Last month, you might have seen headlines warning you that
hormonal birth control increases risk for breast cancer.
Not exact matches
Like pregnancy, combination
hormonal birth control methods
increase the risk of serious blood clots (see graph below), especially in women who have other risk factors, such as smoking, obesity, or age greater than 35.
This
increased risk is highest when you first start using a combination
hormonal birth control method or when you restart the same or different combination
hormonal birth control method after not using it for a month or more.
In mom: illness, starting
hormonal birth control, ovulation or your period,
increasing exercise without
increasing calories, insufficient hydration, poor sleep, or
increased stress.
That 20 %
increased odds amount to approximately one extra case of breast cancer for every 7,690 women using
hormonal birth control per year, according to the study.
Anything that alters your hormone levels — like changing to a new
hormonal birth control pill (that
increases your estrogen levels) or too much stress (high cortisol) is a risk factor.
«This is another study that shows a very slight
increased risk of
hormonal birth control — especially with long - term use.»
In the past, studies have shown a very slight
increased risk for breast cancer with the use of
hormonal birth control, or none at all.
Other women, however, report
increased libido while on
hormonal birth control.
Studies on the link between
hormonal birth control and
increased breast cancer risk do show that the pill
increases breast cancer risk.
Today's
birth control pills can have health benefits for some women, such as a lower risk of some kinds of cancer.5 Also, different brands and types of
birth control pills (and other forms of
hormonal birth control) can
increase your risk for some health problems and side effects.
And, because many forms of
hormonal birth control contain types of estrogen, and exposure to estrogen is a risk factor for breast cancer, many people wonder if
hormonal birth control might
increase users» chances of developing breast cancer later in life.
Smoking
increases your risk of serious cardiovascular side effects from
hormonal birth control pills, including death from heart attack, blood clots or stroke.