Since the first birth control pill, Enovid, there has been an increase in the risk for blood clotting with every new oral contraceptive regimen. This is because all birth control pills utilize synthetic forms of estrogen and progesterone that are known to cause blood clots. The higher the dose of synthetic estrogen, the greater the risk of clotting.

And of course, the two most dangerous problems associated with blood clots are strokes and heart attacks. Women who take birth control pills have between two and 10 times greater risk of heart attack or stroke than those not taking the pills. This risk is especially high in women who smoke cigarettes and women older than 35.

One in seven women in the U.S. have had breast cancer. We have all been affected by this epidemic. And one of the driving forces behind it is the inappropriate use of synthetic hormones.

Synthetic hormones, particularly progestins (synthetic versions of progesterone) increase the risk of breast cancer. The Women’s Health Initiative looked at the use of synthetic hormones for treating the symptoms of menopause. Their research showed that progestins significantly increase a woman’s risk of breast cancer.

Every hormonal contraceptive therapy uses synthetic versions of progesterone. They all have adverse risk profiles similar to progestins. Although the newer versions of birth control pills contain less synthetic hormone than the older ones, some studies have indicated that they’re still associated with increased risk of breast cancer.

A recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine reported, “The risk of breast cancer was higher among women who currently or recently used contemporary hormonal contraceptives than among women who had never used hormonal contraceptives, and this risk increased with longer durations of use; however, absolute increases in risk were small.”

Compared to women who had never used hormonal contraception, there was a 20 percent increase in risk of breast cancer among all current and recent users of hormonal contraception. But the more important part of this study found the risk increased linearly from 9 percent with less than one year of use to 38 percent with more than 10 years.

Even after discontinuing contraception, the risk of breast cancer was higher among the women who had used it for five years or more compared to women who had not used hormonal contraceptives.

The authors estimated that the overall absolute increase in breast cancer among current and recent users of hormonal contraceptives was one additional case for every 7,590 women using contraception for one year.

Keep in mind that most women use hormonal contraceptives for many years.