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News and FeaturesRelated to Birth Control

91. Abortion Drug Adverse Events Reported
    
    Dec. 29, 2005 -- The FDA received reports of 607 adverse events involving the abortion drug RU-486 over a four-year period, it was reported this week. The adverse events included five reported deaths and 68 cases of severe bleeding that required transfusions. Late last month, federal officials confi
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92. Warning Added to Birth Control Patch
    
    Nov. 11, 2005 -- Ortho Evra, the birth control skin patch, will get a new bolded warning stating that the patch provides a higher exposure to estrogen than birth control pills. "Higher levels of estrogen may put some women at increased risk for getting blood clots," states the FDA. The FDA provided
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93. FDA Label Proposal: Condoms Not Perfect
    
    Nov. 11, 2005 -- The FDA is proposing that latex condom packaging carry labels noting that condoms don't provide perfect protection against pregnancy, HIV, or sexually transmitted diseases. The proposals state that using latex condoms can reduce -- but not eliminate -- the risk of pregnancy and tran
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94. Birth Control Pills May Lower MS Risk
    
    Sept. 12, 2005 - Women who take birth control pills may be less likely to develop multiple sclerosis (MS) while they're on the pill, according to a new study. The study also showed that women are nearly three times more likely to develop the first symptoms of multiple sclerosis in the first six mont
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95. FDA Delays Decision on 'Morning After' Pill
    
    Aug. 26, 2005 - The FDA has put off deciding whether to allow over-the-counter sales of the Plan B "morning after" pill. The problem isn't safety, says FDA Commissioner Lester Crawford, DVM, PhD. The agency is convinced the emergency contraceptive is safe for all women. The problem, Crawford says, i
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96. Fetus Unharmed by 'Morning After' Pill
    
    Aug. 24, 2005 - Pregnancies that occur despite the use of emergency contraception that contains a progestin do not appear to be associated with any increased risk to mother or child, according to new research. Although the number of women in the study was small, researchers found there was no appare
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97. FDA to Decide Status of Morning-After Pill
    
    Aug. 18, 2005 - Plan B may be the best-named drug in the pharmacy. That's because the so-called "morning-after" pill isn't anybody's plan A. But the story now is what the FDA plans to decide about the drug by the end of the month. Will the agency allow the drug to be sold over the counter? Plan A is
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98. U.N. Agency Links the Pill, Hormones to Cancer
    
    July 29, 2005 -- Researchers from a U.N. cancer agency are calling combined estrogen-progestin birth control pills and menopausal hormone replacement "carcinogenic to humans." However, they don't dismiss either type of drug. For instance, they state that birth control pills may "slightly" raise the
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99. Experts: Risk of Birth Control Patch Overstated
    
    July 19, 2005 -- Recent news stories overstate the blood clot risk from the Ortho Evra contraceptive patch, experts tell WebMD. An Associated Press report says the contraceptive patch triples a woman's risk of dying from a dangerous blood clot. That calculation is based on the AP's own assessment of
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100. Low-Dose Birth Control Pill May Up Heart Risk
     
     July 7, 2005 -- Low-dose birth control pills are widely considered to be safer than the pill of the past, but a new review suggests that they still carry an increased risk for heart attack and stroke. The risk appears to be quite small for most women, but it could be much higher for those already at
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