Reasons why oral contraceptives fail to prevent pregnancy

It is reported that there are currently 50 to 60 million women in the world using this method of contraception. However, what is less known is that if women taking birth control pills take certain special drugs, contraceptive failure may still occur.

Oral contraceptives are a common method of contraception.

Oral contraceptives have a high safety rate, but they have some "nemesis" that can seriously reduce or even make the contraceptive effect ineffective. Recently, people have discovered that many drugs can interfere with the effects of oral contraceptives, such as phenytoin sodium, phenobarbital, primidone, chlordiazepoxide, etc., which can affect the contraceptive effect of women taking contraceptives.

Oral contraceptives are simple and easy to use. It is reported that there are currently 50 to 60 million women in the world using this method of contraception. However, what is less known is that if women taking birth control pills take certain special drugs, contraceptive failure may still occur. Stability is one of them.

This drug is an inducer of liver microsomal enzymes, which can accelerate the metabolism of oral contraceptives in the body, thereby reducing their contraceptive effect. Long-term use of diazepam to help you sleep will undoubtedly interfere with the effectiveness of contraceptives. In addition to diazepam, people have discovered in recent years that there are many drugs that can interfere with the effects of oral contraceptives, such as phenytoin sodium, phenobarbital, primidone, chlordiazepoxide, etc., which can affect the contraceptive effect of women taking contraceptives.

In addition, long-term use of penicillin, erythromycin, chloramphenicol, and anti-tuberculosis drugs such as rifampicin may also affect contraceptive effectiveness. The reason is that under normal circumstances, oral contraceptives are repeatedly absorbed in the enterohepatic circulation with the help of a hydrolase released by intestinal bacteria. Once this enterohepatic circulation is blocked, contraceptive failure may occur. The above-mentioned antibacterial drugs have this effect.

Therefore, if women of childbearing age need to take other medicines for a long time due to illness, they should inform their doctor of the situation for the doctor's reference. It is safer to stop taking oral contraceptives and switch to other effective contraceptive methods.