Victor R. Claveau, MJ
Although we can readily see the destructive societal effects of artificial contraception, it may take many years before we become fully aware of the devastating long-term effects of the birth control pill.
Author Margaret Lee Braun, Co-Founder and past Executive Director of the DES Cancer Network, in her best-selling DES Stories: Faces and Voices of People Exposed to Diethylstilbestrol, documented the long-term effects of one of the most destructive drugs ever approved for use.[i] She writes:
“DES, diethylstilbestrol, has been called, ‘The worst disaster in U.S. medical history.’ Ten million Americans are exposed to DES. Hundreds of thousands were exposed in Europe, Australia, Canada, in up to 30 countries worldwide.
“DES exposure is one of the most important health events of our time and an unprecedented medical disaster effecting millions of people. DES was the first synthetic estrogen used in the mistaken belief it could prevent miscarriage. Ten million Americans are exposed to DES, and hundreds of thousands are exposed to DES in Europe, Canada, and Australia. DES is a landmark epidemiological case and stands as the clearest example of second-generation reproductive harm linked to worldwide endocrine disrupting chemicals.
- DES is the first synthetic, oral estrogen pill.
- DES was used in the mistaken belief it could prevent miscarriage.
- DES became a hugely popular prescription pill prescribed to millions worldwide.
- Anyone born or pregnant between 1938-1975 in the U.S., and until the mid-80s in some European countries, may be exposed to DES.
- The NCI (National Cancer Institute) estimates 10 million DES-exposed women and men in the U.S. and hundreds of thousands of people exposed to DES in Europe, Canada, and Australia.
- DES was used for hundreds of treatments besides miscarriage treatment: to treat acne, menopause symptoms, breast milk suppressant, morning-after-pill, to stunt teenage growth, as animal feed supplement.
- DES is linked to injury, illness, and death worldwide.
- U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) launches a national DES education campaign in 2003.
- New research on long-term health consequences of DES continue to unfold in 2006.
- DES provides cutting edge scientific information because it is the landmark “case” showing a link between estrogenic exposure and second-generation reproductive injuries.
- DES is proof that in utero exposure to high-dose estrogen may cause reproductive injuries in offspring.
- DES is key evidence for the emerging science of endocrine disruption, which shows patterns of increasing reproductive dysfunction in humans and wildlife worldwide.
“DES became so popular as an anti-miscarriage drug; it was prescribed to women with healthy pregnancies to build strong, healthy babies. In the early 1950s, DES was shown to be completely ineffective in preventing miscarriage. Yet, DES continued to be marketed worldwide for decades.
“DES was prescribed in as many as 30 countries and manufactured by over 200 pharmaceutical companies under more than 300 names.
“DES was prescribed for hundreds of treatments besides miscarriage; prostate cancer, breast cancer, acne, menopause symptoms.
“DES was widely used to suppress breast milk after childbirth. And it was the popular Morning-After-Pill used for decades on college campuses. DES was also used to stunt height growth in taller teenage girls and stimulate growth in shorter teenage boys. It was used to prepare transsexuals for sex change. DES was used widely as a growth stimulator in livestock.
“DES was dubbed the Time-bomb Drug in newspaper headlines throughout the U.S. in the 1970s. In 1971, physicians at Massachusetts General Hospital began to see teenage girls with a devastating vaginal cancer that had never occurred in women so young. Following the suggestion of a mother, to consider the DES she had been prescribed during pregnancy, they discovered the common link: The mothers of the sick girls were prescribed DES during pregnancy. The enormity of the DES disaster exploded in the news. DES was identified as a teratogen (causes birth defects), and the first-ever cross-placental carcinogen. Proof of DES injuries became controversial. And, over time, serious reproductive injuries and malformations became linked to DES exposure.
“Not all DES-exposed people have health problems, yet studies show DES daughters have higher rates of vaginal and cervical cancer, and a greater incidence of reproductive problems; Infertility, ectopic pregnancy, miscarriage, and premature delivery. Hundreds of young women have died from DES-related clear cell vaginal cancer. DES mothers have a 30% higher incidence of breast cancer. Research shows DES sons have a higher incidence of reproductive malformations. DES has caused sickness, pain, fear, heartbreak, and death—at an inestimable cost to individuals and society.
