ORAL CONTRACEPTIVES AND BIRTH DEFECTS

: Although OCs (oral contraceptives) are not designed to be taken during pregnancy, in Europe and the U.S. they are taken by 2-5% of women in early pregnancy and by 1/4-1/3 of women 3-4 months prior to conception. The effects of OCs on folic acid and other vitamin metabolism are well known and provide a theoretical basis for possible teratogenicity, even when stopped prior to conception. Both hormone support therapy for threatened abortions and hormonal pregnancy tests have been abandoned in recent years, the first because it proved inefficacious, the second because there are better alternatives available. In neither of these cases were sex hormones shown to be teratogenic. Most cohort (prospective) and many case-control (retrospective) studies have shown no association between OC use and birth defects. Case-control methodology can be criticized because of recall bias and because of the difficulty of choosing entirely matched controls. Several studies have shown OC users to have characteristics slightly different from the general population, e.g., they are younger, more often unmarried, and are more likely to smoke during pregnancy. Any of these characteristics might influence the occurrence of teratogenicity. It is impossible to prove that OCs constitute a low-level teratogen. The author considers them nonteratogenic.