DNA in 1 in 20 women reduces contraceptive effectiveness

Cases in which women become pregnant even when they are on contraceptives usually raise doubts on the part of family members and even doctors as to whether contraceptives have been used in the right way.

This type of questioning can bother the woman, who may have made the correct use of the method. And all of this can have an explanation.

According to a new study published in the academic journal Obstetrics and Gynecology , there is a gene in the female body that can alter the effects of hormonal contraceptives.

It is CYP3A7 * 1C, a gene capable of breaking or deactivating the contraceptive hormones that prevent women from becoming pregnant, increasing the chances of pregnancy.

The risk increases even more if the contraceptives used are those of low hormonal dosage.

Important for doctors

The discovery is important for researchers, as it can take a fresh look at ways to prevent pregnancy.

For women, the study helps to raise awareness about the possibility of failure of the method, contributing to the best choice among the available options.

In addition, it helps to overturn the idea, often spread in society, that the unplanned pregnancy was the fault of the woman, who did not correctly use the contraceptive.

Read more: Drug interaction: what cuts the contraceptive effect?

Study data

The survey evaluated 350 women who used progestogen-based subcutaneous devices.

About 5% of them had a different form of the CYP3A7 * 1C gene, causing the destruction of the hormones responsible for preventing pregnancy.

That is, the scientists found that 1 in 20 women may have a saboteur DNA, which is already considered an increase in this risk.

However, the findings are still very recent according to scholars and other researchers, but these results may be important in the future.

In general, it is believed that this fact, despite being a relevant discovery, should not lead women away from contraceptive methods, as it is already known that there is a margin of error in its use. Therefore, the recommendation is preferably to combine the pill (or another hormonal method) with a condom .


No contraceptive method is 100% safe. Contraceptive pills, for example, have a 98% safety rating.

Therefore, it is important to know about the effects and real modes of action and prevention of contraceptives.

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