Title:
The Link Between Antibiotics and Birth Control Word Count:
575 Summary:
The article discusses the connection of antibiotics and the use of birth control pills. The article explains how these two medications react and how each substance acts on its own. The article also makes a claim that the barrier form of birth control is best recommended for those who use both antibiotics.
Keywords:
antibiotics and birth control
Article Body:
Earlier studies seemed to indicate that if antibiotics and birth control pills are taken simultaneously, more women got pregnant than one would normally expect. Medications like ampicillin and tetracycline are suspected of interfering with the effectiveness of birth control pills. However, from all the studies that saw this connection, they have shown that antibiotics do not increase the pregnancy rate at all, and points out that older information was not reliable enough to draw conclusions about pregnancy rates on any of the antibiotics. From recent studies, some reported
antibiotics show no signs in affecting the metabolism of birth control pills. An example of such antibiotics include Cipro, which does not alter metabolism; and Diflucan, a product that does not decrease estrogen but actually increases it.
increasing the chances of becoming pregnant. Oral
contraceptives or birth control pills work by affecting the production of certain hormones that can stop a woman’s ovaries from releasing eggs; or make the lining of the uterus thinner so that fertilized eggs cannot attach to the uterus; and it can make it harder for the sperm to reach the eggs. All these are done by two hormones: the estrogens and progestins.
The reason behind antibiotics and birth control when taken together is that some antibiotics make it hard for the body to absorb the hormones contained in birth control pills. Other antibiotics makes the body get rid of the hormones even faster, and if either of this happens, the lower hormonal levels in the body may allow a woman to get pregnant even if she does not want to. Such antibiotics cause the enzymes in the liver to increase the break down of estrogens and thereby decrease the levels of estrogens in the body and the effectiveness of the birth control pills. Some of the antibiotics with this kind of effect include rifampin, penicillin, tetracyclines, and trimethoprim, among others. Another reason on how antibiotics interfere with the effectiveness of birth control pills is by the reduction of re-circulation of estrogens within the body. Estrogens in birth control pills are broken down by conversion in the liver to other chemicals which are secreted into the intestines in the bile produced by the liver. Bacteria in the intestine are able to convert these chemicals back into the active estrogen which is then re-absorbed into the
convert the inactive chemicals to the active estrogen, and, therefore, may interfere with the effectiveness of birth control pills. Unwanted pregnancies could occur. Although it has not been proven that unwanted pregnancies can occur by this means, drug manufacturers caution that antibiotics could decrease the effectiveness of birth control pills.
However, other antibiotics will not affect contraceptive implants. An implant is a capsule inserted under the skin on the inside of a woman’s upper arm. This reduces the chances of becoming pregnant by releasing progestin into one’s bloodstream. To make sure that pregnancy prevention is at hand, always inform the doctor if one is taking birth control pills. The doctor may then prescribe another medication, or discuss possible drug interactions. If in case one is under prescription medications, one can still take birth control pills only if there is a barrier form of birth control. This includes the use of a condom, a
diaphragm, or a cervical cap.
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