Sometimes I think that people actively look for reasons to indict the birth control pill. Take the recent spate of coverage of a study to come out of Belgium: this study found that subjects who use the birth control pill have a higher risk of plaque build-up in their arteries. All of a sudden, I'm getting panicked calls from patients who want to stop taking their pills--or not start taking them--because they're afraid of having a heart attack. The study did not find that these women had a higher risk of heart attack or stroke. And it's those outcomes that really matter, not just the presence of plaques.

It infuriates me that most of the media coverage doesn't attempt to put studies like this in perspective. First, it's one study. There are countless studies from the past few decades that have the opposite conclusion (that using the pill can protect you from heart disease), which is why doctors don't change their recommendations based on a single study. Next, the outcomes that matter--heart attacks and strokes--weren't studied (or didn't happen, it's not clear). When the study gets published in a journal, doctors will have a chance to examine the data and interpret it appropriately; with all apologies to the network news reporters, they aren't doctors. And finally, reams of data have shown that for most women, all birth control methods are safer than pregnancy. When bad things happen to pregnant women, the media doesn't go into a frenzy (unless of course she's murdered).  

If you have any doubts about the safety of your birth control method, whatever it is, please ask your gyno...or ask me. I don't want the media's sensationalism to give you a sense of dread about your pill.