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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
Thanks Sarah D, I’ll pick that one up.
Since I feel I have to give my daughter the pill – as medicine, not contraception and her condition was so bad in March the nurse who ran the first tests had never in her 20 year long career seen a blood count that low – are there any suggestions what I can do now and after the 6 months are up to save her gut flora? We do make our own kefir and kimchi which she likes and has daily. I really think it’s frustrating to have to “cave in” on something I normally object strongly to. On the other hand, I can not risk that kind of blood loss happen to her again.
Hi! In March, my 13-year-old daughter had two very heavy periods. We called the doctor several times, he thought we were just being fussy. We gave her iron rich meals, natural iron supplements, let her rest etc. She ended up fainting and was hospitalized for a week, received 3 bags of blood and it took her about a month to recover. We’ve asked the doctors many times how and why this happened. No answer so far except “hormonal disturbances”.
The cure for this problem? The pill. That’s the only thing we can do, according to the docs. And AT LEAST 6 months on it. Since her condition was so severe this spring, I’ve complied and now I give my daughter this pill everyday – even though I never took the pill myself (for all the reasons Sarah mentions above).
I’m so sad that I don’t know the underlying reasons for this and that the only treatment is artificial hormones. We eat very healthy, have no weight issues or other health problems to speak of. Will incorporate more traditional food and hopefully get her off that pill when the 6 months are up.
Any tips, advice or ideas about what this could be would mean the world to me.
Try this book:
Fertility, Cycles and Nutrition by Marilyn M. Shannon.
Don’t let the title scare you. It’s not just advice for women who want to conceive- lots of good advice about achieving a regular, pain-free cycle with good diet and supplements. I have recommended it to my younger sister.
Hello i really need your help.im 19 years old and i take the “pill” since a year and a half ago.
I used to take the brand yasmine but sonce last february i take the cilest.anyway im having serious terrible problems woth my didjestive system.my belly is like im pregnand.the basic symptoms that i have are : gas, extreme bloating, paind, discomfort, nausea, burping.
I used to think that i was allergic to some food since my mother have some problems as she cant eat weet.but ive noticed that it might not be that because since the last 5 months and especially since the last 3 weeks ive been really careful to what i eat etc and its still happening.
Anyway im really looking forward for reply and for some directions.
Thank you very much !
It makes me wonder after reading certain articles about cancer being a “fungus” and candidis being one of the problems. I wouldn’t be surprised to see some correlation between the pill and HPV. I wonder if taking the pill makes women more prone to getting cervical cancer? Since it is causing damage to a healthy women’s normal flora.
I haven’t read all the posts, but it sounds like a good possibility.
cancer is not a fungus. those are sucker driven articles on the internet.
Thank you form posting this article! This really gives me some insight to some of the digestive problems I’ve had over the years that my “oh so caring” HMO doctor likes to write off as “stress”. I rarely go to the doctor anymore because his solution to everything is “it’s stress, here is a prescription.” I’ve felt for some time that the birth control pill was wrong for my body and have stopped taking it. Now I can take steps towards properly healing my body. Thank you!!!
The pill gave me a blood clot…no lie. A healthy, 22 year old…just 3 years ago. No health problems ever. I had had one boy since then and expecting another soon; as I had only been on it for a few months, it didn’t affect me to get off it…BUT I look at that clot as God’s grace telling me to GET OFF THE PILL at a time when I was completely ignorant about all the side effects. Now, I have problems during my pregnancies and being classified as a ‘higher risk’ pregnancy because of that pill-caused clot, even though I am a very healthy woman. Very frustrating. Ladies considering or currently on the medication, the pill is NOT worth it. Your future children are worth staying away from it. You don’t want any doubts or problems in the future. Choose another contraceptive method and take control of your whole health.
wow. I just finished reading this article and yikes. I’m 24 and am on birth control, been on it for almost two years now. I started taking it because of some acne problems and severe cramping. I don’t want to take it anymore after reading this article!! but I’m not sure how else I would take care of the other problems. I am not a fan of taking medications and the pill is the only one that I really ever take. When I started taking it I asked the doctor if there would be any problems in the future with having children as I had read somewhere that women were having problems conceiving but I never heard about these issues. And of course the doctor reassured me that nothing longterm would happen. Ayay….what to do what to do….
I am 25 and I am having hormonal issues along with fatigue, other menopausal symptoms, anxiety, irritability, etc… but my cycles are normal. before I started seeing my holistic dr, my regular tried to prescribe me with birth control to control my hormones. I said no, and they basically just gave up on me. I started taking bio-identical hormones and then later started taking supplements and herbs to naturally get my body to produce hormones. I am doing much better than I was. I wouldn’t recommend birth control to anyone. They hand it out for everything now.