New scientific research suggests that use of the oral contraceptive pill may alter the shape of women’s brains, the Catholic News Agency (CNA) reports.

A study published in the journal Human Brain Mapping found that two areas of the brain-- the lateral orbitofrontal cortex and the posterior cingulate cortex—were significantly thinner in women using the Pill. The study did not address the possibility that changes in the structure of the brain would lead to changes in behavior or emotions.

A co-author of the study told CNA that he found it remarkable how little research has been done on the side-effects of the Pill. “You might think after 50 years and hundreds of millions of women taking various incarnations of the pill, there would be a large and cohesive and impressive body of evidence on it,” said Larry Cahill of University of California-Irvine; “but there’s next to nothing.”

http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=24938

Newer versions of the Pill may raise a woman’s risk of dangerous blood clots even more than older versions, a large U.K. study suggests.

Women taking any combined oral contraceptive pills — containing both estrogen and progestin — were three times as likely to develop a blood clot in a deep vein in the leg or pelvis, compared to women not on the Pill. The risk was higher still with all the newer Pill versions except one, researchers found.

“This association is between 1.5 and 1.8 times higher for the newer formulations,” said lead author Yana Vinogradova, a research fellow in medical statistics at the University of Nottingham.

The blood clots, known as venous thromboembolisms (VTEs), are common and can be deadly if the clot dislodges and travels to the heart, brain or lungs. They are more common among women taking estrogen medicines, and the risk is even higher if the woman smokes, according to the National Library of Medicine.

https://www.yahoo.com/health/newer-birth-control-pills-may-pose-health-risk-120037367467.html

Here is what Pope Paul VI had to say about artificial cortraception;

http://w2.vatican.va/content/paul-vi/en/encyclicals/docuмents/hf_p-vi_enc_25071968_humanae-vitae.html