Group, was stripped of his voting rights on a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory panel just before the committee was to review the safety of the popular birth control pills Yaz and Yasmin. Wolfe’s consumer advocacy group has waged a campaign warning women about what it perceives to be the dangerous risk of blood clots with oral contraceptives containing the hormone drospirenone, such as Yaz and Yasmin.
Bayer didn’t want anyone to find out its top-selling birth control pill Yasmin could be more dangerous than older oral contraceptives, and even went so far as to promote the pill for uses for which it had not been approved, according to a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) report unsealed in federal court last week.
Packs of Yaz and other birth control pills containing the hormone drospirenone should be updated to include a warning that the pills may be more likely to cause life threatening blood clots than older oral contraceptives, according to a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory panel. The expert board was charged by the FDA with reviewing new data on the safety of the pills and recommending what action the federal agency should take.
Women who recently gave birth and are older than 34 or who have had a C-section should not take oral contraceptives that contain estrogen, according to researchers with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Studies show the pills could increase the risk of older women developing blood clots if taken within six weeks after delivering a baby. Blood clots, if they travel to the brain or lungs, can cause strokes, respiratory problems, and even death. All new mothers, regardless of age, are also advised not to take estrogen-containing oral contraceptives in the first three weeks following delivery.
The benefits of using birth control pills outweigh the risks, according to a Style Bistro story, which supports the use of oral contraceptives for the treatment of acne. There are three birth control pills that are FDA-approved for such use – Ortho Tri-Cyclen, Estrostep, and Yaz. The latter of these is one of the nation’s most prescribed birth control pills. It is also under a new safety review by the FDA based on data that links use of the pills to serious and life threatening health risks.
Health insurance plans will soon be required to cover birth control at no cost to women, thanks to new requirements ordered by the Obama administration. The new rules are part of a broad spectrum of women’s preventative coverage and include breast pumps for nursing mothers, an annual “well woman” physical, counseling on how to avoid sexually transmitted diseases, and other services with no co-pay. Insurance companies can recoup any losses by increasing their premiums. The new benefits won’t go into effect for at least another year.
