Doctors giving women 'dangerous' contraceptive pills
Doctors are often giving women the more dangerous contraceptive pills when there are safer options available, a new study has discovered.
Despite knowing the risks, doctors are still prescribing contraceptive pills that double the risk of DVT (deep vein thrombosis).
The ‘danger’ pills were those containing desogestrel, and the risk of DVT was at its highest during the first three months, say researchers from Leiden University Medical Centre in the Netherlands. The dose also affected the risk.
The researchers made the discovery after comparing 1,524 women aged between 18 and 50 years who had suffered DVT, with 1,760 healthy women.
They recommend that contraceptive pills containing levonorgestrel and low levels of estrogen should be prescribed to lower the risk of DVT.
(Source: British Medical Journal, 2009; 339: b2921).