Reasons to avoid birth control pills or any type of oral contraceptive as they cause nutritional deficiencies and destroy the microbiome for those that take it and their future children.
Since the introduction of oral contraceptives in the early 1960s, use of “the Pill”, as it is generally known, has soared to approximately 7 in 10 women of childbearing age.
Among young women ages 18-24, oral contraceptive use is especially high, reaching two-thirds in 2008.
The widespread use of The Pill is a troubling issue because oral contraceptives devastate beneficial bacterial flora in the gut.
This leaves those who use it vulnerable to colonization and dominance from pathogenic strains such as Candida albicans, Streptococci, and Staphylococci among others.
By the time a woman who has used birth control pills is ready to have children, a severe case of intractable gut dysbiosis has more than likely taken hold.
Most people think that only the use of drugs such as antibiotics causes gut imbalances, but this is simply not true.
According, to Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride MD, many other drugs such as the Pill also cause severe gut dysbiosis.
What’s worse, a drug-induced gut imbalance is especially resistant to treatment either with probiotics or diet change.
What does this mean for your future child’s health?
A lot, as it turns out!
The Pill Causes Nutritional Deficiencies
First of all, gut imbalance brought on through the use of The Pill negatively impacts the ability to digest food and absorb nutrients.
As a result, even if a woman eats spectacularly well during pregnancy, she can experience nutritional deficiencies.
If she has been taking oral contraceptives for a long period of time, it is highly likely that she and her baby are not reaping the full benefits of the healthy food she is eating.
The lack of beneficial flora in her gut prevents this from occurring.
In addition, beneficial bacteria actively synthesize nutrients, especially B vitamins, Vitamin K1, amino acids, and other nutrients.
In an imbalanced gut, a woman is missing out on the “natural supplementation” that these good strains provide to her and her growing baby.
Not well known is the fact that using the Pill depletes zinc in the body.
Zinc is called “the intelligence mineral” as it is intimately involved in mental development.
As a result, it is very important for women who have been using the Pill for any length of time to wait at least 6 months before becoming pregnant to ensure that zinc levels return to normal.
Low zinc is associated with lowered IQ and birth defects.
If you are concerned that your levels might be low, try this easy at-home zinc deficiency test to give you peace of mind.
It really is quite disturbing to fully realize the very real potential that the use of The Pill has to trigger nutritional deficiencies!
Pathogenic Gut Flora from Birth Control Pills
Pathogenic, opportunistic microbes that take hold in the gut when The Pill is used constantly produce toxic substances.
They are the poisonous by-products of their metabolism.
These toxins leak into the woman’s bloodstream and guess what, they have the potential to cross the placenta!
Therefore, gut dysbiosis exposes the fetus to toxins even if the woman never eats anything but organic foods and lives in an environment with no pollutants.
Indeed, an imbalanced gut has the potential to expose a woman and her baby to just as many or even more toxins than her environment through self-poisoning!
Gut Dysbiosis and Anemia Go Hand in Hand
Most people with abnormal gut flora also suffer from various stages of anemia.
This is because some of the most common pathogenic strains of bacteria that take hold in an imbalanced gut are those that consume iron:
- Actinomyces spp.
- Mycobacterium spp.
- Pathogenic strains of E.Coli
- Corynebacterium spp. and others.
Anemia during pregnancy is especially dangerous.
Not only can it deprive the fetus of oxygen (iron helps build red blood cells and red blood cells carry oxygen), but it is linked to low birth weight and pre-term birth.
Can iron supplements during pregnancy combat this problem?
In a word, no!
How many women do you know who consistently battle low iron during pregnancy despite consuming iron supplements and eating iron-rich foods?
I personally know many such cases.
The reason is that the more iron a patient with gut dysbiosis consumes in either food or supplement form, the stronger these pathogenic, iron-loving strains become!
The extra iron “feeds” them, so to speak, much the same as sugar feeds Candida albicans.
The cure for gut dysbiotic anemia is to heal and seal the gut, not take iron supplements with low bioavailability!
Baby “Inherits” Mom’s Microbiome (for better or for worse)
A human baby is born with a sterile gut.
This means that there is no bacterial activity in a fetus’ digestive system prior to birth.
The vast majority of gut flora that a child eventually develops is inherited from Mom.
This occurs via the baby swallowing microbes during vaginal birth. These microbes can be either good or bad!
If Mom has a gut imbalance, it will be the same situation in her vagina. Hence, her children’s intestines will be seeded with the same microbes during delivery.
Babies born via Cesarean section are at risk for even more unbalanced gut flora as their guts are seeded with whatever microbes are floating around the hospital at the time (which is why it is so imperative for a baby born via C-section to be breastfed IMMEDIATELY!).
Children with imbalanced gut flora are particularly predisposed to autoimmune disorders in the form of allergies, asthma, and eczema.
In more severe cases of gut dysbiosis, learning disabilities manifest such as ADHD, ADD, autism, dyslexia, dyspraxia, and others.
Of course, there is sometimes an environmental “trigger” which instigates these disorders.
But, it is crucial to keep in mind that gut dysbiosis is the primary underlying cause.
