Birth Control & Menopause

If you are fairly certain that you have entered into peri-menopause, that phase of your life that precedes menopause, this is not the time to forgo birth control. Many women in their 40s and 50s have become pregnant because they didn't think they were still fertile. A woman is not officially considered menopausal until she has gone one full year without a menstrual period. Any time prior to that, you can still be fertile.

Benefits

• According to an article in the Saint Petersburg Times called "Birth Control Pills May Help Mask Menopause Symptoms," many peri-menopausal women continue to take oral contraceptives and even benefit from it in ways other than pregnancy prevention. According to Dr. Catherine Lynch, director of General Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of South Florida, College of Medicine in Tampa, a woman gets the same amount of hormones while on the birth control pill as her ovaries, when functioning optimally, produce. Because of this, a woman may not even know that she has entered into peri-menopause because she isn't having any symptoms. The birth control pill quashes symptoms such as night sweats, irritability and hot flashes. If the woman is taking the pill in the conventional fashion, three weeks on, one week off, she may notice some menopausal symptoms the week that she is pill-free. However, she may still not realize that she is getting close to menopause because she's still having a regular menstrual cycle and is getting sufficient amounts of estrogen because of the pill.

Additional Perks

• Dr. Lynch notes the additional benefits of taking the birth control pill while in your 40s or even your 50s includes the reduction in bone loss and possibly even an increase in bone density. Women reportedly experience less anemia and it is believed that the pill may protect against ovarian cancer, endometrial cancer and benign breast disease. The Centers for Disease Control and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development undertook the Cancer and Steroid Hormone Study, which found that there is an average 40 percent decrease ovarian cancer in women who had taken oral contraceptive. The risk, however, was related to the amount of time on the pill. If, for example, a woman had taken the pill for more than seven years, the risk of ovarian cancer was reduced by 60 to 80 percent.

Risks

• There are risks associated with taking the birth control, particularly if you are a smoker and over the age of 35. Taking the pill increases the risk of developing blood clots, which can result in a stroke. If a woman has high blood pressure, she needs to take this into consideration because taking the pill is not advisable if you have this problem.

Birth Control Pill vs HRT

• Birth control pills provide five to seven times more estrogen than a woman gets if she is taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT), according to Dr. Lynch. The pill provides enough hormones to shut down the ovaries, which isn't necessary in a fully menopausal woman who has already stopped ovulating. HRT provides a sufficient amount of hormones to emulate what the ovaries were producing before they shut down. However, there are dangers associated with HRT, including an increased risk of breast cancer and heart disease. Many women are opting to forgo HRT because of these risks.

Unplanned Pregnancies

• Ask your physician if you should continue taking the pill at this stage of your life. Some women prefer using barrier forms of birth control (condoms, cervical cap or sponge) or decide to get a tubal ligation, which sterilizes them. Their partners can also opt for vasectomies. According to Epigee.org, 60 percent of the unplanned pregnancies that occur in women over the age of 40 are terminated. More than 50 percent of the women between the ages of 45 and 49 are not using contraception and need to. Epigee.org concurs that using low dose birth control pills is safe and can provide protection against uterine cancers, as well as ovarian and endometrial cancer and will help eliminate many of the symptoms associated with menopause.