Patient Education: Diseases Conditions Treatments & Procedures

Contraceptives

Risks

As with any medication, women must weigh the benefits and risks to ensure that they're making a safe choice.

Before you are prescribed an oral contraceptive, your doctor will need to do a physical examination and take a full medical history. Knowing your risk factors is very important because all oral contraceptives - even low-dose pills - will increase your risk of serious side effects, including blood clots (deep vein thrombosis) and stroke.

But Dr. Jennifer Blake, our Chief of Obstetrics and Gynecology, says that risk is very individual. "For most healthy young women taking oral contraceptives, blood clots and strokes are extremely rare events, but the risk increases with every decade of life," she says.

Higher-risk women may want to consider other options that don't impact clotting, but should always have a thorough discussion with their doctor first. And anyone who is a smoker, at any age, should be aware of the higher risk for blood clots, stroke and heart attacks, and that it's always better to stop smoking.

Oral contraceptives can also cause other side effects, including nausea, weight gain and sore breasts. But for most women, these side effects are short-lived and not serious.