CU Working On Safer Birth Control Pill For Larger Women

Dr. Stephanie Teal explained to CBS 4’s Kathy Walsh how the Family Planning Division’s participation in a National Institutes of Health clinical trial may result in a completely new form of birth control pill that is safer, more effective and carries fewer side effects—particularly for heavier women, an aspect of the national trial that Family Planning is testing.

From the CBS story:

University of Colorado researchers are working to develop a completely new form of birth control that would be safer and more effective for heavier women.

The side effects of bleeding and blood clots from the most commonly used pill are more prevalent in obese women. The pill being studied at CU could eliminate that health risk.

Kiel Butterfield answers questions about her health and twice a week she has her blood drawn. Since early August the 30-year-old has been using an investigational contraceptive.

“There’s really no breast tenderness, I don’t get any headaches,” Butterfield said.

She is helping researchers at CU develop the better birth control pill.

“That doesn’t have either estrogen or progesterone in it,” Dr. Stephanie Teal said.

Those hormones, found in common contraceptive pills, can cause unscheduled bleeding and blood clotting, which can lead to stroke.

Researchers say the risks go up in women who are overweight.

View the entire story here