Think Twice Before Taking Birth Control Pills
When considering whether or not to take oral contraceptives, women rarely if ever consider the long-term implications to themselves let alone their children.
This is no surprise given that doctors rarely if ever mention this sort of thing when prescribing antibiotics let alone The Pill to their patients!
Therefore, it is vital that women be fully informed of the potentially devastating consequences to their health and that of their children (and potentially grandchildren) from birth control pills.
And Moms…do NOT let a pediatrician put your young daughter on oral contraceptives to control monthly menstrual discomfort! Fix her diet instead for a real solution to the problem instead of the band-aid approach favored by prescribing physicians.
References
March of Dimes, pregnancy complications
Mineral Primer
Gut and Psychology Syndrome, Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride MD
More Information
170 Scientific Studies Confirm the Dangers of Soy
Why Even Organic Soy Formula is so Dangerous for Babies
The Dangers of Estrogenic Foods, Herbs, and Drugs
This is great. I finally convinced my husband to let me go off of the Pill. I’ve never been comfortable with it. I never wanted to be on it again after I had my daughter, but about a year and a half ago when I stopped nursing my daughter, I went back on it to regulate my horrendous periods, which they did. However, both times I started the Pill, I had terrible weight gain. Every doctor I’ve talked to and any literature about the Pill says that it doesn’t cause weight gain. Yet every person I’ve talked to that has been on the Pill says they experienced that…hmm…I can hear the drug companies now, “Since American women are so conscientious about their weight, we need to tell them that it won’t cause weight gain, even though it really does. Otherwise no one would buy our product!!”
YES it definately causes weight gain! Lord, they are such liars how do they live with themselves?? And hair loss too. Ugh!!
I had my first weight gain that stuck around when I was on the Pill. I also got weight gain that didn’t go away with each of my two pregnancies. They can only argue hormonal changes don’t cause weight gain and set-point change because they refuse to acknowledge that fat gain is a hormonal issue, not an issue of caloric consumption. But the science does not agree with them.
Yikes. I’ve never had The Pill before, but I definitely keep this is mind. It really doesn’t seem like a good idea healthwise to screw around with your natural hormones by taking a synthetic drug everyday.
I have used the Creighton Model of NFP for 16 yrs. it works solely with your cycle and when it’s used correctly is more effective than the pill at postponning pregnancy and achieving pregnancy because it pin points the days you are fertile. http://www.naprotechnology.com/ this is one website that will help you in your research about NFP.
The Pope Paul VI institute for reproductive technology is also another place. Dr. Hilgers, who is the Head of the college has published many books and papers on the subject. You can also lookk up NFP practitioners for your area as welll as NFP only Doctors on the site.
NFP is best taught by a practitioner so that you learn the little nuances about the program that best fit your cycle. There is some text book learning that is done but the rest is completly dependant on your own personal cycle.
I have looked into fertility beads having heard about them after I started NFP and found that there is no realy scientifc basis for your fertitly while using them and that you would have a longer period of abstanance if you use them. NFP is scientifically and soundly based on each woman’s personal cycle and each month that can change due to many factors including stress and just taking medication sometimes. NFP allows you to chart that change and know when you would be most likely to concieve. If used correctly it’s 99% effective–there are studies on the websites that will give more information.
Is there any actual scientific evidence supporting the connection between birth control and intestinal flora composition?
My scientific sources are cited in Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride MDs book – Gut and Psychology Syndrome which I cited for this article. It is a great read. I highly recommend it.
For those looking for some wonderful reading on tracking your cycle for pregnancy avoidance (or achievement!) or just for health, please look at “Taking Charge of your Fertility” by Toni Weschler. Once you know how your cycle works for *you*, it is very easy to avoid pregnancy, if so desired. I was on the Pill for nearly 8 years prior to conceiving by daughter and will never go back! My gut is healing now, and I’m just grateful that I have this information to pass onto my daughter. Thank you for your wonderful blog, Sarah!
Sarah,
I never took the pill, but I can say that in our family’s path towards health we have dealt with so many issues that you touched on today. Thanks for all of this information in one place! We have dealt with copper and zinc imbalances, gut dysbiosis, seeing the children inheriting the mother’s gut issues, and anemia issues resulting from all of this. I would also say that your post on adrenal fatigue (and mine 🙂 http://wholenewmom.com/health/adrenal-fatigue-the-new-epidemic/ are must reads for everyone. What a web has been woven in our modern day society, eh?
I wish I had known this before I spent 2 awful years on the pill. I got married in college, and I didn’t know of any other form of birth control women my age used. I was determined not to get pregnant during that time, as I desperately wanted to graduate on time. Unlike my sisters (who have been on the pill since they were 14!), I knew what it was like not to be on sythetic hormones. Going on the pill was agonizing – I had contraction like cramps during my period that had my practically immobile. I gained weight and had terrible mood swings. I just wasn’t the same. I went against a lot of my inner convictions to get off it, but finally, after 2 years on the pill, I stopped taking it after I still got pregnant on it and it caused an early miscarriage. That was it for me, and I stopped taking them. Off the pill, my old self came back, and I mourned the loss of 2 yrs of it, mad that I had continued to take something that made me feel so terrible. My daughter was conceived 2 months later. She has struggled with weight gain, and I have struggled with keeping up an adequate milk supply for her. She also had severe baby acne for about 2 months. She has bad acid reflux and has been on prescriptions for it since she was only 3 weeks old. I desperately want to get her off them, but I’m not sure how yet. I have been reading a lot about the GASP diet, and I think it might be necessary for me to start it, expecially before the next baby comes along.
