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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
Thank you for the information! I have done extensive research into the Pill’s effects on the reproductive system, but this is the first I have heard of this issue. If your readers are still wanting to plan their family size but want to stay away from the Pill, tell them to check out the Billings Ovulation Method. It has been researched for over 50 years, published in medical journals, and is supported by data from nearly 1 million biological tests. It is 99.5% effective in postponing pregnancy, and highly effective at helping couples achieve pregnancy even if they have been labeled “sub-fertile.” Unlike “Taking charge of Your Fertility” (which is informative), the personal instruction associated with Billings gives users optimum chance for success. Every woman is so different that having a certified teacher can help them interpret charts correctly until they are fully confident and competent using the method. Billings is much more than knowing if you would achieve pregnancy on any given day, but it can also be used to track a woman’s reproductive health. Because of the extensive research, a woman’s chart becomes a biological test of it’s own. We can track hormone levels, vitamin deficiencies, and early detection of potentially serious problems. Please visit http://www.nfpaware.com for more info!
Hi Sarah
I’m VERY thankful for info. I found your blog is very useful since tt is difficult to obtain much information about side effects and I wish I’d known about the dangers of pills earlier when i was taking it… Because there is no way of knowing if any particular problem is actually a side effect of that, only vague information is available about side effects of birth control pills. The prescribing information for all birth control pills simply lists side effects seen with birth control pills in general, instead of side effects for a specific product. Specific side effect information, such as how frequently they occur or the effect in a long run, is not provided…thanks again!
I have some questions and hope someone can help me out! I just found out about the GAPS diet and it sounds a lot like mine and DH’s family. We have a history of depression, anemina, schizophrenia, allergies, asthma, eczema, ADHD, learning disabilities, IBS, eating disorders etc. etc. I made the mistake of taking the pill for 2 years, and our DD was conceived 4 months after I stopped.
I feel a lot healthier now than I used to (we are changing over to a Nourishing Traditions diet). DD is 5 months old and healthy (no vaccinations) although she does have mild colic/reflux/gas. My stools, as you described in an earlier comment, are normal. Would the GAPS diet still be beneficial? I’d really like to try it but DD is exclusively BF and we are also TTC #2 as we’d really like our first two children to be close in age. So when should I start the GAPS diet??? I’d really like our children to have a healthy start but also want our first two children about 1.5 years apart. Maybe I’d have to wait until #2 is older, and then wait to TTC #3? If you have any info or suggestions regarding GAPS while BF or PG that would be great (I also had Hypermesis during pg #1 so don’t know if going on a special diet while pg would be a good idea?)
Hi – just wanting to ask a question. I take the pill, because for me it is the best option. I appreciate knowing everything that’s been said, but as a doctoral student my life is stressful enough without charting or pregnancy! I simply don’t have the energy, the commitment or want the responsibility. Anyway, so a few of my friends at uni have had the arm implant recently: the one that releases hormones into your bloodstream that way. I was wondering: would this be better for your gut than oral contraception? I have IBS, triggered by a stomach bug that I never properly healed (I was 21.. I was doing everything badly!) which I’m healing with low grains, high good fats etc. I just thought that if it’s not directly in your gut it might be less negative, and I think I heard the levels of hormone in your body are lower since it doesn’t have to compensate for irregular digestion since it’s already in your bloodstream.
Anyone know anything? Thanks lots 🙂
Hi Sarah,
I wanted to let you know some of your links are broken: Gut and Psychology Syndrome leads to the Amazon page of the wrong book, and the Mineral Primer link goes to a blank page for me. Also, I can’t seem to find the correct page on the March of Dimes website where they talk about this (I’m looking under pregnancy complications, but don’t see anything about this post’s topic).
Thanks for updating the links when you get a chance!
Sarah,
Do you know if the same holds true for other methods of hormonal birth control? I currently use the Mirena IUD, and am planning on making the switch to the Paragard in a year and a half.
Thank you.
I have recently found your blog, and I am VERY thankful that there is someone out there dedicated to finding the truth. I took birth control during my late teens and very early twenties, and eventually gave it up because it just didn’t feel right.I eventually developed PCOS, and I am not entirely sure that it wasn’t the birth control triggered this, in addition to a VERY poor diet. After reading this blog, I am even more convinced that my body was telling me the right thing to stay away from the pill. My brother is allergic to milk (like, deathly allergic) and I now believe that I am intolerant of almost all grains (except for rice, in small amounts). My family thinks I am a zealot about healthy eating and staying away from commercially produced food and conventional medicine. I actually got into an argument with my father over a flu shot. I told him that I am healthy enough now that it would be hard for me to get the flu. He himself has type 2 diabetes… go figure. But anyway, thank you for your honest blog and commitment to true health.
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