You May Have Heard...
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The Truth Is...
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| The pill will make me gain weight. |
The pill does not make you fat. Lack of exercise and overeating cause weight gain. Most women who take the pill do not experience a change in weight. |
| The pill causes birth defects. |
The pill does not cause birth defects or affect the health of future children. |
| The pill will affect my ability to become pregnant even after I stop taking it. |
The pill will not hurt a woman’s future ability to become pregnant. |
| The pill will stop my growth and development. |
The pill does not stunt growth and development. |
| I need to stop taking the pill every so often to give my body a "rest". |
The pill does not need to be stopped to allow the body to take a break. |
| It’s dangerous to use the pill while breastfeeding. |
Pill use is safe while breastfeeding, but should begin after milk production is firmly established. |
| The pill causes blood clots, heart attack, and stroke. |
Healthy, nonsmoking women who take the pill have no increased risk of heart attack or stroke. There may be a small increase in the risk of blood clots, but this risk is less than during pregnancy. |
| The pill causes cancer. |
Pill use lessens the risk of ovarian and endometrial cancers. Some evidence suggests that long-term pill use increases the risk of cervical cancer; however, this is not proven. All women should have regular Pap smears to screen for cervical abnormalities. |
| The pill causes breast cancer. |
Worldwide data indicate that the pill does not increase a woman’s risk of breast cancer over her lifetime. |