Table of Contents[Hide][Show]
Since the introduction of oral contraceptives in the early 1960s, the 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 contraceptives use is especially high, reaching two-thirds in 2008. It seems most women have no knowledge of natural birth control options whatsoever!
The widespread use of The Pill is a troubling issue because oral contraceptives devastate beneficial bacterial flora in the gut leaving 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 and 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. These include vitamin K1, pantothenic acid, folate (NOT synthetic folic acid), thiamin (B1), cyanocobalamin (B12), amino acids and others. 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 Produce a Myriad of Toxins
Pathogenic, opportunistic flora that takes hold in the gut when The Pill is used constantly produce toxic substances. They are the 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 whatsoever.
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 Triggered by The Pill 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 and the many long term health and associated developmental problems.
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!
A Baby “Inherits” Gut Dysbiosis from Mom
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 both good and bad during vaginal birth. 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.
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 from birth control pills. Even their grandchildren may be affected according to preliminary research. This full disclosure is critical and the most ethical course of action for prescribing physicians.
Sources
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
The Pill was only tried on 132 women in the early 1960’s and 3 of them died. The Pill was released anyway. As per John Robbins book, “Reclaiming Your Health,” the decision was made for Doctors not to explain the complications associated with taking the Pill to women as it would potentially just “confuse” the Doctor Patient relationship. As a Physician of Natural Medicine, I end up clearing the effects of the pill by applying homeopathic principles for detoxification of the hormones that falsely mimick pregancy to witness infertility issues resolve, emotions normalize and candida eradicated.
What an informative and much-needed post for women! Like the majority of your readers, I had no idea how the pill could impact the health of children who’s mothers take it. I just posted on your FB page a great resource for natural birth control that I have used for more than 20 years – it’s the book Taking Charge of Your Fertility. I received this book from a friend after going off the pill after being on it for less than a year. This book is so empowering and I have shared it with many friends through the years, the majority of whom were having fertility issues. Thank you so much for the time and research you put into your blog. It is truly one of the most educational blogs out there and I enjoy your insight, wisdom and concern for helping us improve our nutrition and wellness. Blessings, Kelly from The Nourishing Home
Wow, Kelly. Thank you for such kind words! 🙂 I really hope this info helps at least a few ladies to avoid the health crisis for themselves and their children that can be brought on by use of The Pill. It is so very important for dialogue on this topic.
Can someone tell me briefly what signs of gut dysbiosis would be? I was on the patch for 6 years, went off of it because I hated the side effects, and got pregnant 5 months later. However, I had an extremely uneventful, healthy pregnancy. I did not ever get sick and I exercised the entire time. My daughter is very healthy at 13 months and is still breastfeeding. It’s only been the last few months that I’ve been eating less grains- before that I lived on cereal, fruit, veggies, pastuerized milk, and not much meat. (although I always hated processed food). I have no allergies or any health issues. Should I be concerned, or just happy that I escaped unscathed from my previous eating habits?
Hi Sara, a comment above answers this question as someone asked the same thing earlier.
Oh I see, thanks! I think I’m good, then!
I’m so lost on why people don’t just use condoms. Seriously, I think in this entire board I’m the only one who mentioned them. I’ve never used the pill, and I didn’t feel that my cycle was regular enough to use cycle beads, and I’m not confident enough with it. I’m not down with an “oops, now I’m pregnant”. My husband and I have used a condom every single time, 5 years, no babies. I’ve heard concerns that this will ruin the moment, but it is just not that big of a deal. If it ruins the moment for you, you’ve got bigger problems.
I think condoms should be part of the baby-prevention dialogue.
Condoms have health issues of their own including the chemicals in the lubricant and the spermicides which are very inflammatory for many women. If you get the non lubricated condoms, they have some sort of nano particle on them to keep the latex from sticking or something and these particles many women don’t feel comfortable having inside of their bodies.
I was conceived with condom use. They should be part of the dialogue, but like other methods it’s not a perfect solution for everyone.
Oh, and you are right on about the Pill causing low zinc levels. When I work with my natural fertility clients, I will have them on zinc for at least 6 months before levels return to normal in some cases. Some of this is due to the pill, some is due to ingesting grains and nuts that haven’t been soaked and some is due to poor digestion- HCl needs zinc and zinc needs HCl- but either way, zinc deficiency is a huge issue in fertility.
The iron feeds the bad guys, as does B vitamins. I was taking B vitamins like crazy and didn’t realize I was just feeding them and making them stronger. Also, the body will “hide” iron because it’s trying not to feed the infection/pathogen. I was anemic despite ALL efforts to the contrary for over 10 years. Now I know that my poor body was just trying to help me! (And all the while I was downing more and more iron!) When I have clients with anemia, especially chronic, I look right to gut dysbiosis or underlying systemic infection- always!
Hello Sarah,
Thank you for this article which I have forwarded to my daughter and grandaughter. How doctors can repeatedly prescribe the pill like they do I have no idea. My personal “two weeks” were something from a bad novel. I had all the side effects including my hearing. Try working in an office with no noise! My daughter got prenant with her first child while on the pill and he was born prematurely. The second child has all types of allergies and stomach problems. The third child seems to be following suit. My daughter literally is living on iron pills. The baby lives on Prevacid three times a day for over a year. (I complain about this one too, as I’m sure it’s not healthy.) Again, thank you for the article and all the information you have included.
Excellent article!!
The epidemic of chronic illness in children (autism, ADHD, allergies, etc.) IS caused by this exact problem–thank you for raising awareness to it, Sarah! I expand on this topic (gut dysbiosis) (and look at other factors contributing to this epidemic such as vaccines, toxin exposure, poor nutrition, EMFs, etc.) in my book A Compromised Generation: The Epidemic of Chronic Illness in America’s Children (Sentient, 2010). Please see my website for more information: http://www.acompromisedgeneration.com. I also run a 501c3 non-profit org called Epidemic Answers where we help parents find healing solutions for affected children. If your child has chronic symptoms, we can help you! Please see our website at http://www.epidemicanswers.org. We are always looking for parent volunteers to help put a stop to this epidemic. We need your help!! Join us today!
Thanks!!
Beth