birth control pill, the pill

Recently, a friend told me she’d gone off the birth control pill because it had killed her sex drive. I was startled. I’d heard a lot of things about the pill, but this was a new one. After talking to my friends, I discovered that everyone had questions about other stories they’d heard. Clearly, there’s still rampant confusion about a contraceptive that has been around since 1960. So with the help of an OB/GYN, I set out to discover the truth.


The birth control pill causes weight gain.
MYTH. Without a doubt, this is one of the most widespread concerns about the pill. It’s also a complete myth. “There have been many studies on the pill and weight gain and none of them ever showed that the pill resulted in weight gain,” says Dr. Jeannine Rahimian, medical director of the OB/GYN Consultation Suite at UCLA. So why do so many women think it does? “One of the reasons for this may be that in some women the pill can cause bloating, thereby giving a sensation of weight gain,” says Dr. Rahimian.

The birth control pill increases your risk of cancer.
MYTH. It seems every time you turn around, there is a new study published examining the connection—or lack thereof—between the pill and cancer. So what’s the bottom line? “There is actually very good evidence that taking the pill for five years or more reduces the risk of ovarian cancer by 50%,” says Dr. Rahimian. “There is mixed data regarding the risk of breast cancer, but there is definitely no strong evidence that the pill significantly increases the risk of breast cancer.”

The birth control pill lowers your sex drive.
FACT. My friend was right—it can. Numerous articles cite women who report a lowered libido on the pill and a study published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine suggests that the pill may reduce a woman’s sex drive for months after discontinuation. “30 to 40 percent of women on birth control pills have decreased libido,” study co-author Dr. Andrew Guay, director of the Center for Sexual Health/Endocrinology at the Lahey Clinic in Boston, told HealthDay News. But not all experts agree. Dr. Rahimian acknowledges that some women experience a lowered sex drive, but says, “For most women, this is not a major issue.”