

Answer From Yvonne Butler Tobah, M.D.

Taking birth control pills during early pregnancy doesn't appear to increase the risk of birth defects.

While some research has suggested a link between the use of birth control pills near conception and an increased risk of low birth weight, preterm birth or congenital urinary tract abnormalities, these concerns generally haven't been observed in clinical experience.

Birth control pills overall lower the risk of pregnancy and the risk of a fertilized egg implanting outside the uterus (ectopic pregnancy), which most often occurs in one of the tubes that carry eggs from the ovaries to the uterus (fallopian tubes). However, if you do conceive while taking a progestin-only birth control (minipill), there's a slightly higher chance that the pregnancy will be ectopic.




Yvonne Butler Tobah, M.D.

July 15, 2017 See more Expert Answers