Even though birth control pills are very safe, using the combination pill can slightly increase your risk of health problems. Complications are rare, but they can be serious.
These include heart attack, stroke, blood clots, and liver tumors.
When talking with your doctor about birth control, tell them about any medications you’re taking and any health problems you’ve had.
There’s a very slight chance that you can get pregnant even if you always take the pill correctly every day. But if you do get pregnant and accidentally take the pill during the early part of your pregnancy, it won’t increase the risk of birth defects.
It’s important to remember that the chance of having any of these problems while taking birth control pills is really, really low for most people. In fact, pregnancy is more likely to cause serious health problems than the pill.
Your doctor or nurse can help you figure out which types of birth control will be safest for you.
Most people on the pill won’t have any problems at all. But just in case, it’s good to know what the signs of a serious issue are.
See a doctor or nurse right away if you have:
- sudden back/jaw pain along with nausea, sweating, or trouble breathing
- chest pain or discomfort
- achy soreness in your leg
- trouble breathing
- severe pain in your belly or stomach
- sudden, very bad headache
- headaches that are different, worse, or happen more often than usual
- aura — (seeing flashing, zigzag lines)
- yellowing of your skin or eyes
Also avoid using combination pills if you’ve had any of these health problems:
- blood clots, an inherited blood-clotting disorder, or vein inflammation
- breast cancer
- heart attack, stroke, angina, or other serious heart problems
- migraine headaches with aura (seeing flashing, zigzag lines)
- uncontrolled high blood pressure
- very bad diabetes or liver disease