Maybe this is a topic for another thread but how (and is it even advisable) to heal the gut during pregnancy?
I did not take the pill but I am sometimes anemic. Now I’m wondering if I’m just feeding all the bad flora with my nutritious iron rich foods…
Sofia, I am not at all sure that healing the gut during pregnancy is a wise idea as some detoxification is involved in this process as the bad pathogenic strains die off and must be excreted and handled by the body. Best I think to eat fermented foods on a regular basis (daily) and take a probiotic to keep the pathogens in check by bathing the gut in the good guys so they don’t dominate at least. Healing the gut requires elimination of all starches, grains, sugars, and dairy (except butter) for a time and this really can cause die-off symptoms for folks which would not be safe during pregnancy.
I don’t remember if I read it on Dr. Campbell-McBride’s website or in the new edition of the book (which is currently lent to a friend) but I remember reading that you can start the FULL (not the intro) GAPS diet during pregnancy. I did and my doc says I’m his healthiest patient ever, except the slight anemia. That said, I personally wouldn’t continue if I felt a die off effect. I am doing it to stop the damage until I am no longer nursing. If some small amount of healing occurs in the mean time I’ll take it.
Hi Heather —
What does your full GAPS diet look like while nursing? When you stop nursing, do you plan to make changes to your diet (i.e., revert back to Intro)? I’m not pregnant and no longer nursing but have done a detox diet and am considering doing full gaps for the meantime even if I were to get pregnant. Just wondering if that means no dairy (except for butter, yogurt, ghee, etc.) for you?
The full GAPS diet involves all the foods on the allowed list rather than starting in the intro phase. In the book Dr. Campbell-McBride tells you how to introduce dairy (start with ghee, etc) if you start with the full diet instead of doing the intro. I was nursing my son when I started and had already incorporated some dairy when I became pregnant. If my children or I are showing any signs of gut dysbiosis when my daughter weans we may start the intro but if we aren’t we will likely stick to the full diet and stay on it longer. Honestly we’ve become so accustomed to cooking/eating this way we may stick with it (with some allowances) just because we enjoy it.
Another concern with hormonal birth control methods is the dramatic increase of DVTs or deep vein thrombosis. These blood clots in the calves can find their way into your lungs and are potentially fatal. I had DVTs and pulmonary emboli (blood clots in the lungs) following surgery and the treatment is blood thinners. The effectiveness off blood thinners depends on reducing gut bacteria, the primary source of vitamin K. I have been off Coumadin now for 8 weeks and am struggling to get my gut bacteria in normal balance and using prebiotic and probiotic foods like it’s my job! It is far better not to mess around with these things.
But to delay pregnancy, I use the Clear Blue Easy fertility monitor with the Marquette University method of NFP (natural family planning). It works, is non-invasive and natural and has no possible negative side effects. If I don’t buy hormone laced meat and milk, why would. I put them in MY body or MY breastmilk?
I can’t even read it all. My daughter was seriously low in zinc (I took the Pill from when I was 19 until 3 months before conceiving her, about 3 years), STILL has problems with her gut flora (we’ve done/are doing GAPS) and allergies. I took a lot of other OTC drugs when I was pregnant with her too. I was lucky that I was only anemic at the end and then only slightly. We’ve really struggled with her health. Although she is SO much better off now since we did discover NT and then GAPS.
My son…is so much better in general! He does catch colds but has no allergies, never gets stomach viruses or other illnesses, etc. I did not take the Pill at all after I stopped before my daughter. I stopped taking all OTC drugs. I found WAP midway through my pregnancy with him. He was born at home with no drugs and exclusively breastfed for 8 months. He’s literally NEVER been exposed to drugs since I didn’t take any for months before his conception nor since, nor have I ever given him any.
I’m expecting again and I just can’t wait…I’ve been fully on WAP/GAPS for a couple years now, always take my FCLO and eat tons of raw egg yolks, raw milk, lots of things I didn’t even know to do last time! I also haven’t taken ANY drugs of any type in about three years, and eat tons of probiotics. I bet this baby is the healthiest yet!
We just switched our household to raw milk and after this post I am considering going on GAPS. I am confused though… Kate, I am reading that you’ve been fully on GAPS and have also been enjoying lots of raw milk. I thought I understood that milk products are not allowed on GAPS? Or is raw dairy an exception?
Thanks so much!
Raw dairy is allowed on full GAPS, but not intro. You can read more on gapsdiet.com.
In my version of the GAPS book (there is a newer version out recently) raw milk and raw cream are not permitted due to the lactose which is a disaccharide. Kefir, yogurt, butter and ghee are ok except in the most severe cases.