my teenage dd reckons being on the pill causes still births later

[LucyLasticKnickers]

where did she get this from?
we were talking about a girl her age who is pregnant . I said she could go on the pill and this were her reaction. how the pill is dangerous.
hmm.
where are they getting this information, is it true?

Ummmn, not to my knowledge. It is certainly not listed as a known side effect.
It can cause lots of other problems but I am pretty sure it doesn't increase your risk of a still birth.

Have you asked her where she heard it? Anecdotal evidence? I've never heard of this side effect, and it certainly didn't apply to me.

No it doesn't. That's a bad myth and dangerous in that it could put young teens off using contraception! The ocp provides a dose of synthetic oestrogen and progesterone that prevents ovulation while you take it. After you stop there may be a slight delay in return to fertility but I'm sure stillbirth is not a side effect. Stillbirth is more likely to be due to an undiagnosed pregnancy complication or be unexplained.

I've never ever heard that and it's a pretty dangerous myth for teenage girls to believe, did you ask her where she heard it?

The fact that you are asking if this is true means you need some sex education. Look on the nhs website. But a book and once you have done that sit down and properly educate your daughter. She's a teen so may start relationship soon so you need to be teaching all the facts.

well i told her i had been on it for 16+ years and only came off because I smoked
i will look on NHS webiste

She's not somehow mixing the effects of the contraceptive pill up with the morning after pill perhaps? In any case, she needs to sit down and do some research. If being on the pill was a cause of stillbirth later I'm sure it would not be prescribed. It does have known unpleasant side-effects, which is why docs take your full medical history and lifestyle choices (e.g. smoking) into account before prescribing it.

Tell her that pretty much every woman in the country (except for my grandparents generation) has been on huge pill at some point and babies are still being born healthy.

Girls in their 20s are actually chastised by their peers for not being on the pill - it's irresponsible! Condoms aren't worth the risk!

Rosencrantz saying condoms aren't worth the risk is incredibly irresponsible.
Condoms protect against more than pregnancy. I will be advising my DD to use both when the time comes.

The full pill basically works by simulating pregnancy. Pg is AFAIK not a cause of stillbirths (except for the obvious). And millions of women have taken it for decades so even a tiny effect would be very easy to discover by looking at the data.

Tell her not to trust anything her mates tell her about sex or contraception in future without checking it first from a reputable authority. It can be a statistics/biology revision exercise for her - nothing challenges GCSE statistics better than a thorough investigation of contraception options.

turns out she heard from her BF, worryingly.

When the time comes notso,
she doesnt have a boyfriend, and I am positive she doesnt sleep around but am concerned that teenagers might just - as happens. and always has - experiment.
so - who knows when the time comes. still i have told her to look on the NHS website

Rosencrantz what a load of crap. "Condoms aren't worth the risk," seriously? Jeez.

Pumping your body full of hormones isn't worth the risk in my book. The pill might protect against pregnancy, but it sure as hell doesn't protect against sexually transmitted diseases/infections.

When I was prescribed the pill for the first time my Doctor had a well practised spiel she obviously used to reassure women about the health risks associated with it - the part which stuck with me, some 20 years later is that she said 'being on the pill poses less of a risk to your health than giving birth'. It wasn't meant as a warning not to have babies, but to put it into perspective. I found it good advice.

good though that she is questioning the wisdom of swallowing weird chemicals daily which might make a teen complacent enough to not use a condom. I think condoms are 'worth the risk' if they protect against STI's which are more rampant now than ever.

Not sure what you are getting at LucyLastic, I was talking about my DD not yours.
Mine is 13, we have discussed sex and contraception and although obviously I can't be 100% I am pretty sure she isn't going to be having sex anytime soon. So yes when the time comes I will be advising her to use both.

rosen condoms are very effective used correctly. DH and I have used them for 10+ years and only got pregnant when we were ttc. Incidentally, the secondmonth of trying.

The added benefot is a visual clue that they have failed.

I find it odd that using two forms of contraception is not promoted more.
Even in a LTR if you don't want a baby then use two forms.
Condoms protect against stds but even if you're both clean they offer a lot of extra protection against an unwanted pregnancy than simply a hormonal contraception alone.
I don't trust one form enough and I think more people should have that view.

I think that's right Thants. I've seen too many threads over the years of terrified posters waiting to POAS for whom a baby would be an absolute disaster (for health/relationship/financial/sibling reasons) and who are totally opposed to having an abortion. Minipill, IUD, or condoms on their own are just not good enough in those circumstances. Too many people seem to think that 95% effective is more or less the same as 99.9% effective.

(Caveat, women who cannot tolerate hormonal contraception are really stuck in these circumstances, but even then copper coil plus condoms are often a possibility).

Oh god you've all totally misunderstood me!

Condoms alone as a long term method of contraception aren't worth the risk! I've had enough split ones in my time to know. Getting the morning after pill is nerve wracking as hell as a teen.

Obviously use both the pill and condoms with a new partner, then drop down to just the pill in a stable, disease free relationship. I'm not an idiot!

Glad you came back Rosen agree with getting the morning after pill being awful. Family Planning Clinics seem to recruit celibate old bags who's judgey pants covered their eyebrows. Even when I was in my 20's and had been living with DH for years they made me feel like I should be ashamed for wanting another baby.

That's something being spouted by the far right in the USA.