CDC offers 1st contraception guidelines for women with weight-loss surgery, medical conditions

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CDC has contraception advice for some ill women

ATLANTA — U.S. health officials have for the first time released contraception safety guidelines for more than 1 million women who have had weight-loss surgery or have certain medical conditions.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, released Friday, say it’s safe for women with medical conditions to use most contraceptives.

But the CDC issued some warnings, including some concerning birth control pills, the most popular form of contraception for American women. The pill may be less effective for women who have had one kind of weight-loss surgery because the procedure may leave them less able to absorb the active ingredient.

Another warning: Some women with inflammatory bowel disease have a higher risk of blood clots. Those women generally should not use the estrogen-containing form of the pill, which may further increase their risk.

The CDC borrowed from international guidelines, but also wrote new advice for women with certain conditions more common in the United States, such as inflammatory bowel disease and rheumatoid arthritis.

CDC officials say women should talk to their doctors with questions about contraception.

About half of U.S. pregnancies are unintended, according to CDC statistics.

Many doctors may have felt uncomfortable prescribing contraception to women with some of these conditions, said Dr. Herbert Peterson, a University of North Carolina professor of maternal and child health.

But the new guidelines should answer doctors’ questions about potential risks from certain forms of birth control. That, in turn, may make it easier for more women to get birth control, added Peterson, who led a panel of experts that helped CDC write the guidelines.

Online:

CDC guidelines: tinyurl.com/3xssbe4