WOMENS-HEALTH Messages for January, 1998: Effectiveness of the pill

Effectiveness of the pill

From: D. Ashley Hill, M.D. (anonymous@obgyn.net)
Wed, 14 Jan 1998 21:33:26 -0600 (CST)

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Received recently:

My son's 16 year old girlfried believes she is pregnant, even though she has been on birth control pills for about a year. Her mother is of the mind that the pills were not the right dosage, and thus, her daughter is pregnant. The girl has taken a home pregnancy test, and the results were positive. She is also, apparently, exhibiting symptoms of pregnancy. My question is: what is the chance of getting pregnant on the pill, if taken correctly, and more specifically, how does one tell if the dosage is correct? I assume that the girl was experience normal periods while taking her pills.

It sounds like the young lady's mother is looking in the wrong direction here. Her daughter is pregnant because she had sex, and not because of the dosage of the pill! This follows a national hobby we Americans participate in all the time called "pass the blame to someone else." All pill formulations sold in the U.S. are a high enough strength to prevent pregnancy, if taken correctly. In fact, full-strength pills, which are all pills that contain both estrogen and progestin hormones, have a failure rate of only 1/10 of 1% if taken every day, and an overall failure rate of 3% (which includes women who do not take the pill as directed). Only death, hysterectomy, and complete abstinence are 100% effective, and even then there are a few very rare case reports of so-called abdominal pregnancy after hysterectomy!

The "mini-pill" is composed of only progesterone, and has a higher failure rate, but when taken perfectly, which in this case is every day *at the same time,* the failure rate is only 1/2 of 1%. The overall failure rate is probably more like 5%.

So, as you can see, while it is possible to get pregnant on the pill, it's unlikely, and it's not really dosage-dependent.

Thanks,

-- Ashley Hill David Ashley Hill, M.D. Associate Director Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Florida Hospital Family Practice Residency Orlando, FL http://www.gate.net/~dahmd

I apologize, but I am unable to answer personal e-mail due to time constraints.

Next message: Robin: "Laparoscopy w/ D&C Hysteroscopy"
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Maybe reply: Tammy: "Re: Effectiveness of the pill"
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