Oral contraceptives taken just before or during pregnancy do not increase the risk of birth defects, according to a large-scale study published Wednesday.
Examining records for nearly 900,000 live births in Denmark, researchers found that even women who used the pill after becoming pregnant were no more likely to have babies with serious defects than mothers who had never used it.
"We confirmed that there wasn't any association between oral contraceptives and major birth defects," lead author Brittany Charlton, a scientist at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, told AFP by phone.
"Our findings were especially reassuring given that we were able to use a different approach."
Most previous research, she explained, is based on "case controlled" studies, which begin with a fairly rare outcome -- a birth defect -- and then work backwards, looking for a cause.
Several of these studies, some decades old, had found a link between use of the hormone-based contraceptives and defects, even if most did not.
"We were able to leverage prescription registries and thus eliminate any bias from women inaccurately recalling their use" of the pill, Charlton said.
Drawing from Danish national health records from 1997 to 2011, Charlton and colleagues divided the women into four groups.
A fifth -- some 176,000 women -- had never used the pill, while more than two-thirds stopped at least three months before becoming pregnant.
Eight percent discontinued use within three months of conceiving, while one percent -- well above a statistically significant 10,000 women -- used oral contraceptives after becoming pregnant.
For all categories, the ratio of normal birth to those with major defects was exactly the same -- 25 per 1,000 live births.
This ratio remained consistent across all groups even with the inclusion of pregnancies that ended in stillbirths or induced abortions.
The study was published in the medical journal BMJ.
AFP RELAXNEWS
Thu Jan 07 2016
![No link between contraceptive pill and birth defects: study No link between contraceptive pill and birth defects: study](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/http://img.astroawani.com/2016-01/61452169320_PillTablet.jpg)
Researchers found that even women who used the pill after becoming pregnant were no more likely to have babies with serious defects than mothers who had never used it. - Photo cristi180884/Shutterstock.com
![Perunding pelaburan didakwa terlibat pengubahan wang haram hampir RM1 juta Perunding pelaburan didakwa terlibat pengubahan wang haram hampir RM1 juta](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-07/51721117052_SaifulNizamSaharud.jpg)
Perunding pelaburan didakwa terlibat pengubahan wang haram hampir RM1 juta
Seorang perunding pelaburan mengaku tidak bersalah atas empat pertuduhan pengubahan wang haram berjumlah hampir RM1 juta.
![Kerajaan lihat semula perjanjian penjualan air kepada Singapura - Fadillah Kerajaan lihat semula perjanjian penjualan air kepada Singapura - Fadillah](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-07/81720085306_FadillahYusof.jpg)
Kerajaan lihat semula perjanjian penjualan air kepada Singapura - Fadillah
Fadillah berkata perkara itu sudah berlaku ketika zaman pentadbiran bekas Perdana Menteri Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad lagi.
![Pelancong asing ditahan disyaki cabul pekerja spa di Pulau Perhentian Pelancong asing ditahan disyaki cabul pekerja spa di Pulau Perhentian](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2022-07/51658407048_Cabul.jpg)
Pelancong asing ditahan disyaki cabul pekerja spa di Pulau Perhentian
Polis menahan seorang pelancong lelaki warga Maghribi kerana disyaki mencabul seorang juruterapi wanita rakyat tempatan di Pulau Perhentian.
Warga Thailand seludup diesel dihadapkan mahkamah
Seorang pemandu lori warga Thailand dihadapkan ke mahkamah atas menyeleweng 322 liter minyak diesel minggu lalu.
ADUN Rembia sertai Pas: YB Kampar minta buka riben putih
Susulan pengumuman ADUN Rembia sertai Pas dalam sidang media, YB Kampar, Chong Zhemin kemuka Peraturan Mesyuarat dan menyifatkan satu penghinaan besar buat Parlimen.
#SisiTVParlimen
#AWANInews
#SisiTVParlimen
#AWANInews
![Malaysia, Brunei dalam proses rundingan muktamad sempadan darat negara - Mohamad Malaysia, Brunei dalam proses rundingan muktamad sempadan darat negara - Mohamad](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-07/41720590984_DatukSeriMohamadH.jpg)
Malaysia, Brunei dalam proses rundingan muktamad sempadan darat negara - Mohamad
Mohamad Hasan berkata buat masa ini, kerja-kerja penandaan dan pengukuran di lapangan telah meliputi 175.96 km atau 33.3 peratus daripada keseluruhan jarak sempadan.
Kim Pan Gon undur diri kesan kepada Harimau Malaya
Apa reaksi peminat Harimau Malaya dan penganalisis sukan mengenai peletakan jawatan Kim Pan-Gon?
Masuk Pas untuk sama-sama susah dengan rakyat - ADUN Rembia
Muhamad Jailani berkata, sebelum ini beliau pernah menghantar surat kepada Lembaga Disiplin UMNO memohon untuk memecat keahliannya daripada parti Melayu itu.
![Perang berlarutan antara punca kelewatan penghantaran Black Hawk Perang berlarutan antara punca kelewatan penghantaran Black Hawk](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-04/51712121864_TBADLYZAHARIjp.jpg)
Perang berlarutan antara punca kelewatan penghantaran Black Hawk
Perkara itu dimaklumkan pihak Aerotree Defence and Services Sdn Bhd iaitu syarikat yang dipertanggungjawabkan dalam kontrak perolehan perkhidmatan sewaan helikopter berkenaan.
Keghairahan final Euro 2024 dibawakan ke restoran mamak
Kemeriahan dan keghairahan perlawanan final UEFA EURO 2024 antara Sepanyol dengan England di Berlin, Jerman dirasai di Malaysia, dibawakan oleh 'Astro BizOne Watch Party' di Restoran Hakim, Seksyen 7, Shah Alam.