“We are exposed to estrogen through birth control pills, fertility treatments, hormone replacement therapy (HRT), and environmental exposures. DES has important ramifications because DES shows for certain that high doses of synthetic estrogen before birth can cause reproductive injuries and disease. DES raises questions about cumulative hormone exposure, our use of estrogen medication, cumulative exposure to hormones, and our exposure to chemicals in the environment that may affect the endocrine system.”
Using birth control pills is a bit like playing Russian roulette; used often enough, there are bound to be serious consequences.
Yaz®
Yaz (drospirenone and ethinyl estradiol), manufactured by Bayer Schering Pharmaceuticals, is another combination birth control pill. It’s the only birth control pill that’s also approved by the FDA to treat emotional and physical premenstrual symptoms (PMDD) and acne.
Yaz is an abortifacient, and is in the FDA pregnancy category X. This means that it has been reported to cause birth defects in an unborn baby. Hormonal changes during pregnancy can have very serious negative effects on a developing child.[ii] The hormones in Yaz can also pass into breast milk and harm a nursing baby.[iii]
Yaz is an oral contraceptive. This product combines an estrogen and progestin, similar to the natural sex hormones (estrogen and progesterone) produced in a woman’s body. Ethinyl estradiol is the estrogen and drospirenone is the progestin.
While Yaz promises clear skin, the risks of using Yaz are: hives; difficulty breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat. Sudden numbness or weakness, confusion, pain behind the eyes, problems with vision, speech, or balance; chest pain or heavy feeling, pain spreading to the arm or shoulder, nausea, sweating, general ill feeling; a change in the pattern or severity of migraine headaches; stomach pain, loss of appetite, jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes); a breast lump; or symptoms of depression (sleep problems, weakness, mood changes).
NuvaRing® Birth Control
NuvaRing is an abortifacients, and is in the FDA Pregnancy Category X.[iv]
NuvaRing (etonogestrel/ethinyl estradiol vaginal ring), manufactured by Organon USA, is a non-biodegradable, flexible, transparent, colorless to almost colorless, combination contraceptive vaginal ring containing two active components, a progestin, etonogestrel and an estrogen, ethinyl estradiol. NuvaRing birth control is a relatively new form of contraception, used by approximately 1.5 million women worldwide.[v]
NuvaRing birth control is a flexible polyethylene vinyl acetate ring that is that is approximately 2 ½ inches in diameter and is worn in the vagina for three weeks and removed for one week. NuvaRing releases a low and steady dose of hormones that are absorbed directly into the bloodstream through the walls of the vagina. The hormone progestin prevents the ovary from releasing an egg. In addition, the lining of the uterus becomes thinner which inhibits implantation of a fertilized egg. The cervical mucus also becomes thicker helping to prevent sperm from entering the uterus.
Studies have shown the association between desogestrel and an increased risk of blood clots and stroke.[vi] Blood clots that form in the legs can travel to the lungs causing a sudden blockage of a vessel carrying blood to the lungs. Clots forming in the blood vessels of the eye can cause vision problems including blindness.
The following symptoms may indicate a more serious problem associated with NuvaRing side effects:
- sharp chest pain, coughing blood, or sudden shortness of breath (possible clot in the lung);
- pain in the calf (back of lower leg; possible clot in the leg);
- crushing chest pain or heaviness in the chest (possible heart attack);
- sudden severe headache or vomiting, dizziness or fainting, problems with vision or speech, weakness, or numbness in an arm or leg (possible stroke);
- sudden partial or complete loss of vision (possible clot in the eye).
- The side effects of NuvaRing can increase based on several health and risk factors. Increased risks include: women over 35 years of age, diabetes, smoking more than 15 cigarettes a day, and high level of blood cholesterol or fat.[vii]
- NuvaRing may also cause more long-lasting side effects. It may cause increased vaginal discharge, vaginal irritation, or infection. The hormones in NuvaRing may change a woman’s sexual desire.[viii]
[i] Braun, Margaret Lee, DES Stories: Faces and Voices of People Exposed to Diethylstilbestrol. Visual Studies Workshop Press.
[ii] http://www.yasminbirthcontrol.net/
[iii] http://www.yaz-us.com/home.jsp
[iv] http://www.spfiles.com/pinuvaring.pdf
[v] Ibid.
[vi] Ibid.
[vii] http://www.nuvaringsideeffects.com/nuvaring-side-effects.html
[viii] http://www.plannedparenthood.org/health-topics/birth-control/vaginal-ring-nuvaring-4241.htm