Why you may want to avoid birth control pills
Birth control pills are generally considered the most preferred method for avoiding ‘oops’ pregnancies with minimum or no harm on the user.
With the vast birth control options available in the market, women seem to prefer the pill to other methods of birth control such as IUDs, birth control patches, implants, birth control shots and vaginal rings, to mention a few.
But one health expert in Kenya has warned sexually active women on the risks associated with prolonged use of the pill.
According to Dr Hamisi Kote Ali, a chiropractor, the downside of getting hooked to birth control pills are the long-term effects.
“If I was the one to say, I would ban all family planning pills because good as they are, only one side of the story is told to the consumer. The good side prevention of pregnancy,” Dr Hamisi said in a recent interview with comedian Dr Kingóri on The Wicked Edition.
On the other hand, he said, not much is said about the long-term effects of birth control pills, which is some cases have proved fatal as a result of abuse or misuse by the consumers.
Dr Hamisi also explained how birth control pills have a generational effect that leaves many children contracting various illnesses and terminal conditions.
“The pill was introduced into the market around 1960, and our parents were the first guinea pigs. Today these parents are suffering from all sorts of cancer and arthritis. We, their children, if it’s male we are struggling with infertility, and if it’s female are struggling with endometriosis and the like,” he said.
“Now our children are struggling with all kinds of allergies. If you are to look back, you’d be surprised how much family planning has contributed to this, especially the pills. You may find that WHO advises using the pill twice a year, but many women use it every Monday morning,” he said.
He also noted that many women are unaware of the long-term effect of misusing the pills, thus exposing themselves to higher risks of getting cancer and other health complications due to the massive cell proliferation that happens with the effects of the pills.
“Those who take the pill, forget that there’s massive cell proliferation that happens in the body every time they take the pill and this is what causes problems at the end of the day, because you mess the physiological clock of the body.”
“The best advice I would give is that the woman needs to understand her cycle, and her partner has to understand it too. That way they can both be safe. Either use a condom or withdraw, that way the woman is protected healthwise,” Dr Hamisi said.