Heads up, this myth about the Pill was just debunked

I can’t remember where I heard that if you don’t quit hormonal birth control the very second you even think you MIGHT be pregnant, those chemicals could spell out bad news for your baby-to-be, but I’ve definitely heard this several times over the course of my birth-control-taking life.

Well, we can officially label that rumor a myth. As Health Day News reports, research has found no link between using the Pill while pregnant and birth defects. In fact, the rate of birth defects (about 25 out of every 1000 births) is virtually the same between women who never took birth control pills and women who took birth control pills before conceiving. It’s even the same with women who took birth control pills while pregnant, before realizing they were, you know, expecting.

“Women who become pregnant either soon after stopping oral contraceptives, or even while taking them, should know that this exposure is unlikely to cause the fetus to develop a birth defect,” lead researcher Brittany Charlton told Health Day News.

Just to be clear, this doesn’t mean that the hormones in birth control pills absolutely, positively do not cause birth defects. But it does mean, as of right now, that science cannot find a definitive link between the two.

“This should reassure women as well as their doctors,” Charlton said.

Hey, we’ll take reassurance where we can get it.

(Image via Shutterstock)

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