Free Birth Control

Wow! More women will be getting free birth control. I am not sure on the political details of this one, but it sounds like a plan that will help a lot of women.

FROM NBC: Starting August 1st, 2012 -- insurance companies will be required to cover all FDA approved contraceptives for new plans without a co-pay. This includes the pill, IUD's and the so-called "morning after pill" a prescription that works by blocking or delaying ovulation.

Nearly half of all pregnancies in the U.S. are unplanned. Dr. Deborah Nucatola/ Planned Parenthood Federation: "Women, when they do have unidentified pregnancies, are less likely to seek prenatal care, and if they do seek prenatal care, they are less likely to get enough prenatal care." OB-GYN'Ss say the ability to plan for pregnancies is crucial for women's health.

Dr. Ted Anderson/Vanderbilt University Medical Center: "Women who have rapid successive pregnancies that is pregnancies within a year of their most previous delivery are at increased risk for preterm delivery and other complications of pregnancy."

And "birth control" isn't the only reason women use it. Dr. Judy Yolkar/Cleveland Clinic: "Contraceptives are used top control irregular bleeding, skin conditions, endometriosis treatment." The guidelines include a provision that allows religious institutions to opt out of birth control coverage.

Women with health coverage will also be entitled to an annual physical, HPV screening, Breast pumps and counseling on domestic violence. The guidelines do not require coverage of RU-486 and other medications used to chemically induce abortions. Some brand name drugs may have a co-pay if a generic version is available.

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

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Birth Control Complications after birth

I don't think I ever started birth control pills until 8 weeks after giving birth. I don't know if it had something to do with the risk of blood clots or not. If my OB told me why I had to wait eight weeks, it's all a blur to me. I thought you might want to know this in case you were thinking of start birth control pills right after birth because you have an old prescription.

FROM NBC: To avoid potentially deadly blood clots -- public health officials say women should wait at least 3 weeks after giving birth to go back on birth control pills. That recommendation is from the Centers for Disease Control -- where experts say the risk for blood clots is elevated for about 21 days after having a baby -- then usually decreases.

But women who had a c-section or have other risk factors -- like obesity or a history of blood clots -- may need to wait at least 6 weeks before returning to the pill. The estrogen and progestin in birth control pills are associated with a slightly increased risk for clots.

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

Skin Dimensions, SB products are manufactured with Pharmaceutical-Grade ingredients. Products are not just "Feel Good Products," as they contain unique and innovative ingredients in concentrations that can assist you in the achievement of your own personal skincare objectives. Our products contain higher percentages of Glycolic, Vitamin A, C, E, Co-Q10, green tea, than what you can usually purchase over the counter.

Birth Control Warning

FROM CNN: New research finds that a particular kind of birth control may be harmful to women's bones. The birth control shot known as Deprovera is an attractive option for women because it can be taken just four times a year, rather than every day as is common with birth control pills.

But women receiving the shot should pay extra attention to their BONE HEALTH, new research finds. Doctors at the University of Texas followed 95 women using Deprovera for two years and periodically assessed their bone strength. HALF of users had a sizeable drop in mineral density in their spine or hip bones - which could lead to fracture risk. The shot causes a long-term disturbance in hormones, which both prevents pregnancy and causes bone changes.

Past research suggests that the bone strength typically RECOVERS when women stop using Deprovera, but this can't be guaranteed and experts advise women to limit the DURATION they are on the shot to no more than two years. SMOKERS run particular risk for bone loss, so women can reduce their odds by not smoking and doctors recommend taking calcium and vitamin D to boost bone strength as well. Source: published in Obstetrics & Gynecology

I tried Dep-provera once and it didn't sit right with me. But when it doesn't have side effects, I hear it's nice because you don't have to take a pill everyday. I can't say the convenience would be worth harming your bones though.

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

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Are birth control pills the best option?

From the New York Times: Nearly a third of women who start a new type of birth control stop within a year, according to one recent study, largely because of changes in their insurance coverage. All methods have some side effects. And the current crop of intrauterine devices, or IUD’s, despite having a nearly perfect efficacy rate, have been slow to catch on, experts say, partly because more doctors need to be trained in inserting them. As a result, whether to promote their particular brand or to encourage better compliance, many birth control manufacturers and doctors are promoting the noncontraceptive benefits of contraception. Whether it’s reducing the risk of cancer, improving the health of mothers-to-be, easing cramps or enhancing complexion, it’s nice to have a medical excuse for using birth control.

Hormonal contraceptive methods use manufactured estrogen and progestin in different combinations and deliver them in a variety of ways — through pills, shots, skin patches, implants, IUDs and vaginal rings. Studies have shown that all those methods reduce the risk of ovarian and endometrial cancer. Some may also help protect against osteoporosis.

Using contraception can also give women a chance to get healthy before they conceive — to stop smoking, lose weight or lower their blood sugar.

Today’s marketing of the “no-bleed” or “extended regimen” pills, all variations on the original pill, plays down the breakthrough bleeding that can occur, according to some skeptics. And while some advocates argue that these newer contraceptive techniques are likely to cause no long-term problems since, historically, women spent most of their reproductive years either pregnant or nursing so had far fewer menstrual periods than women today, the health effects of going for months or even years without a period remain unknown.

