Birth Control Pills and Blood Clots

The FDA has updated its warnings to women taking certain birth control pills. Medicines such as Yaz (generics Gianvi and Loryna), Yasmin (generics Ocella, Syeda, and Zarah), Beyaz, and Safyra contain drospirenone, a synthetic progesterone. Although they are effective for preventing pregnancy, such contraceptives triple the risk of blood clots in women taking them. Most young women are at rather low risk of dangerous blood clots in the legs or the lungs, so even tripling the risk does not result in many cases. Nonetheless, women do have other options for oral contraception, so they should discuss this potential problem with the prescribers.