Q: How long can a woman stay on birth control and not have it be a health hazard?
A: The short answer: For most people, as long as you want.
The long answer: As long as you don’t have any serious underlying medical conditions such as blood clotting disorders, high blood pressure, or you are a smoker over age 35, long term use of the birth control pill is generally regarded as safe.
We used to think that long term use of the pill could affect fertility down the road but this has proven to be untrue.
There is some evidence that long term use of hormonal birth control can increase your risk of certain cancers such as liver or cervical cancer, but combined estrogen/progestin pills have also been shown to decrease your risk of other cancers such as endometrial and ovarian cancers, and possibly even colorectal cancer.
As for an increased risk of breast cancer with long term use of hormonal birth control, the jury is still out. If you have a strong family history of breast cancer, you may want to talk to your health care provider before starting on hormonal birth control.
Angie Walker, Med IV (Ohio State University College of Medicine)
Mary Jane Elam, MD (Ohio State University Student Health Services)