Birth Control Archive

Preterm birth joins other pregnancy-related conditions as potential heart risk factors.

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Preterm birth has long been known to bring health risks for the baby, but it may also bring risks for the mother. A study in the June issue of Hypertension shows that women who gave birth to a baby before 37 weeks of pregnancy were more likely to experience rising blood pressures later on compared to women who delivered closer to term. If they had this pattern, they were also more likely to show signs of coronary artery disease, which is associated with an increased risk of heart attack and stroke.

Because of the unique demands that pregnancy places on a woman's body, it may serve as a stress test for the female heart, says Dr. JoAnn E. Manson, the Michael and Lee Bell Professor of Women's Health at Harvard Medical School. In the May issue, we talked about how other pregnancy-related conditions — gestational diabetes, pre-eclampsia (a type of pregnancy-induced high blood pressure), and other pregnancy-related hypertensive disorders — can raise a woman's risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Preterm birth should now join that list, says Dr. Manson.

Pregnancy-related conditions in your past may predict heart disease in your future.

Even if your childbearing years are well behind you, conditions that you had during your pregnancy could influence your cardiovascular health today.

Women who had gestational diabetes (a type of diabetes that develops during pregnancy) or pre-eclampsia (a pregnancy condition marked by high blood pressure and protein loss in the urine) are at higher risk for future cardiovascular problems, including high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke, says Dr. JoAnn E. Manson, chief of the division of preventive medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital and the Michael and Lee Bell Professor of Women's Health at Harvard Medical School.

Overall risk is very small, and older women who used hormonal contraceptives many years ago aren't likely to have a higher risk.

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Hormonal birth control — whether it comes as pills, injections, a ring, an intrauterine device (IUD), or an implant — may raise your risk of breast cancer, according to a study published Dec. 7, 2017, in The New England Journal of Medicine.

If you're like many women who currently use one of these contraceptive methods, or if you used one for years in the past, should you be worried?

Doctors want their patients to have access to accurate and helpful health information, and today that means online. Researchers found that expectant mothers who used a website that provided information about vaccines were more likely to get their babies vaccinated.