Updated: 09-07-2025
What Are The Long-Term Side Effects of Birth Control Pills?
Are you using birth control pills? Is it regularly or occasionally?
Whatever the answer may be, you must know that there are many more long-term side effects of birth control pills than advantages of these pills.
Read this complete article to gain awareness and avoid risking your life for temporary happiness.
Birth control pills are used to prevent pregnancy.
The birth control pills are known as oral contraceptives in medical terms.
These birth control pills are synthetic hormones to control pregnancy.
It is a way for men and women to control pregnancy.
These pills are readily available in medical shops or pharmacies.
These birth control pills work 99.9% effectively when taken at the right time.
Here are the top dangerous long-term side effects of birth control pills.
- Weight Loss or Gain: Many studies have proven that the common side effect among women who use birth control pills is weight loss or gain, depending on the duration of pill usage.
- 1 in 100 people are affected by this when used regularly.
- This is caused by the internal body system changes done by pills.
- Cancer: Different studies state that the use of pills causes an increase in the types of cancers. The most effectively caused cancers are cervical cancer, breast cancer, etc.
- A study conducted by the British Journal of Cancer revealed that 100000 women who used pills have a 10% extra chance of getting breast cancer.
- Blood Clots: Blood clots are spoken about more when there is a topic on the long-term side effects of birth control pills.
- Oestrogens present in the blood will cause the production of blood clots in the liver, which damages blood circulation in the body and leads to critical health issues.
- About 40 out of 100,000 women are affected by blood clots within one year of using pills.
- Heart attack and stroke: Studies conducted by Medlink Neurology and many other universities have shown the risk of oral contraceptives in women who have migraines and high blood pressure.
- Another study declared that the usage of pills leads to artery-blocking plaques in the heart by up to 30% for every 10 years of pill usage.
- Muscle Growth: The progesterone present in the pills will decrease the hormones that help in muscle growth.
- When birth control pills are taken for long periods, they can cause impaired muscle growth in the body.
- Decrease in Bone Density: The decrease in oestrogen levels in the body negatively affects bone mineral density because these pills decrease Bone Mineral Density (BMD).
- Thus, women who use pills have lower bone mineral density and stronger bones when compared to women who don’t use them.
- Depression and mood swings: Many women observed emotional health issues after the use of pills.
- These include depression and other mood swings like sorrow, which are affecting their relationship and personal and professional lives.
- High Blood Pressure: Several studies determined a direct link between birth control and an increase in blood pressure. This side effect is more commonly seen in women who have factors like smoking, obesity, and older age.
- Sleeping disorder: The main long-term side effect of birth control pills is sleeping disorders. The regular usage of these pills will decrease the vitamin C and magnesium content in the body, which leads to insomnia or other sleeping disorders.
- Acne: As these pills contain oestrogen and progestin hormones, many birth control pills are approved for the treatment of acne, which is certainly not cured by any other medication.
- Though few women agree with this, many women disagree with this statement and claim a rapid increase in their acne, especially in areas like the neck, shoulders, and face, because of the regular dose of birth control pills.
- Hair Loss: Hair thinning and hair loss are commonly seen side effects in women who use birth control pills for the long term.
- Oestrogens present in pills will majorly affect the hair growth cycle and cause the hair to shed from the root, which may also lead to baldness.
- Headache: These pills increase pain and frequency in the head, which causes serious headaches regularly.
- This may also lead to migraines and increase the risk of brain strokes in the body.
Not only these side effects, but also many various deadly side effects can harm your health and the body system.
Sometimes the long-term side effects of birth control pills lead to death when used for many years. A few are listed below.
- Tender breasts
- Mensurational changes
- Gallbladder Diseases
- Migraines and nausea
- Yeast overgrowth and infection
- Irregular bleeding and spotting
The intake of birth control pills also reduces vitamins, manganese, zinc, and other essential minerals from the body and weakens the body’s system.
These pills shouldn’t be taken by older women or other women who are on medication or have any sort of disorder.
There are many alternative methods to control birth that can be used, and there would be no long-term side effects of birth control pills if used properly.
The methods are natural home remedies, proper safety measures, and many others.
Do not risk your life for temporary happiness.
Adopt a peaceful, happy, and healthy lifestyle. Live Happily! Stay healthy!
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