I haven't decided which birth control method is best for me long term. I would love to know what you are using and why. It seems like there are risks and benefits to all of them. A part of me says being on hormonal birth control for the next 15 years probably isn't the best thing for my body.

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

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What you don't know about the pill

This is a bit concerning...

From ABC: A new pilot program in London will make the birth control pill available next month, through pharmacists, without a prescription. It's a big shift from December 1955, when scientists made the first presentation that progesterone can stop women from ovulating, and many states had laws banning the use of contraception.

Despite nearly 50 years of access to the pill, some women are clueless about side effects that doctors might not bother sharing, and some that are just being discovered."Doctors in general tend to hesitate to suggest things to the patient," said Dr. Nanette Santoro, director of reproductive endocrinology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City and a member of The Endocrine Society."These are things that wouldn't have a major health impact."Santoro said, with limited time in appointments, doctors focus on the major side effects that can pose a health risk: the risk of blood clots among smokers, high blood pressure, and stroke with some migraine headaches, for example.But Santoro knows of many less-pressing and idiosyncratic side effects from the pill that don't always make it into the doctor's talk.

Women on the pill may suffer a lackluster sex drive, mood swings, or even extra sinus pressure, she said."Some women may notice their sinuses are a little stuffier," Santoro explained. "It speaks to the bigger point that pills do affect the mucus production of the body."That means mucus, whether on the cervix or in the nose, can become thicker.This August, research began to confirm another strange connection between the birth control pill and a woman's nose.In a study of about 100 college students in the U.K., scientists found that the pill may change how women find a man's scent sexually attractive.The study collected body odor from volunteers and put it in jars for the ladies to smell. Among the 200-300 different chemical compounds in sweat, researchers tried to draw a connection to the woman's reaction to the sweat and a by-product in the sweat from the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes, which contribute to the body's immune system.Since the late 1990s, research has shown that women find the scent of a man more attractive if he has MHC genes that are different from their own, and less attractive if he has similar MHC genes.But that all may change two months after a woman goes on the pill.

The Pill May Change How You Choose a Man"In the pill-using group, there was a significant shift in their preference for men who had more similar odors," said Craig Roberts, a co-author of the August MHC study appearing in the "Proceedings of the Royal Society B," and a lecturer at the University of Liverpool in the U.K.Roberts said the women in the control group who didn't take the pill only started to find men with different MHC genes more attractive in the second round of body odor sniff tests."It's an odd thing to do, smell odors in jars," Roberts said. "

We don't know the effects in the real world, but it does carry implications for women who are using the pill, and you can extrapolate from this very artificial laboratory study quite a long way."For example, "They may choose someone they may not choose otherwise," he said. In theory, Roberts said a woman may choose a man while she's on the pill and feel fine, but subconsciously find her mate less attractive if she goes off the pill."There is evidence that couples that are more MCH similar to each other have more difficulty conceiving, and they have more miscarriages," added Roberts, who has also cited research that women who marry men with similar MCH genes are more likely to have an affair.Aside from chemical conjectures, Einstein's Santoro has heard straight from her patients that the pill can affect one's sex life."Clearly, pills suppress androgen production in the ovary, so, to the extent that androgen levels drive sex drive in women, it could affect them," said Santoro, who is also a doctor with the Montefiore Medical Center in New York City."It's also possible for some women, especially if they're Catholics, to have a libido problem. ... Once they start on the pill, it may reduce their enjoyment in some way out of guilt," she said.Santoro said many of her patients tend to think of the pill as an off-switch for hormones, but in truth, the pill exposes women to higher levels of hormones to overcome their own cycle.

Other Strange Side Effects From the Pill"Because the pill in a lot of ways produces a pseudo-pregnant state, some of the side effects of pregnancy are noticed in the pill," Santoro said.That means women on the pill may experience heartburn, or constipation, or sleep disturbances, either as insomnia or extra sleepiness.Santoro said doctors are also less likely to get into great detail about weight changes."We tell our patients that weight doesn't change if you take the pill ... but among the individual women, there may be some who gain and some who lose," said Santoro, who added that large studies on the subject might cancel out the average weight changes experienced by women on the pill.

Overall, Santoro said she'd spend more time talking about the pill's more serious health risks and side effects with a patient."Women over 35 who smoke more than 10 cigarettes a day -- they shouldn't be taking the pill at all," she said.For patients who have migraines with aura, which refers to feelings and symptoms noticed shortly before the headache begins, "they should not take pills without making sure everybody's on board."

Santoro said although research hasn't drawn any hard-and-fast conclusions about side effects from taking the pill for an extended period of time, many of her patients have decided to give the hormones a break. Despite nearly 50 years of access to the pill, some women are clueless about side effects that doctors might not bother sharing, and some that are just being discovered."

I have friends who have been on the pill for 13 plus years. I think I will be sending them this blog post! Yikes! What is your take on this?

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

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