Last time the Pill, now it's the patch. The FDA strengthened the warning on the packaging of Ortho-Evra, the only contraceptive patch on the market. The labeling will now tell doctors and patients that the patch exposes women to higher levels of estrogen than most birth control pills. We know that estrogen levels are linked to the risk of blood clots, but it's still not clear if patch users are at a higher risk of clots than pill users. And it's the clots that matter; research is still underway to figure out this question.

I don't want my patients (or y'all) to fear using the patch based on this new warning. There's no new scientific information about the risks of using the patch, and it's unclear why the FDA is changing the labeling at this time. And everyone involved in contraceptive research agrees that the patch is still a safe method of birth control. Most importantly, it's MUCH safer than pregnancy. So if you're on the patch, please don't peel it off in panic. Talk to your gyno about your fears and about other options if you really want to stop patch use. Because if you stop your patch and then get pregnant before you're ready, that's the riskiest situation of all. Are any of you patch users unnerved by the latest headlines?