Contraceptive Pill Linked To Crohn's Disease, New Study Finds

The contraceptive pill enjoyed an incredible hey-day in the 1960s.

Hailed as a miracle drug that could give women far more freedom and dominion over their sexual activities and eventual conception, it became part of many a woman's daily routine.

Unfortunately, the pill doesn't enjoy this kind of celebration these days.

We seem to be presented with fresh evidence of the pill's evil on almost a monthly basis.

From depression, to long term infertility, it seems the pill has a multitude of potentially damaging side effects and, sadly this month's news is no different.

Most recently, a study has found the pill to be instrumental to the rise in cases of Crohn's disease in the last 50 years.

Crohn's Disease

Crohn's disease is a debilitating illness of the digestive system.

You might receognise it as Sam Faiers of The Only Way Is Essex was recently diagnosed with the disease.

Flare ups can mean such uncomfortable things as diarrhoea, cramps, bloody stools and pain.

In the last 50 years, we've seen a noticeable rise in Crohn's disease diagnoses, especially among women.

Is The Pill Responsible?

Well, according to a new study of 230,000 American women, organised by Dr Hamed Khalili, a Harvard gastroenterologist, the answer could be yes.

Dr Khalili found the risk of developing Crohn's disease to be three times higher among women who had used the pill for at least five years.

The pill doesn't actually appear to cause the disease, but among people who have some history of it in their family, it makes it much more likely to actually develop.

Other Things The Doctor Doesn't Tell You

The problem with the pill, mainly, is that it is easy.

When used correctly, it is hugely successful as a contraceptive. It can be easily incorporated into a woman's routine, it can be prescribed on the NHS, it does away with the need for condoms which can be fiddly and unsatisfying, plus it can have some very positive side effects, especially for those with problematic skin.

Thanks to this, doctors can be very quick to prescribe it and can even be quite pushy about it, in a bid to prevent the many unwanted pregnancies that occur all the time.

Sadly, though, this isn't always in a patient's best interests.

Up until recently, we didn't have enough evidence about the full range of side effects and also, what sort of damage long-term useage of the pill could do.

Several studies, including one by researchers from Monash University, have found that women who take birth control pills are twice as likely to be depressed as those who don’t. For some, certain birth control pills can also lead to mood swings, increased anger and loss of libido.

How many of us have been left crying into our cornflakes every morning without making the connection between our low moods and our methods of contraception?

Plus you should also check out The Telegraph's deep dive into the relationship between long-term pill use and infertility.

It's not encouraging.

Should I Stop Taking The Pill?

It's not as cut and dry as all that.

The pill does work like magic for many women and has made countless lives much easier.

Not all the side-effects are experienced by every woman who takes it.

That being said, the pressure that local GPs often put us under to use the pill as our first means of contraception, isn't fair.

Without looking at every woman's medical history - be that for cases of Crohn's disease, obesity or for depression - it isn't appropriate to pressure anyone into taking the pill, as it definitely isn't the miracle drug that we once thought it was.

LARCs

A new medical study has actually stated that LARCs (long acting reversible contraception) including the implant and the coil should be the first choice – NOT the pill.

Why Should I Use LARC?

The American Academy of Pediatrics has announced that it’s endorsing LARCs as they are a more reliable form of birth control.

That’s because it doesn’t rely on the user – in other words, you don’t have to remember to take it every day like you do with the pill.

The study does specifically reference young women as, according to the research, ‘teenagers are notorious for having a lot on their plates.’

However with our increasingly busy lives, LARCs really are a blessing for women as a whole – NOT just teenagers.

Another reason why doctors are backing these long-term methods is because they’re actually more effective.

The percentage of women having an unplanned pregnancy on the coil is between 0.2 and 0.8 percent – while the rate for those with the implant is even lower, 0.05 per cent, according to US stats.

However, 9 per cent of women have an unplanned pregnancy on the pill every year, and condoms are the least effective as people don’t use them properly (between 18 and 21 per cent unplanned pregnancy rate a year).

Is LARC Better Than The Pill?

"LARCs are significantly better than the user-dependent methods in terms of effectiveness because they’re always there – so you don’t have to remember to take them," explains Dr Anne Connolly. "They're not affected by user error."

She continues: "We know that a lot of women don’t remember to take the pill all the time and good research shows that long-acting methods are much more effective at preventing unplanned pregnancy, which is why we should be giving women all the information to get their choices right for them."

She adds: "Of course some women prefer to have control and like to take the pill every day and there's no reason for them to stop if it works for them. It's a completely individual decision."

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What do you think? Have you had bad experiences with the pill? Let us know in the comments!