Oral contraceptives ("the pill") are the most effective way (except for sterilization) to prevent pregnancy. They are also convenient and, for most women, free of serious or unpleasant side effects. Oral contraceptives must always be taken under the continuous supervision of a physician.

Your doctor will take a complete medical and family history before prescribing oral contraceptives. At that time and every six months thereafter, he will generally examine your blood pressure, breasts, abdomen, and pelvic organs (including a Pap Smear, i.e., test for cancer).

The pill is a combination of an estrogen and a progesterone, the two kinds of female hormones. The amount of estrogen and progesterone can vary, but the amount of estrogen is most important because both the effectiveness and some of the dangers of oral contraceptives are related to the amount of estrogen. The pill works principally by preventing release of an egg from the ovary. When the pill is taken as directed, oral contraceptives are more than 99% effective (there would be less than one pregnancy if 100 women used the pill for one year.)

It is important that any woman who considers using an oral contraceptive understand the risks involved. Although the oral contraceptives have important advantages over other methods of contraception, they have certain risks that no other method has. Only you can decide whether the advantages are worth these risks.

Who Should Not Use Oral Contraceptives

A. If you have any of the following conditions you should not use the pill:

I. CLOTS IN THE LEGS OR LUNGS.

2. ANGINA PECTORIS (SEVERE TINGLING PAIN THAT RADIATES DOWN THE CHEST AND LEFT ARM).

3. KNOWN OR SUSPECTED CANCER OF THE BREAST OR SEX ORGANS.

4. UNUSUAL VAGINAL BLEEDING THAT HAS NOT YET BEEN DIAGNOSED.

5. KNOWN OR SUSPECTED PREGNANCY.

6. DILANTIN USAGE.

B. If you have had any of the following conditions you should not use the pill.

1. HEART ATTACK OR STROKE

2. CLOTS IN THE LEGS OR LUNGS.

C. Cigarette smoking increases the risk of serious adverse effects on the heart and blood vessels from oral contraceptive use. This risk increases with age and with heavy smoking (15 or more cigarettes per day) and is quite marked in women over 35 years of age. Women who use oral contraceptives should not smoke.

D. If you have scanty or irregular periods or are a young woman without a regular cycle, you may want to use another method of contraception until your periods are regular because, if you use the pill, you may fall to have menstrual periods after discontinuing the pill.

E. Some antibiotics will interfere with the effectiveness of oral contraceptives. Patients are advised to check with their pharmacist at the time they are placed on antibiotics to determine whether the particular medication will contribute to the pill's ineffectiveness.

Side Effects of Oral Contraceptives:

Some women on the pill experience unpleasant side effects that are not dangerous and ate not likely to damage their health. You may have breast tenderness, breast enlargement, weight gain or 1055, nausea, moodiness, and one may develop slight swelling of ankles. Taking Vitamin B-complex or Brewer's Yeast usually aides in lessening these side effects.

More serious side effects include worsening of migraines, asthma, epilepsy, and kidney or heart disease because of a tendency for water to be retained in the body when oral contraceptives are used. More rare but serious side effects include, blood clots, strokes, and heart attacks.

Oral contraceptives are of no value in the prevention or treatment of venereal disease.

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