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  • Title: Editorial: Can the pill cause birth defects?
    Author: Nora JJ, Nora AH.
    Journal: N Engl J Med; 1974 Oct 03; 291(14):731-2. PubMed ID: 4851496.
    Abstract:
    Potential establishment of a causal relationship between a syndrome of multiple congenital anomalies (vertebral, anal, cardiac, tracheoesophageal, renal, and limb, i.e., "VACTERL") and maternal progesterone/estrogen exposure has been made by retrospective and prospective studies. A study providing etiologic evidence between oral contraceptives and birth defects (limb anomalies especially) found only males affected; the proportion of males in another cluster of VACTERL pa tients was also very high (10 out of 15). It was suggested that if oral contraceptives are teratogenic, it is with people who are predisposed. Unlike thalidomide, there is no high risk at each exposure but there are a high number of exposures from widespread use. The importance of eliciting accurate drug exposure histories from mothers is streesed; only 1/3 of the patients who had established exposure to oral contraceptives at a vulnerable embryonic period had this exposure recorded in their charts. It was concluded that hormonal pregnancy tests should be stopped.
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