Women who have just given birth and are older than 34 or have had a Cesarean section are now advised to avoid contraceptives containing estrogen, say new government guidelines. Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have concluded that birth control pills containing estrogen could increase the risk of a blood clot in some new mothers when taken within six weeks of giving birth. Such clots are dangerous because if they travel to the lungs, they can lead to serious complications and even cause fatal pulmonary embolism. The CDC s recent conclusion is a refinement of an already established guideline that advises all women to hold off on resuming estrogen-containing birth control pills during the first three weeks following delivery.
Yet the guidelines authors, led by Dr. Naomi Tepper, an ob-gyn in the CDC s division of reproductive health, explain that it s important that new mothers still use some kind of contraception: it s beneficial for both women and babies if there is at least one year between the birth of one child and the conception of the next. Dr. Tepper recommends that women use either an intrauterine device (IUD), implants, or injections that contain only progestin. None of these forms of birth control put a new mother at greater risk for blood clots.
Too bad the authors didn t remind new parents that use of condoms would also help keep new mothers away from estrogen-containing contraceptives, added ACSH s Dr. Elizabeth Whelan. Such an obvious method especially when compared to, say, an IUD seems a strange thing to forget about in this discussion.